Homemade Aquafaba
Before we get to our amazing chocolate mousse recipe, let’s get the main ingredient out of the way: Aquafaba! Even better, homemade aquafaba!Â
If you are new to the plant-based baking world Aquafaba may be a new term for you. Aquafaba is simply the liquid from cooking chickpeas/garbanzo beans. You can get Aquafaba from a can or jar of cooked garbanzo beans or you can make it yourself. This is a wonderful way to make desserts without eggs and also stay zero waste; if you buy your beans in bulk then there will be no recycling of cans to take care of! Homemade aquafaba is way easier than you ever thought!
Aquafaba FAQS
Why is Aquafaba so popular? Aquafaba is so popular because it works as an amazing substitute for eggs. After being whisked, the liquid transforms into a white cream that can be used to create mousse, cakes, meringue pies, and so much more.
Aquafaba History: Aquafaba is VERY new to the scene. It wasn’t “discovered” as an egg replacement until 2004 as was not used in high profile cooking until 2015. For a full aquafaba history run down, click here.
Nutritional Value: Aquafaba has very little nutritional value. It is low in calories (about 35 calories per cup) and offers no nutritional boost to your meals. When using Aquafaba, it is important to know that this. If you are looking to make desserts with a higher nutritional value, I would use silken tofu, avocado, etc.
Is it safe to eat??
Is it safe to eat? Â Our family will not ever use canned chickpea aquafaba for our dessert creations due to this question. I just cannot jump on the bandwagon of consuming canned liquid after research has shown, time and time again, how unsafe canned foods are. There are many hormone-disrupting chemicals used to lace the inside of cans such as…
- Bisphenol A (BPA)
- Novolac Glycidyl Ether (NOGE)
- Bisphenol S (BPS)
- Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
- Bisphenol F (BPF)
- Bisphenol A Diglycidyl Ether (BADGE)
- Pthalate Plasticizers
Even when we find companies who are free of all these, they can still produce Estrogenic Activity (EA). This is why we create our very own aquafaba at home (homemade aquafaba is wonderful!). If you are pregnant, I highly recommend staying away from Aquafaba due to the high Saponin content (see next question).
What causes the aquafaba to whip into a cream? This would be Saponins. Saponins are a toxic steroid derivative that disrupts red blood cells. Saponins, ingested in high quantities can lead to leaky gut. While consuming aquafaba once in a great while will have little effect on your body, it is important to know these facts. Too much of a good thing is usually too much. The more you know, the better!
How often do you use aquafaba? I would say that our family uses aquafaba about 3 times a month. Due to the low nutritional content, I will usually steer clear and make my desserts from chickpeas, flax meal, avocado, silken tofu, and apple sauce. A great dessert alternative would be this smoothie bowl recipe here!
Step One: Soak Your Beans (Optional but recommended)
A lot of folks find this step to be optional, but I will never skip it. I like to rinse and drain my dried beans and then soak them in water overnight.
I find that soaking helps with digestion, speeds up the cooking time and gets my beans to the absolute perfect texture and taste. If you have the time, please soak!
Your beans will expand to nearly double the size while soaking so be sure to add enough water to your bowl. Drain and rinse the beans once again before adding them to a pot of boiling water for your aquafaba creation.
Step Two: Boil and Simmer
Add your beans to a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to simmer and allow the beans to cook for about 2 hours.
The wonderful thing about cooking your beans at home is that you have full control of the texture: cook a shorter amount of time for a more al dente bean and cook longer for a softer bean. It is all up to you!
Once your beans are at the perfect texture, remove from heat and allow to sit and cool in the pot.
Once cool, go ahead and drain the liquid into a separate bowl. THIS is your Aquafaba!
Rinse and drain your beans once again and use them as is for salads OR toss them in some paprika/chili powder/salt/pepper and roast for 20-30 minutes at 400F/200C for a beautifully roasted bean.
To Store
There are two ways to store your Aquafaba when made at home:
Refrigerator: Store the aquafaba in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to a week. I have no problem using an entire jar of aquafaba within 7 days for desserts and recipe creations!
Freezer: You can store the aquafaba in the freezer in a silicone bag, ice cube tray or any freezer safe container. I really love the ice cube tray idea because it is very convenient and easy to thaw out. I have tested this and it works just as well as fresh aquafaba – do not fear freezing!
The Mousse
Now that you have your amazing homemade aquafaba ready, let’s go ahead and make some dessert!
Chocolate Mousse is one of the easiest desserts to make with aquafaba and fantastic for beginners. While an electric mixer will be an absolute gem when working with aquafaba, you can also create the perfect mousse with a hand whisk and some hard work. Your arms may be sore but it will all be worth it when you taste this amazing creation!
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 cup Aquafaba
- 140 grams of vegan chocolate chips
- 1-2 tbsp unsweetened non-dairy milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Chopped nuts and Frozen Raspberries to Top!
Instructions
- With an electric mixer (or by hand, get ready for a workout!) whip up your aquafaba until a cream is formed. The cream should be stiff. If you move the bowl to the side and the cream slides down, it is not quite there yet. Keep on mixing! If doing this by hand it will take anywhere from 15-20 minutes to create the cream. If using an electric mixer, it should take about 5-6 minutes. Good news, you CANNOT overwhip aquafaba!
- Melt the vegan chocolate chips and whisk with the non-dairy milk and maple syrup.
- Once you have a beautiful stiff cream, fold the chocolate mixture into the cream and mix well. Pour into 4 servings glasses and let sit in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours before consuming. Top with crushed nuts and raspberries.
Nutrition
This recipe was a disaster for me. The chocolate was a dry sticky mess that couldn’t be folded in. Must have done something wrong. When and where does the non-dairy milk get incorporated?
Oh no, Allen! I am so so sorry. The non-dairy milk was supposed to be mixed in once the aquafaba was whipped. My apologies, we just switched over to a new recipe plug-in and that part must have been accidentally deleted or removed somehow. If you do want to try this again, I would highly recommend adding the chocolate, milk and maple syrup into a glass jar and melting it just slightly so that it mixes into the aquafaba much better. I am fixing the instructions right now for you!