Have I mentioned I love Valentine’s Day and this vegan chocolate strawberry trifle? Not for the mushy gushy, but for the sweets. That is one of the few days in the year it is perfectly acceptable to eat all the desserts without too much guilt. That said, I really tend to overdo it on sweets. Not just on the days where it’s acceptable, but on a pretty regular basis. That’s why I tried to come up with some healthier alternatives to these super high sugar desserts. Today’s edition is a yummy vegan chocolate strawberry trifle for four (or two big ones, I’ll leave that up to you!).
Now if you have ever met my husband, and get on the subject of Valentine’s day, you’ll likely hear the story about how he got me these chocolate dipped strawberries special ordered to my house, and after eating 2 or 3 of them, they sat in the fridge until I threw them away. That was a LONG time ago, and if they were in my fridge now, they wouldn’t last. A switch went off and I found a new love of the pairing of berry and chocolate, and this recipe is no exception. I do want to point out that the vegan mousse is made with tofu and it does taste slightly different than a typical mousse. You can always substitute a dairy mousse in place of the tofu mousse, but I like using tofu for the added protein.
What you’ll love about the vegan chocolate strawberry trifle?
- It’s a vegan dessert that’s delicious! This dessert doesn’t skimp on flavor.
- It’s packed with protein. Not many desserts out there can pack over 17 grams of protein per serving! And if you eat this in two servings instead of four, it packs a balmy 34 grams per serving!
- Curb appeal. This dessert looks like one from Sugar Rush or Great British Baking Show. Seriously, my decorating abilities are about as terrible as it gets. If I can make them look halfway pretty, so can you.
How to make these trifles?
Make the Strawberry Mousse.
- Add the tofu and strawberries to a blender or immersion blender and blend until smooth.
- Mix in the lemon juice, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Continue to blend until it’s all mixed well and smooth.
- I like to give it a taste and make sure it’s sweet enough. We don’t like our stuff overly sweet, but feel free to add more maple syrup and or strawberries.
- Place in an air tight container and chill for at least two hours.
Make the chocolate cashew cream.
- Soak cashews for at least 2 hours. Whole cashews take longer than the halves and pieces. They should be somewhat soft and easily break when pressure is applied.
- Drain the water and dump the cashews in the blender.
- Add half the water and blend until smooth.
- Check the consistency, if it’s too thick, add more water and continue blending until it’s around the thickness of a smoothie or milkshake.
- Add the cocoa powder and sugar and continue to blend.
- Give it a taste to make sure it’s sweet enough for you, you can always add extra sugar to sweeten it up.
- Place in an airtight container and store in the fridge until you dish up.
Assembly of the vegan chocolate strawberry trifles.
- Crush two full sheets of graham crackers and split it between serving bowls.
- Next scoop some of the mousse over the graham crackers.
- Place some of the sliced strawberry over the mousse. Then spoon the cashew cream over the strawberries. Repeat until the glasses are full.
- Refrigerate until serving. They should be served cold, think of these as ice cream. You wouldn’t eat warm ice cream!
Serve this after you enjoy a delicious pomegranate holiday salad. These are light salads that are so delicious, but won’t leave you too full for dessert!
Valentine’s Day Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Trifle
Ingredients
- 5 graham crackers (whole sheets)
- 8 strawberries
Vegan Strawberry Mousse
- 1 block of silken firm tofu
- 3/4 cup fresh strawberries
- 3.5 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
Chocolate Cashew Cream
- 1/2 cup cashews (soaked)
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
Vegan Strawberry Mousse
- Add the tofu and the strawberries to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add the lemon juice, maple syrup, and vanilla extract.
- Continue to blend until smooth.
- Place into an airtight container and chill for at least 2 hours prior to serving.
Chocolate Cashew Cream
- Soak the cashews for 2-3 hours or until they are easily broken with a squeeze.
- Drain the cashews and dump into a blender with half of the water water.
- Blend until smooth. Add more water until you get the desired consistency. I get thicker cream when I use whole cashews than pieces or halves so I adjust the water slightly. It should be thick, similar to a smoothie or milkshake consistency.
- Add the cocoa and sugar. Continue to blend until smooth. If it’s too thick, add more water until you get the desired consistency.
- I like to taste mine to make sure it’s chocolatey and sweet enough. It will be with the other elements but it’s easier to adjust if it’s still in the blender.
- Scoop out of the blender and store in an air tight container until serving.
Assembling the Vegan Chocolate Strawberry Trifle
- Crush 2 graham crackers. Split and place in the bottom of serving glasses.
- Next spoon a layer of the strawberry mousse over the graham crackers.
- Layer it with some sliced strawberries.
- Then spread some chocolate cashew cream over the strawberries.
- Repeat, layering the graham crackers, mousse, strawberries, and chocolate cream until the serving glasses are full.
- Refrigerate until chilled or place in the freezer for about 20 minutes. These should be served cold.
Notes
Nutrition
Let me know what you thought of these Valentine’s Day vegan chocolate strawberry trifles in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed them as much as we did!
-Cassie 🙂
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