Once upon a time, centuries were distinguished in part by their fashions and interior design. Then things got faster and fashions and interior design changed every decade. Now we talk about last year’s styles, and we have added a few other fads that change just as fast – like food fads. Each new eating regime has passionate followers who fight for their beliefs. Sometimes it is an individual food which becomes the latest power food which takes over all else. At the moment, chia seeds are one of these.
Chia seeds are great for fibre (providing 38g per 100g serve). They also contain good quantities of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus and manganese. They originated from South America, where they were highly prized by Aztec groups as a source of valuable nutrition. But many other foods are just as good for us. What is special about these seeds is the gelatinous quality to them when they are soaked in liquid. This can act as a substitute for egg whites in some recipes where thickening is required – not for pavlova though. They do work quite well in mousses like in my last recipe for Chocolate Mousse Meringue Desserts so I used them again today for the mousse part of these slices. But the liquid to seeds balance is obviously important. Last week with the high cocoa content they set really well but this time the mousse was a little sloppy so I have added a teaspoon of gelatin to the recipe so it will work better for you.
For the base of this slice I used my lemon potato cake because it worked so well. And I felt the need to top it all with a little sweet smoothness in the shape of cream cheese and mashed banana. The combination of the three layers works really well.
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Blueberry Mousse Slice
Ingredients
For the cake
See the lemon potato cake here.
For the mousse
2 cups coconut cream BUY HERE
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
3 tbsp golden syrup BUY HERE
1/2 cup chia seeds BUY HERE
1 tsp gelatin (dissolved in a little hot water) BUY HERE
For the cream cheese topping
250gms/8.8ozs cream cheese
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 ripe banana
Method
For the cake
Pour the mixture into a 26cm/10″ square baking dish.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 25 minutes.
Pour the syrup over the hot cake and then cool completely.
For the mousse
Place everything in a food processor and process until combined.
Pour on top of the cooled cake.
Place in the fridge until completely set.
Cut into squares.
For the cream cheese topping
Place all ingredients into a food processor and process until smooth.
Pipe a little on top of each square.
Keep in the fridge.
It’s so true that these days time and trends pass by so very quickly. I love the look of this slice xx
I guess passing trends means some people make a lot of money out of us as we throw away the out-of-date and buy anew. It’s hard to ignore it though.
I knew chia seeds were trendy but I didn’t know about the glutinous quality. This slice sounds really good and I love blueberries.
Blueberries are one of the fruits that I can eat with few issues and fortunately I love them best of all the berries. Chia seeds are a little bit like the old-fashioned semolina – the texture is similar.
I haven’t worked with chia seeds yet. Interesting to learn about their glutinous nature – I can see where that would be useful. Great looking slice! Nice roses in the background.
They are interesting and I have rather enjoyed working with them. They will be popped into all sorts of things from now on.
Thank you for sharing informations about chia seeds, good to learn more. Color of mousse is so pretty 🙂
I love being introduced to new foods too and occasionally I meet one that becomes a staple in my kitchen. Unfortunately, chia seeds are not so cheap or I would use them a lot more.
I haven’t tried chia seeds yet but I love learning about new foods.
Give it a try. They are surprising.
Love blueberries asked my friend to get it from USA although dried ones. Lovely pics and a drooling dessert 🙂
Blueberries are one of the fruits I can eat without problems and fortunately I love them. You could probably plump up the dried ones by soaking them in liquid and then they would work in a dessert like this.
Gosh, they are screaming my name! You make Gluten Free recipes look effortlessly delicious! 🙂
http://www.prettybitchescancooktoo.com
Successful gluten-free dishes take a lot of experimentation to get right. There are a lot of gluten-free recipes on the internet that don’t work at all so it has been trial and error to sort out how to make them successful. It is a lot easier now I understand the basics of how the ingredients work together.
Love this -another lovely dessert made using blueberries!
I have never tried chia seeds but have been curious to try, didn’t realize their health benefits!
Chia seeds are both healthy and super useful for their gelatinous properties – a win/win situation.