If you look at the wall of photos in our apartment you will see a few photos of Mr NQN and I growing up and some present day ones with friends and family. One thing that people love to comment on is the fact that the lanky, tall Mr NQN of now used to be the fattest, podgiest baby ever with copious rolls of fat on his arms and legs. More surprisingly was the fact that until he was about five or six years old he only drank breast milk and ate raw food. His mother delighted in the easy preparation of raw food that back then also entailed not cutting the food and eating it as whole as possible. Dinner would be presented as a whole cabbage with each child tearing off a leaf.
I told you the Elliotts were unusual didn’t I? 
Raw food isn’t quite the same today as it was back then and has thankfully gotten a lot more exciting than raw cabbage leaves or raw potatoes. I know the idea of pitching the idea of a cold dessert while we’re in Winter here may seem doomed to fail when all one wants is a pudding. But please allow me to stand at the podium and give you a hard sell. In my corner, or should I say in my kitchen at home I have Skye Craig, Masterchef Season 2′s dessert gal who wowed the hard-to-please judges with a dessert. Not only that but it was a gluten free, raw chocolate dessert made with avocado. And here she was in my kitchen to show you and I how to make it!
Skye has just launched her new range of ice creams and dessert under the name of “Wild Sugar” which are now available at Thomas Dux stores in Sydney as well as a range of stockists in Brisbane and Queensland. A former graphic artist she closed down her own business to go onto the show and pursue her dream of working in food. Her focus is on desserts with an emphasis on raw desserts and native produce and her favourite native ingredients are wattleseed and lemon myrtle.
One sunny afternoon Skye arrived at our apartment. And I should add that she’s a nice guest ignoring the mess and the boxes and boxes of things Armed with a roll of knives and all of the necessary supplies she is ready to make her famous raw dessert, a chocolate avocado mousse, said to be her signature dish and one that sums up her personality. Given how popular the raw chocolate brownies were on the blog people are becoming more curious about raw food!
A former vegan of one and a half years she now eats meat but eats raw food as much as possible. Like many she finds eating raw during the warmer months easier whilst during Winter she craves rich items like stews. And having been through the whole Masterchef process she is used to the cameras and stops and positions things for me to photograph them (a dream subject!).
“A version of this dessert saw me through the first round of auditions for Masterchef in Brisbane” she says. “Then for our signature dish for the Masterchef top 50, I created a plate with two desserts on it. The chocolate avocado mousse and Lemon Myrtle and raspberry semifreddo (made of cashew cream). This dish saw me in the top 7. There was a certain amount of intrigue with the green stuff going into the blender and then pure delight from George once he had tasted it.”
You do need a blender or food processor in order to make this (she recommends Vitamix for smooth purees) and can’t really be done without one as you won’t achieve that super smooth consistency. The flavour of this rich chocolatey avocado dessert is delicious and unusual. Like the brownies you can’t taste the avocado but it lends the mousse a creaminess along with the coconut milk. The raspberry layer adds tang although if it’s too much of a production I’m sure you could just have the nutty cashew layer at the bottom topped by the voluptuous mousse.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever tried a vegan, raw food or vegetarian diet? And did you feel better for it? Have you kept to it?
Chocolate Avocado Mousse with Raspberry Cream
Skye says: Let yourself truly indulge and delight yourself with this silken smooth chocolate mousse with raspberry. Super easy to make, all you need to arm yourself with for this adventure is a blender, a food processor and a spatula. If you’re someone like me, you may feel compelled to eat sweets every day. I have created this chocaholic style dessert for people who want a healthier option using whole ingredients that function as natural medicine for you. That way you can take care of your body while taking care of your tastebuds.
The most important thing to remember is to have fun in the kitchen. I often end up with splatters of Chocolate avocado mousse on the ceiling of my kitchen. Think decadent, think yummy, think wild! Smiles for miles x Skye
Serves 8, prep time: 30 – 40 mins
………………
For a dairy free version, just leave out the dark or milk chocolate.
