Direction

1. Snap 80g of dark chocolate into a heatproof bowl and melt over a pan of gently simmering water until smooth, stirring occasionally (or gently melt in the microwave). Remove the pan from the heat, keeping the bowl over the pan.
2. Meanwhile, halve and destone the avocados and scoop out the flesh into a food processor. (Try to remove as much of the flesh as possible, but a little left in the shell is fine).
3. You’ll now have four empty avocado skin halves. Using a clean pastry brush, brush the inside of the avocado shells with a layer of melted chocolate until evenly covered. Transfer to a tray and place in the fridge for 10 minutes until set. Repeat this process two more times, until you’ve applied three layers of chocolate. Return the tray to the fridge for half an hour, or until set completely.
4. Meanwhile, place the pan and bowl back on a low-medium heat, snap in the remaining dark chocolate and leave to melt.
5. Once melted, add the chocolate to the food processor with the cocoa powder, vanilla bean paste, maple syrup, coconut cream and a pinch of salt, and pulse for a few seconds to combine. Scrape down the sides with a spatula, then pulse again, until smooth. Scrape into a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge until needed (but no longer than 2 hours).
6. Once the chocolate shells are set, gently peel the avocado skins away from the shells and discard. Heat a tablespoon in a jug of boiling water for a few seconds.
7. Now it’s time to get a bit creative with your presentation: using the hot spoon, roll up 1 tablespoon of the chocolate mousse for each serving plate (you will end up with about half of the chocolate mixture leftover, please see tip below). Press the chocolate shells onto the mousse, filling each with a little fruit (I used halved strawberries and blueberries, orange segments and a couple of amarena cherries). Drizzle with a little of the cherry liquor, and some melted and grated white chocolate to finish, if you like.