Mushroom Spiked Chocolate Tahini Mousse

A few months back I stopped into one of our favorite local markets and specialty food spots, Miracle Plum run by our friends Gwen + Sally. I picked up Alison Roman’s popular cookbook, Dining In, and couldn’t stop cooking from it for a week straight. Every recipe I made was spot on and super delicious. Not to mention, they were all pretty quick and easy to whip up for dinner. One recipe I’ve made again and again is a spin-off of her Chocolate-Tahini Tart with Crunchy Salt. The first time I made it, I didn’t have the time or patience to make the tart crust and just made the filling, which turned out to be incredible on its own. I’m not one of those people that craves chocolate, but when there is flakey salt involved I can be persuaded.

What I love about this tart filling turned “mousse” is that it is a rich dessert that’s not overly sweet and you can enjoy in a few savored bites. The chocolate and tahini are a great compliment to earthy herbs like medicinal mushrooms. Lately, I’ve been adding mushroom powders in my morning tonic, coffee, soups, and desserts. Maybe its the fact that we are in mushroom season here, but this seems to be my medicine of choice this winter. Our go-to mushroom is the prized reishi, Ganoderma lucidum. Used for centuries in China and Japan for its affinity to the circulatory, respiratory, nervous and digestive systems, its a wonderful ally for the stress and toxic load of modern times.

There a many mushrooms available in powder form, tincture or in dried slices. Using powders is an easy way to incorporate mushrooms into daily meals as functional foods and medicine. Having a formulated blend of mushrooms allows you to enjoy a range of benefits from enhancing immune support to improved memory and alertness. An acupuncturist friend recommended this 14 mushroom blend that has a mix of mycelium and fruiting body, so you’re getting both life cycles of the mushrooms. For more info on medicinal mushrooms and high-quality products pop over to Paul Stamet’s company, Host Defense.

INGREDIENTS

2 teaspoons medicinal mushroom powder, I use a blend of reishi, turkey tail and lions mane

1 1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup tahini, almond butter or sunflower butter

pinch of sea salt

1 cup organic heavy cream, though I’ve also used coconut milk to avoid dairy

2-4 tablespoons maple syrup, depending on how sweet you want to go

flakey sea salt, like sel gris from France

1 cup coconut cream, or 1 can coconut milk cold from the fridge

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Warm up your milk/mylk in a small saucepan, just enough to heat but not to boil. While milk is warming, add mushroom powder, chocolate, tahini and salt to a mixing bowl. Pour the warm milk over the chocolate mixture and stir to combine until smooth with a wooden spoon. Add a tablespoon of maple at a time and taste to see if you need more. Pour mouse evenly among four shallow cups and sprinkle with flakey sea salt. Pop them in the fridge if you’re serving the next day or in a a few hours. Otherwise, pop them in the freezer to get them to set if you need to serve within an hour or so.

The cardamom coconut cream is the easiest to assembly. Simply scoop out the cream from a can of cold coconut milk that’s been waiting in the fridge to a bowl. Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp cardamom powder and stir to combine. This helps to make the cream fluffier and easy to dollop onto the mousse cups. Add coconut cream just before serving with dried roses and shaved chocolate if you’re feeling fancy.

Serves 4