Macadamia base
- 2 cups raw macadamia nuts
- 3-4 tablespoons light agave syrup or honey
Chocolate Avocado Mousse
- 4 avocadoes
- 220ml light agave syrup or honey
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 100g 70% dark Lindt chocolate or milk chocolate (whichever is your favourite)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 7-10 tbsp cacao powder please use Power Super foods cacao powder if possible (start with 5 tablespoons and then taste to see if it needs more. Varying brands are quite different in their strength)
Wild Hibiscus and raspberry cream
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 cups frozen raspberries
- 4 Nicholson’s wild hibiscus flowers (if you can’t find the flowers, just leave these out of the recipe)
- ¼ cup light agave syrup or honey
- 50ml lemon juice
- 1/2 cup fragrance free coconut oil
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 1/4 tsp celtic sea salt
Garnish
- 8 Nicholson’s wild hibiscus flowers (if you can’t find the flowers, no problem at all, just use a raspberry or chocolate shavings)
Buyer’s tips: Supermarket or farmer’s market: avocadoes, 70% dark lindt chocolate, raw macadamia nuts, frozen raspberries, coconut milk
Healthfood store: light agave nectar/syrup, fragrance free coconut oil, cacao powder
Specialty Delis and gourmet food stores: Nicholson’s Wild Hibiscus Flowers
Method
1. Garnish: Place 8 of the wild hibiscus flowers upside down on a plate and place in the freezer. The petals should be on the plate, and the base of the flower should be sitting up. This technique will freeze the flowers into lovely upright flowers so that you can use them as garnish without them collapsing.
2. Base: Pulse the macadamia nuts in a food processor. Once the nuts are about half the size of the original chunks, take half of the mix out and set aside in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of the light agave syrup and continue to process the remaining mix in the food processor until it forms a smooth paste. Pull the smooth nut mix out of the food processor and combine with the nuts set aside in the bowl.
3. Mousse: Place Lindt dark chocolate into food processor and pulse until chocolate is in small pieces. Set aside in bowl.
Combine avocadoes, cacao, agave syrup, coconut oil, in a blender until smooth, creamy. Taste and adjust if need be, as produce is always very different. If you want your mousse to be more sweet, add more agave nectar. Less sweet, more avocado. More chocolatey, add cacao powder, less chocolatey, more avocado. Fold in Lindt chocolate for the yummiest chocoholic’s dessert.
4. Raspberry Cream
Place all ingredients into Vitamix blender and blend until you have a smooth cream. Strain and set aside.
5. Serving
Using a glass slightly larger than a shot glass, place about 1 tablespoon of the macadamia base at the bottom of the glass. Smooth the mix with the back of a teaspoon.
6. Spoon the mousse on top, ensuring that the glass is almost full and smooth with the back of a spoon or give it a few taps on the bench.
7. Pour the wild hibiscus and raspberry cream over the top of the chocolate mousse.
Cover with plastic-wrap or place all shot glasses into a large plastic container with a lid and place in freezer until the desserts are cold or semi-frozen.
8. Pull the wild hibiscus flowers out of the freezer and place one on top of each dessert for a lovely garnish. This dessert is best served semi-frozen.
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78 Comments | Add your own
Wow what pretty colors! Love this and it’s so different from anything else i’ve ever tried.
They look really appetizing! Red is a nice colour.
This sounds so delicious, I love raw desserts!
Wow! Skye’s the limit in your kitchen!
The beautiful colour! It looks delicious. I do stick to a mainly vegetarian diet more out of the necessity of being on a student’s budget but meat dishes are all the more exciting when you eat them only occasionally. I am not sure I will ever be brave enough to give up dairy for a vegan diet.
That looks incredibly lovely and smooth – and raspberry and chocolate – you can’t go wrong can you? hmmm if only I wasn’t allergic to avocado….
oooh what an awesome post! Skye is truly amazing – and I love all of her beautiful desserts!
I haven’t forgotten this dessert by Skye – thank you for sharing with us. I”m intrigued too! Lucky you to have the lovely Skye in your kitchen, always thought she was lovely.
THIS LOOKS REALLY DELICIOUS!
As pretty as a picture
Looks gorgeous and too pretty to eat! I would love someone to come over and prepare food for me
I’ve never been through the vego phase love food too much that I couldn’t bear to give any of it up!
I’ve never tried a vegan/raw/veg diet – I enjoy meat too much. I think I could stick to it though – there are a lot of options! Skye’s dessert looks amazing!! So delicious. Her hair is awesome too
Heidi xo
What a delicious dessert. And how nice to be able to be good to your body, while spoiling it at the same time.
How good is her hair???
I’ve made this dessert and it is delicious. Such a wonderful combination of flavours.
I love vegetarian food. I tend to eat a lot of vegetarian meals in my diet but I don’t think I could completely survive without meat. Not sure of the difference it’s made to my well being. It surely doesn’t help that I’m doing no exercise at all at the moment.
P.S How exciting that she was cooking it in your kitchen! She is one of my fav contestants from last season.
I remember watching Skye create that dessert on MasterChef and have wanted to try it since.
