Faye's Mousse Your Own Adventure Cake

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate I used Kirkland semi-sweet choc chips from Costco
• 1/2 cup vegan butter I used Nutellex
• 2 Tbsp ground psyllium husks
• Approx. 1 cup non-dairy milk for psyllium husks Psyllium-milk mixture should be runnier, not thick
• 4 Tbsp unbeaten aquafaba I used canned chickpea liquid
• 9 Tbsp aquafaba, whipped to soft peaks stage
• 1 tspn hazelnut extract (optional) use your preferred flavour and quantity
• 1 whole pre-made cake, sliced about 1cm to 1.5cm thick Must be able to make two layers in your serving dish
• 1 1/2 cup non-dairy milk for cake dipping

Directions

1. Have your preferred cake, such as a plain vegan sponge, cooled and sliced in to pieces approx. 1cm to 1.5cm thick. You need to end up with two layers of the cake slices in your serving dish. My serving dish is 22cm x 17cm and about 8cm high.
2. On a low heat, melt your chocolate and butter, frequently stirring. When melted, remove from heat and let it cool for about ten minutes.
3. While the chocolate mixture cools, beat the 9Tbs of aquafaba in a medium sized bowl. Beat until you have soft peaks, appox. ten minutes (for some people it takes longer). Set aside.
4. In a bowl, whisk together the 2Tbs of ground psyllium husk with about 3/4 cup of the non-dairy milk. It should be a little runny, not thick and requiring effort to stir. If it's not runny enough, add more non-dairy milk. Whisk until well combined (these must be ground psyllium husks).
5. Add the 4Tbsp of unbeaten aquafaba to the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine. Whisk in the psyllium husk-milk mixture until well combined.
6. Very gently fold the melted chocolate mixture (which now consists of the chocolate, butter, unbeaten aquafaba and ground psyllium mix) to the beaten aquafaba whites. Fold until mostly combined but don't stir. Also don't worry if it's not completely one colour, but try to get as close as you can. This now forms the mousse.
7. Dip cake slices in to the warmed non-dairy milk, making one layer in your serving dish. I dipped both sides of the cake for a few seconds each, though this step may ultimately be where you discover if you over or under dipped!
8. Cover the first layer of cake slices with half of the mousse mixture. Make sure everything is well covered so the first layer is even.
9. Make a second layer of dipped cake slices on top of the mousse in the dish. Top this second layer of cake with the remaining mousse. If you have too much mousse left for your serving dish, put it in a bowl and enjoy it later!
10. Cover your serving dish and leave it in the fridge for about six hours or overnight.
11. Add your choice of topping before serving (or taking it out somewhere) such as cashew cream, whipped coconut cream or whatever you've chosen for this adventure! Or you can go without a 'cream' topping and dust on some icing (confectioner's) sugar, top with sliced strawberries, whatever you please!
12. * use GROUND psyllium husks! You might need more or less of the non-dairy milk specified to get the psyllium-milk mix to be runny.
13. * As my preferred cake is already on the sweeter side, I don't need to add any other sweetener. The sweetness comes mainly from the cake but be mindful of the chocolate you use-- if you use a sweeter chocolate perhaps go for a less sweet cake. I prefer my finished product to be a little sweet, not too sweet.