3 Ingredient Nutella Avocado Banana Mousse

Today I have a special treat for you: luxuriously smooth and creamy chocolate decadence which is actually healthy, and what is more, is ready in under 5 minutes. I know, it sounds too good to be true. This 3 ingredient mousse tastes and looks absolutely sinful, but it's creamy lusciousness hides a surprising secret: 

Nutrient rich avocados and a banana that are completely enveloped by the deliciousness of nutella or if you are allergic to nuts, simply melted chocolate, or even  cocoa powder and a bit of sweetener of your choice. Yes, yes! Believe! It is even more delicious than it looks! and no, you cannot taste much of the avocado or the banana. You probably wouldn't even guess they were there if I hadn't told you. All you taste is deep chocolate decadence and all you feel is smooth creaminess that your spoon will not have enough of! 

Whenever I think of avocados I remember those early months with the toddler when he had just started on baby food. Mashed bananas and avocados, roasted pureed sweet potatoes- these were our picky eater's favorites. Avocados were blended with a little sugar or maple syrup a lot in this house. Past the finger food stage however, we had rarely bought them, mainly because I actually don't like them very much. 

Then one day a couple of friends got together for a potluck and my friend Vijitha brought over a chocolate mousse. When I heard that it was made with cocoa and avocados I was pretty sure I wouldn't like it, because I just don't like the taste of avocados. I think they taste kind of eggy. But her mousse looked so creamy and irresistible I had to taste it, and gosh was I proved wrong! I LOVED it!  

The awesome thing about avocados, apart from their dreamy creaminess, is that although it has a pretty strong flavor on it's own, when it is mixed with something else, it completely takes on the flavor of whatever it is that you mix in. And what could be better than nutella?

We love desserts, T and I, and our little three year old has a big sweet tooth too. The last couple of years we definitely have indulged a little too much, thanks mostly to my baking obsession. So this year, at-least while my new year resolutions are still quite fresh in my mind, I was on the lookout for healthier alternatives to satisfy our sugar cravings.  

When some one tells me that something is healthy, I used to automatically expect it to taste "healthy". You know what I mean. Healthy desserts are a bit of an oxymoron right? Chalky, tasteless is what I had come to expect of most desserts that had been robbed of butter, cream, sugar, eggs and other sinful ingredients that make it awesome yet overindulgent.
If you are an unbeliever too then one taste of this mousse will convince you that going healthy does not mean missing out on delicious.

Since today is World Nutella Day, I couldn't resist making something rich and purely decadent and this secretly healthier mousse totally hits the spot.

Even though I waited till today to post this, I have actually made this mousse many times, especially since it is dairy-free, eggless and allergy friendly and wholesome for the three year old and not even T could tell that this was a "healthier" version of mousse. It can be slathered on anything, and I am also  planning on using it to fill crepes like the ones I always make sure to get whenever we head to Fisherman's warf in San Francisco. They make the crepes on large cast iron griddles, slather a big gloop of nutella on them and serve it to you hot and crispy, with sliced strawberries on the side.

I love going over to Pier 39. It is such a colourful, bustling place. I like playing tourist and going over to gawk at the sea lions, watching the street performers and eating nutella crepes are almost always part of the experience. These pictures were taken on our last visit to Fisherman's wharf over the holidays. 

This mousse it would make a really rich tasting, thick and creamy chocolate frosting for a layer cake, or sandwiched between cookies... I am sure I will be playing with this healthy mousse in many ways!

Recipe for 3 ingredient Nutella Avocado Banana Mousse 

Yield: Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados ( Tastes best with ones that are just ripe, dent lightly when pressed with a finger, with green not brown flesh)
• 1 Yellow, not over ripe banana (Over browned bananas may have a stronger banana flavor)
• 1/3 Cup Nutella (Use less or more as per your preference)
• 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder ( optional- I use and love Ghirardelli's unsweetened, Cadbury's or Valrhona)

Directions:

• Whizz all of the ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender until creamy and combined and no lumps remain ( Do not add any liquid) 

Note: 

Taste and add more nutella, a sweetener, or if you like, a shot of vanilla extract, or even balsamic vinegar or a little sea salt if you like some tang.

In place of the nutella you can also use chocolate chunks that have been melted in warmed milk or soymilk
You can also just mix the mashed avocados with or without the banana with just cocoa powder and a sweetener like sugar or maple syrup as per the original recipe that this version was inspired by.

Can store the mousse for about a day or two in the fridge and serve either at room temp or chilled.

If you are as nuts about nutella as I am, you may like to check out other recipes celebrating nutella here

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Pizza for two with quick & easy homemade Challah dough

Growing up in a small town in India, pizza was a special treat enjoyed when we visited the city. This was before Dominoes and Pizza hut opened stores in every neighborhood there with guaranteed 30 mins delivery. Mom would sometimes make pizza as an after school treat, but sadly from store bought crusts that were really bad. We would just pick up and eat the toppings which were always delicious covered with amul cheese  and leave that soggy weak crust alone. Sometimes she would use bread instead which was only slightly better. If only she knew how easy it was to make the crust from scratch! 