Thanks for posting this, it looks and sounds so healthy AND indulgent!
I am rather intrigued by this recipe. I have a fresh avocado sitting on the bench. I think it’s saying ‘make me into chocolate mousse tonight.’ Must obey the avo!
I’ve never tried vegan, vegetarian or anything like that. I love meat too much.
I met Skye at the MasterChef Live last year. Her desserts are just delicious. You dont feel as bad eating them. I have a lot of friends that are on gluten free diets this dessert looks easy enough to make at home.
I have wanted to try this since i saw it on masterchef! Looks delicious!
I was vegetarian until i fell pregnant. I started craving meat!!! My first meat meal was bacon, with my eggs in the morning!
So I gave in, and now eat a really good steak or burger etc a couple times a week, and I’m loving it. Im not sure what I’ll do when ive had the baby yet…
Those are gorgeous little glasses of mousse, and the chocolate-avocado with raspbery cream sounds amazing. Maybe it’s just me, but as I watch the current US version of Masterchef, I can’t help feeling the Aussie version is much better, from the stuff I’ve heard about it..like making Zumbo’s V-8. They would never have them attempt anything like that in the US version.
I have been vegetarian, and still it mostly vegetables with small portions of chicken and fish. I do try to have 1 serve of red meat per week for the iron, mainly in the form of bolognaise sauce or stirfry.
I wander in and out of attempted vegetarianism, but I’m too prone to have a drink too many and scoffing the leftover sausages at a BBQ
My partner and I were invited to a vegan pot-luck once. Which was fine, but it was also coffee-, alcohol-, sugar- (including honey, of course), gluten- and capsicum-free! I tried making a sorbet out of nothing but pineapple juice. It was horrible. It also lives in infamy as the night my partner discovered an intolerance to eggplant. His mouth was burningly itchy for the whole night.
I saw this recipe on Masterchef and although I haven’t tried it, I’ve been adding raw avocado to our breakfast smoothies since (banana, milk, cocoa and that’s it). Mr Chipconnoisseur has been none the wiser, but the avo gives our smoothies a lovely creamy texture and good fats. That’s raw food right? Thanks for sharing and how great to have had Skye in your kitchen!
Oh I loved this dish when I saw her make it on Masterchef! I always wanted to try it. I’ll def have to give it a go.
I try and buy free range whenever possible though to ensure they’ve had a happy life
I wanted to be a veggie but I couldnt handle not eating meat
This will go down in my recipe books as having one of the most unusual ingredient lists ever! Curious to the max – will truly have to try! I believe in balance in food and abhor ‘diets’!
! Loving meat, I have yet made sure in the past few years to have two-three mains a week of vegetarian food, usually Mediterranean or Indian in origin – in the summer months quite a lot of it being in the raw form. Feel very virtuous afterwards, thumbing my nose at Mrs Cholesterol! 
!
Skye was one of my favourites on the show, shame she didn’t last that long but it’s good that she’s going extremely well after she has left! I still have to make my way over Thomas Dux to try some of her desserts..
What a joy for you to have her cooking over at your place. Thanks for sharing this with us. It looks great!
I love vegetarian food- it goes great with steak!
I’m definitely a carnivore, but like to try new foods and ideas, and I’ll make this yummy dessert for a vegan dinner I’m doing for 35 soon. I don’t think I could give up meat,my choices are limited enough and at least this way if I can’t find anything on a menu that’s suitable for my InTolerances I can just order a plain steak.
I was a vegetarian for many years, and I’ve got to say, reintroducing meat into my diet really made me feel a lot better. It’s hard to get the same level of satiety that meat gives you, and a lot of the vegetarian proteins are difficult to eat large enough quantities of in a variety. I found that no matter how much I cooked out of veggie cookbooks or how much I practiced, my diet was always a little carb heavy.
Switching to meat eating got rid of my “skinny-fat” body type, smoothed out some curves, and gave me a lot of energy!! Also, raw is cool…but cooking, so good!
Mmmm, chocolate and avocado mousse sounds fantastic – and me having an avocado languishing in my fruit bowl and all …
YUUUUMMMMMM this looks avoamazing
Can’t wait to try it!!
I tried an avocado mousse once before and it was a disaster, maybe I will have to give this one a go.
I bet Skye’s book is fabulous! I love creative raw food desserts – thanks for sharing her with us
I sampled something very like this dessert when Skye had a stall at the Northey St farmer’s markets – delicious! I’ve never been tempted to go vegetarian, but I have definitely reduced my meat intake and most days I try to eat vegetarian until dinner time at least.
