Let me introduce you to one of the most decadent vegan chocolate desserts: Dark Chocolate Mousse Praline Domes!
These domes are airy and super light in texture. It consists of a delicious dark chocolate mousse, a creamy layer of hazelnuts and almonds praline, and a spongy vanilla cake. Plus, it’s glazed with a soft dark chocolate ganache!
I hope you are ready for a ton of photos! I wanted to show the process as much as possible and show you all the yumminess of this dessert! Because seriously, this dessert is the bomb.
These chocolate mousse praline domes (or bombes) might look fancy and difficult to make, but they are actually quite easy! It’s a 4-step process:
- Make the aquafaba chocolate mousse and fill a silicon mold to the 3/4. Freeze until firm.
- In the meantime, you prepare the vanilla sponge cake that will make the base of the domes. Cut with a cookie cutter to the size of your domes and set aside.
- Dollop a tablespoon of praline butter on top of the frozen chocolate mousse. Top with a round of vanilla cake, and freeze until firm.
- Finally, you prepare a two-ingredient ganache and pour it over the domes to glaze. Then you can keep it in the refrigerator until ready to serve!
The chocolate mousse requires only two ingredients: aquafaba and dark chocolate. Aquafaba is the magical ingredient that gives the mousse its light texture. You start by whipping it to stiff peaks using an electric mixer and then fold in the melted dark chocolate. Whipping the aquafaba can take up to 5-6 minutes, so be patient! I recommend adding a pinch of xanthan gum or cream of tartar before whipping. It usually speeds up the process.
If you live in Europe and/or have access to tonka beans, feel free to add a pinch of ground tonka (about 1/16 tsp) to the chocolate mousse. It adds a delicate almond and vanilla flavor with hints of caramel. I know tonka bean is illegal in the US, so I’m not responsible if you get caught trying to get it on the black market. You’ve been warned. Anyway, here is a substitute: use 1/8 tsp almond extract and 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. This is totally optional; don’t worry if you leave it out.
Once your chocolate mousse is fully combined, you transfer it to the mold. I used two 6-cavity half spheres silicon mold. I don’t recommend using a metal mold, as you will have trouble unmolding the domes.
Then, freeze until firm, about 2 hours. In the meantime, we will prepare the vanilla cake that will make the base of our domes. The vanilla cake is gluten-free, moist, and very soft thanks to the main ingredient: almond flour. It adds another layer of texture to this dessert.
The batter is easy: combine the dry ingredients, pour the wet ingredients, and mix until combined. To bake, you can pour the batter into a 10-inch round cake, or simply spread it into a circle of the same size on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 20 minutes before cutting into discs.
Once your chocolate mousse domes are frozen, it’s time to top them with a generous dollop of praline butter. I knew this Maple Praline Butter was not going to stay in my cupboard for long. If you have never tried praline paste/butter, it has a consistency similar to peanut butter but tastes just like caramelized nuts with a delicate vanilla flavor.
To close our domes, we will top the praline butter with a disc of vanilla cake, press down slightly, and freeze again for another 2 hours.
Finally, once the domes are frozen and completely firm, you glaze them with a two-ingredient chocolate ganache. The glaze just requires almond milk and dark chocolate and will firm up as soon as it hits the frozen domes, so work fast! Your chocolate mousse bombes are now done. For the decoration, you can top the domes with chopped nuts, chocolate shavings, or sprinkles!
Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to make sure the chocolate mousse is firm enough.
These chocolate mousse domes are so light and airy that they will disappear in no time! They make the perfect dessert for a date night, and I swear your guests won’t believe it’s vegan!
Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe!
Chocolate Mousse Praline Domes (Vegan + GF)
Ingredients
Chocolate Mousse
- 1/2 cup aquafaba (from one 15-ounce can chickpeas)
- 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1/8 tsp xanthan gum or cream of tartar, optional
- optional add-ins: 1/8 tsp almond extract, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Praliné
- 10-15 tbsp praline paste
Vanilla Cake
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup tapioca starch
- 1/4 cup brown rice flour
- 3 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax seeds mixed with 3 tbsp water)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Glaze
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- 3/4 cup almond milk
Instructions
Chocolate Mousse
- Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler. Once fully melted, remove from heat and let cool about 5 minutes.