Thankfully I have found out how easy and fun it is to turn my kitchen into my own pizzeria. There was a lot of outrage about Pizza being considered a vegetable  on school lunches but I kinda get what they mean! Pizza is the perfect vehicle for whatever you want to get your family to eat. Whether it is loads of yummy roasted veggies or whatever you can find in your fridge. Sausages, left over chicken roast...the possibilities are endless. You will feel an immense sense of power when you see that nobody says no to grilled eggplant if its on a pizza! 

This recipe is from the book that got me baking bread- Artisan Bread in Five.  I make a big batch of Zoe and Jeff's lovey Challah dough several times a month and put it in the fridge to make rolls, sweet breads like this cinnamon caramel bubble bread, and this apple braided bread.. It is my favourite dough because its so easy to make and tastes great in both savoury and sweet breads.  Zoe and Jeff  have come out with a whole book on Pizzas and flat bread with many different types of dough and fantabulous toppings.

I like rolling the dough out thin like New York style pizza, on a large half sheet baking tray for parties since the dough can be made upto 5 days ahead and actually tastes better after a day. When I am making it for just the two of us I use my cast iron skillet. Making it in a cast iron skillet makes the crust lovely and crispy but you can really make this in anything that's oven proof with very simple ingredients. 

I think making a heart shape pizza would be corny but cute for valentine's day and I may just do it but for now here is the recipe so that you can make pizza at home too!

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Easy Baked Chicken and The Kerala Kitchen June 2011 Event Announcement

Last month the amazingly sweet Sarah of Spoonful of Delight hosted the Kerala Kitchen while I was busy packing, shifting houses, unpacking and rescuing a little monkey who loves to dive headfirst into cardboard boxes. Head on over to her wonderful site here to check out the awesome collection of Kerala inspired dishes we received from our awesome members. Now that I am all settled into my new home and new kitchen, I am happy to be hosting again! Sarah had a neat idea to make it even easier for you to submit entries, with a simple form that you can see at the end of this post, so no need to fuss with emails. Thanks for that, and for being such a wonderful person Sarah! 

Last week was another good friend, awesome blogger and my co host of Kerala Kitchen Ria's birthday and I celebrated with Chocolate Oreo cake. Today I am posting her grandmother's recipe for a delicious tender and juicy baked chicken which is also super easy to make. It earned her mom the Pachakarani ( Queen of cooking) title at a cookery competition so you can be certain this is a surefire hit! 

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DB:Maple mousse in an edible container-Swan Cream Puff

When I was a kid, I was enthralled by an animated version of the ballet Swan Lake. The story of a princess turned into a swan by day as a result of a curse, who regains her human form only at night, was as haunting as the music.

My first ever Daring Bakers challenge- the Joconde that I over baked so it cracked and leaked was definitely the ugly duckling. This time the challenge was to create an edible container for some wonderful Maple mousse, and I decided that it had to be a swan!

A cream puff swan to be more exact, filled with dreamy maple mousse and topped with whipped maple cream!I loved the sensation of the cold creamy mousse oozing out of the warm crisp shell when you bit into it! 

I also made two variations -Bailey's Maple mousse and also some swans or (rather swan parts) were filled with Cardamom Maple mousse ( because I cannot resist adding cardamom into everything!)

Both the mousse and the cream puffs were really easy to make and I'm so happy that something so simple could look and taste so great, and make me look like some sort of pastry genius! I think I might have gone a little overboard though when I decided to have my puff swan swim in a lake of Maple Syrup with bacon crumbles on the side! 

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Low fat Chocolate Truffle Mousse from Alice Medrich

I promised to post a couple more dreamy desserts I made from the book I'm currently madly in love with "Chocolate and the Art of Low-Fat Desserts" by Chocolate guru Alice Medrich and just in time for Valentines day I present to you this decadent, versatile chocolate mousse.
It's rich, silky, extra chocolate-y with bittersweet chocolate and cocoa and has less than half the fat of regular mousse because it is lightened with egg whites and contains no cream! It can be eaten as it, or used as fillings and in the coming days I'll be showing you the many delicious uses I put it to :)

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Alice Medrich's simple low fat chocolate pudding and a Joconde imprime /entremets which is not!

T is convinced that I am obsessed with Alice Medrich. It's true- I am! It all began very innocently. I needed a quick baking fix and so made this batch of cocoa brownies which took about 20 mins to make, with really simple ingredients. Then there was this Mocha tart- again simple to make, but a decadent chocolate experience. Since then Alice has become my chocolate Guru. 

My favourite thing to eat these days is pudding. Warm, uncomplicated, familiar like a good friend, pudding. So the first thing I made out of Alice Medrich's gorgeous Chocolate and the art of low fat desserts is this pastry cream or chocolate pudding which is rich and sinfully decadent although it has no cream, no butter or other naughty ingredients- and gets its rich chocolate flavor from Cocoa powder!

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