5-ingredient Piña Colada Mousse is a gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free tropical treat that can be prepared the night before.
Heath and I took off a couple weeks ago for Spring Break and it was one I didn't know how much I needed. The nonstop pace that this year has brought came to a screeching halt. This kind of sudden swing always produces a tinge of guilt in me. If I'm not doing something productive then I must be wasting time.. Ugh. Granted, I know how dearly important taking time for ourselves is to overall health. I am a huge proponent of self-care and yet, at times, the worst offender of ignoring all things related to caring for myself.
So, we left the chilled Midwest behind for tropical temps, water, and sand. And while the warm air and sunshine did me good, it was the time the two of us got to just be together that made me keenly aware of how easily that can get lost in the shuffle.
In trying my mightiest to bring our tropical vibes home, I present to you this piña colada mousse. Taking advantage of pineapple juice's natural sweetness, I enhanced the sweet with just a bit of honey. Add eggs, coconut whipped cream, vanilla, and a touch (or more) of rum, and you've got yourself one easy dessert. The recipe calls for three tablespoons of rum which, in my best Goldilocks voice is, "Just right". Boozy but not overwhelmingly so. If rum isn't your thing, the mousse is equally delicious on it's own.
Piña Colada Mousse (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)
Ingredients
- 5 large egg yolks room temperature
- 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cans coconut milk full fat, refrigerated overnight
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract divided
- Shredded unsweetened coconut optional
- 3 tablespoons gold rum
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine pineapple juice and honey and simmer until liquid reduces (to ¾th of a cup), about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk egg yolks well. Add half of egg yolks into the saucepan in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Add the rest of the yolks, stir. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens (about 10 minutes).
- Transfer mixture to a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the mousse has cooled and is very thick. Scoop out the firmed up coconut milk from one can and place in a medium bowl. Add ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Beat with electric mixer until soft peaks form and it takes on a "whipped" appearance. Add rum to coconut whipped cream and beat until combined.
- Fold coconut whipped cream into mousse. Cover and chill mousse for at least two hours.
- Before serving, open second can of coconut milk, remove solid and place in bowl, add remaining ½ teaspoon of vanilla, and whip with electric mixer. When ready to serve mousse, top with coconut whipped cream. Sprinkle with shredded coconut if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Lori
Hi Tessa,
I tried to make this mousse, followed the recipes steps to the "T" and it was a failure! :( I don't know if it had to do with the humidity of the day, or what, but the mix never got thick, when I stirred the juice with the honey ...or when I made the egg yokes... They were so liquidy:( Then, I had my coconut milk chilled to make it whipped, and I mixed and mixed tip my arm and hand hurt, and I never got a peak. Is there anything you can help me with? I double died the recipe, so there were 10 egg yolks and when the stirring time on the stove, I had to stop stirring for seconds to get the other things...do you think I have to be stirring constantly and don't stop for even seconds?
I really want to know what went wrong, because I was so excited about making this delicious dairy-free mousse. I ended up using the mix in smoothies...
Another question: what do you know about the coconut milk fat content? The full fat, is it healthy for you even when you want to loose weight? I need to loose weight.
Thanks a lot in advance and I hope to hear from you or any other that was successful making this mousse
Tessa
Hi Lori! I'm so sorry to hear that it didn't thicken - I have never doubled the recipe before so am not quite sure what the timing adjustments would be. It is important for the juice/honey mixture to reduce, so it may take more than 5 or so minutes even for the amount of juice called for in a single batch. Using the original measurements, the 1 cup of juice/honey mixture should reduce to about 3/4th of a cup (I will make a note of this in the recipe!). For the coconut whipped cream, I have had cans in the past that were "duds" and didn't whip for me either. Luckily, they can be used in something else like smoothies. Love that you turned this into a smoothie by the way, great save! One tip that should help in whipping coconut whipped cream is chilling your bowl beforehand.
Full fat coconut milk contains "good fats" but, like with any good fat, moderation is key. Here is an article I read a while back reading coconut milk and weight loss that may be helpful: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-coconut-milk
Thanks so much for your comment - I hope this helps!
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen
These pictures are so pretty! How'd you get the background SO DARK?! This is the next photo styling trick i'm going to conquer! This mousse sounds perfectly tropical (and I hear it makes a delicious ice cream too...;)
Tessa
Hahaha, yes, it does! :) Thank you! I've been playing around with the darker photos lately, and different combinations of using a couple black boards, faster shutter speeds, and a bit of editing to accentuate the darkness. I always feel I have so much to learn! xo.
Alison @Food by Mars
Oh yes, please! This looks beautiful, Tessa! I've been sick too.. I totally hear ya!! Hope you're feeling better now.
Tessa
Thanks, Alison! Hope you are feeling better as well! Thank goodness for Spring, right?!
Christine // my natural kitchen
Tessa I can relate to these sentiments SO MUCH, and I'm so happy to hear that you got away and had the rest you needed! It creeps up on me too, and sometimes it takes a real break to make me realize how exhausted I've become. This dessert really seems like the perfect way to remember the tropics! Actually, now you have me craving these flavours - with the long weekend coming up, I hope I can get some time in the kitchen to make this! xo
Tessa
Thank you, Christine! You're so right, it often feels like it takes that break before you know how absolutely tired you are! I do hope you like the mousse if you get a chance to try it. Happy weekend!!
Christina @ Bake with Christina
What a wonderful flavor for a mousse! It's definitely getting me into the Spring mood!! :)
Tessa
I think it's going to get me through til summer! ;) Thanks, Christina!!
Heather A
I may just have to make this for our Easter. I'll let you know if I followed the directions right or if I killed everyone ha ha ha. This sounds so yummy. P.s. Rum is your sis in law's favorite drink, so you must have picked it for her ;-)
Tessa
Haha. Of course I did! ;) How did I not know that?? Please do let me know if you try it!
Kathryn
I am feeling the need for a bit of tropical sunshine and a break from the overwhelming-ness of every day life so this post was just what I needed to read this morning. This is getting made very soon.
Tessa
Aw, thanks, Kathryn. I'm glad to hear it. I hope you enjoy your long holiday weekend!! xo!
jaime : the briny
I hear you about imposing pressure on yourself to always be doing something. I'm glad you had such a nice break to reflect and refuel. This pina colada mousse is so damn clever! I love it. Cheers!
Tessa
Why do we do this to ourselves?! :)
Thanks so much, Jaime. It's Heath's new favorite, and he can be particular when it comes to sweeter stuff, so I think it's a winner! xo.