- If you haven't already, drain the chickpeas from the can and reserve the juice (aquafaba). Place the aquafaba into a large mixing bowl. Add the xanthan gum and optional add-ins: almond and vanilla extract. Using an electric whisk, whip the aquafaba on high speed until stiff peak forms, about 3-5 minutes. You should be able to turn the bowl upside down without the aqufaba losing its shape.
- Pour the melted chocolate on the whipped aquafaba. Using a spatula, carefully fold the melted chocolate into the aquafaba until fully combined. Do not overmix, stop as soon as it's combined and no white parts remain.
- Fill the cavities of two half circles silicone molds 3/4 full, you will fill about 10 cavities (see notes if you have only one mold). Use the back of a spoon to slightly flatten the top. Transfer to the freezer and freeze until hard, at least 2 hours. You will have chocolate mousse batter left, just transfer it to ramequins and place in the refrigerator. Dessert bonus. In the meantime, prepare the vanilla cake.
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 10-inch cake pan (or springform pan) with parchment paper. As an alternative, you can simply line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the almond flour, tapioca starch, brown rice flour, coconut sugar, baking soda and baking powder.
- Add the almond milk, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, flax egg, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
- Transfer the batter to the cake pan. If you are using a baking sheet, pour it in the middle and slightly flatten to make a round of about 10-inch.
- Bake for 20 minutes and let cool completely. Cut cake discs the same size of the domes and set aside.
Assemble
- Remove the silicon mold from the freezer, don't remove the domes from the mold yet.
- Dollop about 1 to 1 and 1/2 tablespoon of praline butter on top of the frozen chocolate mousse. Top with a disc of vanilla cake and press down slightly. Repeat with the remaining discs. Place in the freezer for another 2 hours.
- After two hours, prepare the chocolate ganache glaze: Place the chocolate chips in a small bowl and set aside. Heat the almond milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Once very hot (just before boiling), remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips. Let sit 1-2 minutes and whisk until fully combined.
- Remove the mold from the freezer and unmold the frozen domes. Place them on a grid or rimmed baking sheet.
- Pour the chocolate glaze over the domes to coat them completely. Top with chopped nuts, or dark chocolate shavings. Wait 5 minutes and carefully transfer the domes to serving plates. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.
- Chocolate mousse domes will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
You state that: Chocolate mousse domes will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. My question is: Can they be frozen too? Thanks.
Yes, they can be frozen. Just put them in the freezer as soon as you have glazed them. Then let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Wow these look incredible! One thing I really miss since going vegan is a chocolate mousse cake that was my absolute favorite that we bought for every birthday, and any time I was craving it. This looks like it could be a suitable replacement! Thanks so much for this recipe, I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks for your message Jayme! Hope you will like these!
I swear you are a magician. Bravo! These look stunning. I want that mousse like yesterday.
Thank you Dana! 🙂
These look so amazing, I love all the images with the step by step instructions….this is such a creative recipe
Glad you like it Albert!
Love the ingredients you used for the mousse! Such a delicious looking dessert!
Thank you Bethany!
These mousse domes look amazing! I can’t believe they are vegan! I made some salted caramel mousse domes a few months ago, but now I will definitely need to try these! Thanks for sharing!
Let me know if you try these! I love salted caramel too 🙂
Hi Thomas,
Wow, amazing recipes, one after another!
One question can I substitute regular dark chocolate bar in pieces for the chips? Or will the chips work best in the recipe?
Thank you
Susana
Hi Susana,
Thanks so much 🙂 Sure! You can use dark chocolate pieces, just make sure to use a similar amount. Using dark chocolate bars will actually make the chocolate mousse even more chocolatey if you go for a 70%+ dark chocolate 😉
What a stunning dessert. It does take a bit of time but so worth it and because they can be made ahead or frozen perfect for getting ahead of the game. My husband who is not vegan was blown away by the taste and wanted a second serving. I was able to make twelve domes with one good serving of mousse (or two small) left over. When I tasted the leftover portion after a few hours in the fridge was really distressed because the mousse was grainy – I obviously had not let the chocolate cool enough so the chocolate seized when I added it to the aquafaba. I continued regardless and when we had the finished product could not even notice the grainy mousse. Outstanding dessert – especially for a special occasion. Thomas, you are a genius! This is now one of my new signature desserts!
Thanks again for your feedback and kind words Christine!
