I finally managed to whittle down my out-of-control nut butter stash to just 2 jars - 1 peanut, 1 almond (coconut butter and tahini don’t count 😉 ) but then my cupboard was looking a little bare so I had to restock again (!) and decided to do so with some of the homemade variety.
If you haven’t made your own nut butter before, I urge you to remedy that now. It’s so easy, you can control the added ingredients (most of the store-bought varieties still contain unnecessary palm oil), it’s much cheaper than buying it and roasted nuts make your house smell amazing!
Hazelnut butter is a good one to start with since hazelnuts are on the higher fat end of the nut spectrum which makes them quicker to blend and gives you a super silky end product. And remember, nuts contain the good kind of fat which is so important for both physical and emotional health, so don’t be afraid of them!
Once you’ve got a lovely jar of homemade hazelnut butter you’ll of course have to make my favourite Hazelnut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins!
But for this recipe, as mad as it might sound to some, I wanted to go chocolate-free.
I bet if you played the word association game and asked people to name the first word they think of when someone says “hazelnuts”, it would be chocolate. And you’d definitely be in the minority if you didn’t like Nutella growing up….
But, as much as I’m a fan of the chocolate/hazelnut thing, hazelnuts are amazing in their own right and other pairings are also worth exploring.
Coffee and hazelnut is another magical combination but until now I’d only had it with chocolate in the mix too, as in my Healthy Mocha-Hazelnut Shake. Another must-try!
You honestly do not miss the chocolate one bit in this recipe. The mousse is sweet and creamy, with a rich, nutty depth and kiss of caramel flavour from the coconut sugar. I didn’t want it to be too heavy so instead of going all out on the nuts, I used silken tofu as the base. You don’t taste it so don’t worry if it sounds strange!
See my Little Lemon Pots and Blueberry Coconut Cream Parfaits for other tofu desserts.
I especially love the Hazelnut-Coffee Mousse layered up with sliced bananas and chopped roasted hazelnuts for some crunch. It’s a really easy, pretty wholesome, and outrageously delicious dessert!
Ingredients
- 1 x 200g/7oz pkg Silken tofu, drained ( I use Clearspring Organic )*
- 1/4 C Roasted hazelnut butter*
- 1/4 C Coconut sugar
- 1 Tbsp Maple syrup (optional, if you like your desserts on the sweeter side)
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1 tsp Instant coffee (I used Four Sigma Foods Mushroom Coffee with Chaga & Cordyceps)
- 1/4 C Roasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
- 1 Ripe banana, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190C/400F, spread hazelnuts in a roasting dish/tray and roast for approx 10 minutes. Remove from the oven, wrap the nuts in a tea towel and rub together vigorously to remove most of the skins ( don't worry if a few don't come off). Place the skinned nuts into a food processor with a large pinch of salt and process until smooth. This can take at least 10 minutes. You will need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times at the beginning.
- Blend all ingredients in a food processor or high-powered blender until smooth. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve, spoon into small glasses or ramekins, layering with sliced banana and roasted hazelnuts if desired.
Notes
*If using unsalted hazelnut butter, add a pinch to the mousse ingredients when blending.
*If you're using a larger pkg of tofu and have some spare, try adding it to a smoothie for a creamy texture and protein boost!
Have you tried making your own nut butter yet? What’s your favourite flavour?
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yes of course you are crazy not to include chocolate
but thanks for the reminder I should try to make hazelnut butter - I have had problems finding it in the past in shops and fresh nut butter is the best - I don’t like coffee but I could imagine making this with some dried wattleseeds and maybe some grated chocolate on top 
I’ve never tried wattle seeds but just looked them up and they sound like an interesting ingredient to experiment with. I actually don’t drink coffee either but I love it in desserts. Look forward to seeing you get creative with this recipe!
Delicious! 😀 I bought a new blender especially to have a miller included so I could make my own nut butter - what a treat! Your dish looks amazing though. The second tofu is back in stock I’m rocking this 😀
Oooh, have fun with the new blender! Let me know how you like the recipe when you get to make it 😀
Oh goodness, these look incredible. Very much my kind of dessert! I obviously like hazelnuts and chocolate together too, but this sounds like a delicious alternative and a nice reason to bring hazelnut butter back into my kitchen (I also need to exercise restraint and have been on peanut butter and almond butter…and tahini and coconut butter!…for the last couple of months).
Funny that you’re the same as me with the nut butters! I think at one point I had about 15 which really was ridiculous!
Let me know if you give this recipe a try
hazelnut coffee is actually my favorite, so i can only imagine how delicious this tastes.
I’m not a coffee drinker (I just like it in desserts!) so have never tried hazelnut coffee. I adore the smell though!
I love the flavours of this mousse, it look awesome, yum!
Thanks Vicky. I’m not even a coffee drinker but I really love this mousse!
Ooh, these look divine! I absolutely love hazelnuts, they always make me feel like I’m eating chocolate for some reason - hazelnut chocolate was always my favourite.
I used to love it too! There’s actually a company called Vego which makes a seriously decadent vegan chocolate bar with hazelnuts in - it’s chunky and very sweet. Nice for a treat but I can’t handle that much sugar anymore!
Oh my god this looks incredible. I whip up tofu pudding all the time but I never put that much nut butter in — I bet that and the coconut sugar bump it up to serious dessert status!
Thanks Claryn! It’s definitely a dessert….or a very special breakfast! I wanted it to really taste of hazelnuts so used quite a bit of nut butter which of course makes it wonderfully rich too :p
that looks tasty for breakfast
I wouldn’t say no any time of the day!
Wow they looks so so good, thank you for such a lovely recipe! Any ideas what could I use instead of tofu?
Thanks Susannah
I used tofu to keep this dessert from being too rich but you could definitely use cashew cream or even coconut cream (if you don’t mind the flavour) in place of the tofu. Let me know if you give it a try!
Wow they look so so good, thank you for such a lovely recipe! Any ideas what could I use instead of tofu?
I used tofu to stop it being too rich but you could definitely use cashew cream as the base instead of tofu. I can’t think of what else would work off the top of my head I’m afraid.
I am so glad I stumbled across this recipe, it looks really tasty! I haven’t ever tried hazelnut butter before… ill have to buy some now. Any ideas where to buy it from? Thank you!
Hi Janine, glad you like the look of the recipe. I make my own hazelnut butter - instructions in the recipe!
Hiya, wondering what C stands for in a measurement, is it a Cup? I’m assuming where i’m from uses a different measuring system