Oooh, how fun, Lorraine! Love the look of this beautiful mousse and it looks like you girls had so much fun making it!
Oh yes I did. From as young as I remember I wanted to not eat meat. (I was okay with eggs and milk, but perhaps that was because we had our own chooks and cows who seemed perfectly happy. Only a few cows at a time, not a proper farm).
Mum refused to let me be vegie/vegan at home, but as soon as I left home I was, and for many years after.
Occasionally I ate meat whilst travelling and living overseas, because it was easier and cheaper, and I enjoyed it, and told myself it was ok.
It was only when I was pregnant and severely anaemic that my then hubby forced me to eat meat again. I started to like it. (Cringe). I ate it a lot when the kids were young, but basically I’m mostly vegie now. Mostly, because I don’t have the money to ensure I eat a good enough diet without meat occasionally, and also because my kids love meat, even though they know where it comes from. They view it as the circle of life, and as a single Mum, it’s easier to ensure they get their good stuff via meat at least a few times a week than forcing them to go vegie. They understand I hardly ever eat it (I will eat it, for example, if we’re visiting my parents, who just can’t get their heads around no meat).
They know I prefer not to eat it, but I will cook it for them if I know it has been killed humanely, and they will eat it.
I heart being a veggie! I haven’t eaten meat for five years now, and didn’t even crave it when I was pregnant, like some do.
Veggie food can be seriously awesome. and it’s my life’s work to make it accessible to everyone… I’m a tofu-free zone
I tasted some of Skye’s Wild Sugar range last year at the MasterChef Live- very good!
Today I can’t go past those spoons though, someone in my family had them about 25 years ago, they are beautiful…will have to do some hunting.
Ooops, this reminds me that a made a raw key lime tart last November that I still haven’t blogged! I absolutely love the look fo this, and am wriggling in envy that Skye’s range isn’t available in Canberra
The presentation look amazing! I can’t imagine having avocado with chocolate but I guess there’s no time like now to try! I bet it makes it smooth and creamy. Thanks for sharing!
yum! that looks delicious! Have been meaning to try a avo/choc mousse recipe I saw a while ago, love the extra layers too!
I try to eat raw as regualarly as possible, winter is just so hard to eat cold/just warm food tho
…I’m sorry….I couldn’t get past the “breast milk until 6 years old” bit!! Errm…
I have been Vegan on and off for a number of years, but am now mostly Vege with dairy and eggs added. I haven’t eaten meat for about 15 years and certainly don’t miss it. Being Gluten Free is actually the harder challenge when eating out, but I’m quite used to it when cooking at home, as there are so many good GF products.(but still SO expensive!) Thanks for this dessert! Skye certainly looks the picture of health and beauty!!
Gorgeous…have done the raw food thing before, and of course, Thermomix is just as good (if not better) than Vitamix in such instances! (Plug, plug!
)
That is totally wild about Mr. NQN’s upbringing on breast milk and raw veggies. Now, that’s what I call unorthodox. But seems to have worked wonders since he ended up marrying someone who cooks as wonderfully as you do and who has such an appetite for life.
Such beautiful desserts! I love raw desserts more than regular ones,they are so tasty! And interesting to hear that your husband was raw as a young child (and still pudgy;D) I used to be totally vegan but now eat fish too (no meat though) and sometimes eggs and dairy,but mostly raw food,especially when the weather here is warm.
My mouth is positively watering at the thought of combining rich, bittersweet chocolate with the equally rich and bittersweet avocado.
Alas, my own personal vegetarian experience was a nightmare and a half! I went vegan for three months in college, and – horrors! – my hair began to fall out and I ended up looking paler than a sheet. Since then, I’ve been completely omnivorous.
I could never be a vegan and I don’t see the point.
I’m sold, this look delicious!
This looks amazing I cant wait to try it myself!
What an original and unusual mousse! I bet it tastes lovely.
Cheers,
Rosa
lovely colors, and a lovely recipe! i’ve only had avocado/choc mousse once but it was delish.
i’ve never stuck to a vegan or totally veg diet, but i love my vegetables + soy products and incorporate them into my diet. i just think if you eat whole foods and get rid of most of the nasty processed stuff, you’re on the way to healthy living.
If I hadn’t already tried and loved Avocado icing I would be all meh.
I think I might have to try this.
Wow! I haven’t tried raw food much, because my stomach wouldn’t approve, and I love meat to much to give it up, but I enjoy the challenge of cooking/baking for friends who are coeliac or vegans.