You are right, it’s not a 5-minute dessert but I also think it’s worth it. I’m super happy to hear you, and particularly your husband apparently, liked this recipe!
Regarding the grainy texture, it also happened to me a few years ago when I made my first (non-vegan) mousse. The problem can be both: too cold or too hot melted chocolate. If the chocolate is too cold it can also cause a grainy texture as it will set very quickly.
Wow! They look beyond amazing <3
Thank you Taruna!
Hi, I have one problem so i am every nervous about that so please help me..when i make chocolate mousse dome its never remove perfectly frome the mould it stuck in the mould that why my dome doesn’t look good as looking masses…so what should i do?? is mould little grees to oil??so that it remove perfectly…please reply me thnks
Hi,
Can I ask you what kind of mold you are using? Is it silicon molds?
Hi Thomas, I had the same problem, I am using silicon moulds and it was impossible to get even 1 dome perfectly shape… I left them in the freezer overnight… what do you think is the problem?
Hi Alejandra,
I am not quite sure to understand, you are not able to remove the chocolate mousse domes from the silicon mould, even after freezing?
Maybe try greasing a little bit your mold before.
I tried it!! I was wondering about aquafaba for long time. I used my aquafaba and it worked beautifully.
I am glad to find your recipe. Going try other recipe as well when I can.
I add a small amount of sea salt to make a balanced recipe as Macrobiotics. ☺️
Amazing! Thanks for your rating Mayumi 🙂
Hi, Im from CA, how do we get aquafaba? When you say its from chickpea can i make it from scratch? And how forgiving is this recipe? And what is the xantham gum for and whats the risk of not using it. My Baby is allergic to gluten egg dairy and soy
You get aquafaba when you buy a can of cooked chickpeas, it’s the brine.
Xanthan gum makes the whipping process a bit faster, but it’s totally optional! I don’t always use it and still get great results.
Hello! Ive made your praline domes today and i have a question i whipped up the aquafaba, that worked really well, melted the chocolate and then i made whats called to temper it where i live. Means i put a tbsp of aquafaba into the chocolate, tried to mix it to transfer it to the rest of the aquafaba afterwards. Only thing that didn’t work as expected is that the chocolate got really hard at this point, as if I’d burned it or added water. These kind of mistakes have ruined my aquafaba mousses not for the first time so I wanted to ask if you had any advice? Also want to mention making the praline butter was such a great experience
Hi Maja,
You don’t have to temper the chocolate here, and you should not try to mix it with some liquid before. Pour it slowly over the whipped aquafaba while still mixing with a spatula.
I freeze and then take out for a special treat! Decadent and delicious! It’s now my go to for a special occasion or holiday!
Thanks for your rating Mindy! 🙂
Hi! This looks great!
If i were to make the cake base Gluten full, how much flour should i use?
I really want to make this but lack the brown rice/almond flour, etc…but have lots of all purpose flour 🙂
Thanks in advance
Hi Maria,
I’m afraid I haven’t tried this recipe with all-purpose flour, so it’s hard to say. Plus almond flour brings moisture to the cake.
I doubled the chocolate mousse recipe hoping to have enough to make 18 domes, but found that I ran out by the time I got to 12. I whipped the aquafaba up right and the peaks were STIFF as they should have been, so i’m really not sure what went wrong there…
Also, make ABSOLUTELY SURE you have a very heavy duty food processor before you try making your own praline butter. I nearly lost my beloved Kitchenaid Food Processor on this recipe.
The flavors involved are delicious but since I have less than I hoped to make for a small birthday party, i’m not sure the final product was as stunning as I had hoped.
Well, it really depends on the size of your molds. Depending on the brand some may be smaller or larger.
Regarding the praline, you can use a blender if you have a powerful one. I always make praline in my blender now and it works perfectly!
Am I able to substitute dark chocolate for a milk chocolate?
Sure!
Hi, I tried making the mousse but after adding the melted dark chocolate to the aquafaba, the aquafaba deflated.I had whipped up the aquafaba to stiff peaks and had cooled down the chocolate. It became like a liquid. Can you tell me what might have happened and where did I go wrong? Thanks
Hi Richa,
After folding in the melted chocolate, the mixture should be pourable. Not exactly liquid, but definitely not as firm as the whipped aquafaba, so that is normal.