Key Lime Mousse with Coconut-Almond Crumble

Baking with fruit is an excellent way to start out the summer. It adds nutrients and fresh flavor to your goodies. I love citrus and wanted to try something new, so I changed this recipe for lemon cream pie filling into a key lime mousse. I had to call three stores before I found key limes, but they’re not uncommon. The recipe is originally from an online cookbook called Desserts of Vitality: Extraordinary Non-Dairy Desserts by Mark Foy. This cookbook is full of recipes using ingredients your body needs for energy that have a low-glycemic index, so your body burns the calories more slowly and you don’t get a sugar high and then crash. Instead of pie crust, which can be difficult to form with ingredients like almonds and coconut, I created a crumbly top and bottom crust for the mousse. I altered a coconut cookie recipe and used it as the crumble. The finished product is sweet and tangy with a very smooth creamy filling and satisfyingly crunchy layers. Yay for summer!

For mousse:

¾ cups apple juice

1 ½ T key lime zest

¾ cups key lime juice

¾ cups brown rice syrup

¼ cup maple syrup

1 pinch salt

1 T agar flakes

 

3 T tapioca, finely ground

½ cup water

 

12.3 oz low-fat extra-firm silken tofu (1 aseptic box)

 

Garnish:

1 t lemon zest

slices of key limes

1 T mint leaves

For crumble:

1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

½ t salt

1 cup Earth Balance, softened

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

½ cup soymilk (I used almond milk instead)

1 T key lime juice

1 T vanilla extract

¾ cups rolled oats

¾ cups almonds, partially ground in food processor

1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

For mousse:

Key limes are tiny and the juicing and grating is labor-intensive, but the delicious flavor is worth it! I cut each in half and juiced it by hand, scraping the pulp into the measuring cup with the edge of the measuring spoon. To grate the zest, I put each folded half of lime into my Zylis cheese grater and grated it, not squeezing too hard. I found this to be much easier than hand-grating each lime half, as they are so small.

Combine apple juice, lemon zest and juice, brown rice and maple syrups, and salt in small saucepan and sprinkle agar flakes over the mixture. Heat gently over low heat, stirring often with a whisk.

 

If tapioca is not yet ground, grind it well in a food processor. Mix tapioca with water in small container.

 

After juice mixture has heated for about 10 minutes, add tapioca mixture and cook a few minutes, until slightly thick.

Add tofu to saucepan and blend with a small hand blender until very smooth. You can also transfer entire mixture to a food processor, but it may be messy and mixture is still hot.

 

Transfer to a glass baking pan and set on counter to cool. Once room temperature, chill mousse in refrigerator for at least a few hours. Mixture can sit overnight.

 

Mousse chillin’ in the fridge waiting to thicken!

For crumble:

Combine dry ingredients.

Grease baking pan with canola oil

Cream Earth Balance with sugar until light and fluffy

 

Beat in soymilk, lime juice and vanilla

Mix dry ingredients with creamed mixture

 

Stir in oatmeal, almonds and coconut

Spread dough in thin layer on baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until just browned

To assemble:

Cookie crumble can be warm from the oven or cooled. Break up cookie into crumbles and spoon into individual bowls. Scoop mousse on top of crumble, then add another generous layer of crumble on top. Add two thin lime slices and a pinch of mint leaves to each bowl for garnish

This recipe is a bit messy but delicious!