It just looks too perfect to eat! I did the token teenage-girl-tries-to-go-vegetarian thing and lasted about a week I’d say… I’m a carnivore, I can’t function without meat!
haha breast-feed until 4-5 years old is pretty common in my family! I know weird right. I managed nearly 2 years with my kids and that was enough. I have no idea how my (hippy) mother breast-feed 5 kids for at least 2 years each (with the last two kids nearing 4-5 years!) Ekk.
I’ve been vegetarian my whole life, and couldn’t imagine it any other way. Since becoming gluten and mostly dairy-free since having kids with allergies I have come to love raw food, especially desserts. They are an amazing alternative to dairy-laden treats.
Life’s too short to give up any type of food. Variety is the spice of Life!!
That might be the prettiest dessert i’ve ever seen
And no, I could never be vegan or vegetarian. I couldn’t forego a great steak & definitely not dairy (even though i’m lactose intolerant!)
Stunning. And easy. As I live in Mexico, the land of avocados and hibiscus flowers, I will definitely be making this!
Really extraordinary dish… I can’t say that I have ever thought of avocado and chocolate before but… it looks amazing. What a creative chef she is.
Wow i dont think i’ve ever had EXTREME raw food like that! It’s funny though cos you dont think you would miss something much but when I was sick and wasn’t allowed raw food (eg salads) for weeks ALL i was craving was a raw lettuce leaf to munch on and I wasn’t allowed that! I can’t imagine a raw cabbage as a meal lol… poor Mr NQN!! (unless he liked it of course!)
thank you for sharing. It’s almost too stunning to devour, almost! love the combo of avocado,choclate, nut and berries! goregous pics!
sweetlife
Great post and good ideas for a series of Latin inspired desserts I working on cheers.
Actually, it’s just getting warm enough here to justify some frozen desserts…
I’ve had avocado/chocolate combos before in restaurants and just loved them….
This looks amazing!!
This looks like such a wonderful dessert. I especially like the hibiscus flower garnish – so pretty! I’m not a fan of raw foods but I’d definitely try this one.
While I am not a fan of extreme diets I do enjoy a wide variety of foods and do enjoy raw, vegan and vegetarian foods. I’m just not one to stick to one kind of diet. I believe in all things in moderation.
What a truly beautiful dessert and it makes me want to finally make a dessert with avocado! Oh I was vegetarian in college. Can’t remember how I felt but I did fall in love with organic/healthfood stores.
Can you please ask Skye for some of her recipes using lemon myrtle I just love it but need more inspiration/guidance!!
OMG – yum! I am definitely going to make this one!
And how pretty is Skye’s hair!
Woww…they look absolutely delicious! I’m not one to stay away from cold things during Winter, if it’s nice, I’m right on it!
How lucky of you to have Skye in your kitchen as well, I loved Skye’s cooking
I have tried being on one diet before which consisted of just..raw tomatoes. But sadly that didn’t last long. I’m too much of a meat eater to ever try one of those again
This looks so good and guilt-free. It looks so healthy I almost want to rub it into my skin and give myself a facial with it.
I could never be a true vegan, I can live without eating eggs but I can’t live without eating cake (good cake with real eggs!).
This looks gorgeous, healthy and sounds amazing! I really do want to try it! I have never tried a specialized diet.
I have made avocado pie and we love it, though it uses sweetened condensed milk:)
The “Chocolate Avocado Mousse” is so fabulously pretty, pink, & perfect. So beautifully feminine
I enjoyed watching skye on masterchef because she wasn’t just your regular meat and butter and sugar type! have been wanting to try avocado and chocolate mousse since seeing it on a blog ages ago and never tried – I love the addition of raspberry cream – esp since I now have a mini blender that might make cashew cream better than my food processor
Now that’s my idea of “good for me”. Wish I could let Skye loose in my kitchen, Oh what fun we’d have
WOWOWOWOW Skye was in ur kitchen ?
How cool is dat !
The chocolate avocado mousse sounds so dreamy and love Mr.NQN’s story , so cuteeee!
The chocolate avocado combination has always been interesting. It totally works, but if you didn’t trust that the outcome would be OK, you would never believe it possible. Good one!
what a gorgeous presentation of a really appealing dish! i’ve never tried any of those diets, and i doubt i ever will. i’m glad the people who opt to do so can have tasty treats too!
I liked Skye when I saw her on Masterchef, she was definitely very good with desserts! I love how she used hibiscus flowers in the dessert.. I was wondering why the chocolate mousse was pink!
p.s. Any chance of you meeting Poh, or even Isabella/Sofia?
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