Dairy-Free Irish Cream Mousse – Recreate the flavors of the beloved cream-based liqueur in this light, boozy, and airy dessert that’s perfectly dairy-free!
Every Friday my mom and sisters come to my house for lunch. Living in a house with ALL boys, it’s so refreshing to be around people who do things like occasionally wear the color pink, don’t primarily enjoy activities that involve getting sticky from head-to-toe, and enjoy chatting around the kitchen table .
Inevitably, my youngest sister (the other foodie) and I spend some time around the kitchen table talking about what we’ve recently made in the kitchen, what we’re planning on making, and more importantly, what we’re planning on eating.
A couple of weeks ago our conversation took a rather delicious turn when we started talking about how we love mousse that’s made from coconut milk. Neither of us are vegan so we just love it because it’s really good and it’s also really easy to make.
In light of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day, we both agreed that a Bailey’s Irish Cream Coconut Mouse would be AMAZING. Well… our idea was easier said than done. The challenge was that dairy is a pretty essential ingredient in Irish Cream. Fortunately coconut milk was an easy solution. I then ran into a second problem when I realized that a coconut based mousse just can’t support the liquid from Jameson Irish Whisky.
After one failed attempt that nevertheless ended in some pretty awesome adults-only fudgesicles, I decided to try giving something called aquafaba a try. After a few more tries I ended up with the perfect balance of ingredients for my mousse.
Aquafaba is the liquid that canned chickpeas are packed in. Sounds weird and a little gross, right? But did you know that you can beat it into flavorless egg-white-like peaks? I folded my whipped chickpea clouds into my dairy-free Irish cream base and then refrigerated the mixture. The end result was a boozy, airy, and completely dairy-free coconut mousse!
Dairy-Free Irish Cream Mousse
Recreate the flavors of the beloved cream-based liqueur in this light, boozy, and airy dessert that's perfectly dairy-free!
Ingredients
- 1 13.66 oz can Thai Kitchen Coconut Cream or 3 5.4 oz cans Native Forest Unsweetened Organic Premium Coconut Cream*
- 2/3 C powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1/4 C of dairy-free bittersweet chocolate (I used 69% cacao)
- 1/8 C plus 1 Tbsp Jameson Irish Whisky
- 1/2 C aquafaba (the liquid strained from a 15 oz can of chickpeas)
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- pinch of salt
- St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
- Refrigerate the coconut milk overnight. Once you’re ready to make your mousse, open the three cans of coconut cream and poke a hole through the thick coconut layer at the top of the can and drain off the liquid milky contents of the can. You will be using the thick layer. The remaining thin, milky layer may be discarded or you can drink it or use it in another recipe.
- Add the coconut cream to a chilled metal mixing bowl. Beat on medium-high speed for 5 minutes until the cream is thick. Next, add the powdered sugar and vanilla to the bowl and beat for an additional minute. Reserve 2 Tbsp of the mixture and place it in a covered container in the refrigerator to use later as the whipped cream topping.
- Place the dairy-free bittersweet chocolate in a microwave safe dish. You can use chocolate chips or a chocolate bar that has been broken into pieces. Microwave on low power for 1 minute intervals, stirring each time, until the chocolate is just melted.
- While continuously mixing, add the instant coffee to the bowl. Do the same, one at a time, with the melted chocolate and then the Jameson Irish Whisky. Continue to beat until evenly combined and then place the mixture in the refrigerator to chill while you work on the next part of the recipe.
- In another bowl beat the aquafaba, cream of tartar and a pinch of salt on medium-high speed until it triples in volume and forms stiff peaks. This will take 7-10 minutes.
- Remove the coconut cream mixture from the refrigerator and slowly fold the aquafaba mixture into it. You’ll do this by folding in about a quarter of the mixture at a time with a spatula. Fold until the aquafababa is completely incorporated, but take care not to over mix.
- Divide the mousse among 4 cups, bowls, or ramekins and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Next, transfer them to the refrigerator to chill covered for a least 1 hour but up to 5 days.
- To serve place a dollop of the coconut whipped cream you reserved earlier on top of each mousse dish and serve chilled. Garnish with St. Patrick’s Day sprinkles (optional).
Notes
*I have tested this recipe with both of these products. Note that there is a lot of variability between coconut product brands and that this recipe may not turn out if you use a brand other than the two in the ingredients list.
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I had never heard of Aquafaba before this and now I want to go home and try to whip it up just to see it work. Love learning about new things!
lol! I promise that it works!
What an awesome dessert idea for St Patricks Day! I love mousse and having the flavors of irish cream in it would be amazing!
Enjoy!
It’s hard to believe such a beautiful chocolaty dessert could be dairy free. Simply amazing! What a brilliant idea. Perfect for anyone who is dairy free.
Thanks Michelle! I’m hoping this will be helpful to people who can’t eat diary!
Bookmarking this recipe for St. Patrick’s day!! I’ve been on the lookout for a good dairy-free mousse recipe, and this one came at the perfect time. 🙂
I’m so happy to hear you found what you were looking for!
I have never heard of aquafaba ? That is so cool that it ships up like egg whites. I too love coconut milk but what I really like is chocolate mousse. Can’t wait to try this and freak everyone out with the chickpea water!
The whole chickpea water thing freaked my husband out. Once he tried it though he was a believer!
A very creative and delicious looking idea! I love the presentation too.
Thanks!
This looks sooo good! I’ve heard of aquafaba and have been wanting to try it, but fearful that it will taste like chickpeas. This recipe has inspired me to give it a try!
I couldn’t taste even a hint of chickpeas ones I mixed everything together!
These sound so delicious and the texture really is so airy and perfect! I haven’t heard of aquafaba before but it sounds awesome! I’m going to have to find some and try this!
Aquafaba is pretty fun stuff to work with!
Oooo, this looks great and I’ve been looking for a chance to use aquafaba! And the sprinkles make it so festive! A great idea for Saint Patrick’s Day!
Thanks Cleo! I hope you got to give working with aquafaba a try! It’s pretty fun stuff!
Mousse has never sounded so good! I also love coconut milk and I´m not vegan, this one is a must try! thanks for the recipe
I’m not vegan either! I just wanted to try working with aquafaba!
These are the cutest! Love those festive little sprinkles on top. I’m a huge fan of boozy desserts so this is on my must-make-ASAP list. <3
Thanks Jordan! Enjoy!
This is ingenious! I’ve heard of aquafaba but never quite had the nerve to try it out myself. I adore Baileys but as someone who is lactose intolerant, I’ve long wished there was a dairy-free version so I wouldn’t have to take pills for it. Can’t wait to try this!
What a bummer to be able to drink Baileys! Enjoy this recipe instead!
This looks really y tasty! I can’t wait to try the recipe!
Thanks Sara! Enjoy!
The sprinkles that you used are so super fun! This mousse has all my favorites in it whiskey and chocolate. Can’t go wrong!
Thanks for noticing my sprinkles! I pretty much bought them and then realized that I better develop a St. Patrick’s Day dessert to pair them with!
Now that is an idea, using the chickpea water, I used that before but only in soups or hummus. I love this kind of experiments, I should definitely give it a try.
Oooo…. In soups… that’s an idea too!
How interesting! Looks delicious!
Thank you.