Oatmeal Mousse with a surprising roasted flavor is one of the quick easy healthy desserts that you’ve been searching for!
Please note that even though oats are naturally gluten-free, a small portion of people with celiac disease still react to them: Are Oats Gluten Free. So if you know yourself to be one of the few, please don’t consider this recipe as gluten-free, even though the the recipe KEY refers to that.
I created this dessert, when I ran my first small home bakery, and I had a lot of cake orders all the time. In Eastern Europe and occasionally also in Nordic countries, it is common to have the cream layers of a birthday cake or other occasion made from vanilla-flavored whipped cream and a mix of curd or cottage cheese, layered with a cake sponge that is usually made of only eggs, sugar, and flour.
So, I often had some pastry cream left, which I sometimes used creatively. Like this time!
By the way, I also use leftover sponges creatively, but about that another time… There are countless options to make a quick comforting dessert out of sponge pieces or crumbs! The sponge doesn’t even need baking powder if the eggs were whipped for a sufficient amount of time to form a very fluffy texture.
First, let’s clarify some terminology.
CURD (aka QUARK)
Even though I just explained that this curd cream is more like an Eastern European thing — let’s remind ourselves of traditional Ukrainian curd dumplings (Vareniky), for example: Serious Eats Vareniky Recipe – I still found the best thorough explanation of the difference between CURD and YOGURT in the “Times of India”: Difference between curd and yogurt. From this article, you can also glimpse the health benefits of this lovely, naturally fermented food. By the way, I have used this site earlier too to pull out some decent and thorough food information. Overall, I’m a Nordic girl by origin, but still, it pulls me toward Asia, especially food-wise in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. My 15 years of yoga practice play a role in this for sure. But again, I’m getting too far from today’s topic—we’ll discuss Indian food another time!
Another interesting moment is that, as it is probably pretty difficult to get authentic curd in the United States, the Serious Eats makers used cottage cheese. That was strained through a sieve, achieving a curd-like texture. This is also a valid option if you do not want the cottage cheese lumps in your cream. I personally like them in this recipe, which is why I used it here. Additionally, the fact that curd is not common in most countries played a role in creating this recipe. Because cottage cheese is the next best choice. But if you can get curd, then by all means, use it!
One more great option is Ricotta. Ricotta’s consistency is very much like curd. Its taste though is rather mild and creamy, while the curd is more tangy and sour.
This Oatmeal Mousse with roasted flavor is another indulgent way to make overnight oats for breakfast. If you are patient enough to wait until the next morning!
If you want more softness and gooeyness, leave the Roasted Oatmeal Mousse to rest; if you prefer more crunch, then consume it right away.
And a trick to make the recipe even quicker than it already is (if you don’t need it for the same day of course), is to keep the oatmeal and sesame unground. Mix them with dairy products as they are, and leave overnight. In that way, the oatmeal will dissolve into the cream anyway and it will be almost the same smoothness as it was when using the food processor. Also, the sesame seeds would become softer overnight.
If you have been around since the beginning of this blog, then you can see that statistically, it’s a no-brainer that I love my oatmeal! This is just my fourth post and third recipe, and already I have managed to create two oatmeal recipes. But if this is your first time here, check out the very first recipe and make it too: Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies!
In the current recipe, I first roasted and then ground my oatmeal. The inspiration for that comes from long ago when I first created this recipe. I added another national food ingredient then, which is traditionally used in four countries: Estonia, Finland, Turkey, and Russia. It’s called Kama in Estonian, and it contains four different roasted ground grains. The combination of grains make healthy and refreshing desserts by mixing it with either buttermilk, kefir, or yogurt. Have your Kama lesson from Wikipedia: Kama! If you ever happen to see this beautiful ingredient on store shelves, please buy it. It’s healthy, delicious, very affordable, and somehow deeply satisfying as both a light breakfast and a snack.
But to make the recipe approachable for makers from all around the world, I used a mix of: Roasted Oatmeal and Sesame Seeds. Even more: I sprinkled the dessert with Desiccated Coconut and Pine Nuts. And as you can see from the photo, I added some juiciness from berries with a smooth strawberry jam. Raspberry jam works equally!
The dairy products, used in Roasted Oatmeal Mousse recipe are:
- Cottage Cheese
- Mascarpone
- Heavy Cream (at least 35% fat)
Roasted Oatmeal Mousse
This recipe needs no heat, no time, and no skills! It's a dessert that is both creamy (because of the dairy product combination) and wholesome (because of the oatmeal and seeds). I’m not much of a dieter myself, but I really think that this bowl of delight won’t wreck your diet! On the contrary, it seems to be packed with nutrients too (think about cottage cheese, sesame seeds, coconut, and pine nuts...). It is also not boring, because I have not met such a flavor combination yet. I tried to make it not overly sweet with the aim of making it suitable for a healthier breakfast too.
INGREDIENTS
Dairy products
Grains and seeds
Condiments
INSTRUCTIONS
Preparing the Dairy
-
Whipping the Cream
Whisk the cream with the sugar using a hand mixer until soft peaks form (up to 5 minutes). I recommend using a hand mixer because of the small amount: the stand mixer's whisk might not reach the cream properly.
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Adding the cheeses
Add the cottage cheese to the cream and make just a few more turns with the mixer, only until it is evenly mixed. Repeat the same with the mascarpone. If you whisk it too much at this stage, then the cream might lose its fluff.
Finalizing the Mousse
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Preparing the dry ingredients
Ground your roasted oats and sesame seeds in a food processor and add them to the mousse. Mix with a whisk until evenly combined.
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Plating up
Spoon the mousse into a glass or use a piping bag, of course, if you want to be fancier or if there is something to celebrate! Add the jam on top, sprinkle with toasted coconut and pine nuts, and this lovely, earthy, grainy mousse is ready for diving in!
Note
The serving sizes are determined by the purpose of the dish. If you make it for breakfast, it will serve 2 people; if it is for a small dessert, it will serve up to 4.
Do not freeze the mousse. It will not be anything like ice cream; it will harden too much and create ice crystals because it is neither churned nor does it contain emulsifying ingredients (such as condensed milk, for example). Therefore, it is best served chilled.
The dessert will keep in the fridge based on the dates marked on the packages of your dairy products, so please be aware of them.
Even though I usually add a pinch of salt to all my desserts, I did not do it here because cottage cheese already contains salt. If you use plain curd or ricotta, you can add a tiny amount of salt to balance the flavors, but it totally depends on your preferences. Many people never add any salt to their sweets.
