Chocolate Pudding

Like most women, I love chocolate. I'm not afraid to say it. I love it! My mother taught me that dessert isn't dessert without some form of chocolate. In fact she has been known to argue that cacao beans fall into the vegetable category since they are a "bean" and are therefore necessary for a well rounded diet. This is a dessert worthy of my mother.

Makes: 2 servings

Preparation time: 1m
Cooking time: 1m
Total time: 11m

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened milk substitute (organic soy, almond, coconut, etc.)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup sugar (or 4 dates, but you must have a powerful blender like a Vitamix otherwise it will end up lumpy)
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or potato starch)

Equipment: blender, saucepan

Instructions:

  1. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until combined.
  2. Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until the mixture reaches the desired thickness. Stir constantly to keep it from burning or getting lumpy. This will also allow you to see how thick it is. Remove it from the heat as soon as it is the thickness you want otherwise it will get lumpy. If you are using cold soy milk this may take up to 10 minutes, but will probably only take about 5. It will bubble up a bit and when the foam settles it thickens quickly so watch it closely.
  3. Enjoy while it is hot or refrigerate and enjoy cold during the summer. If you plan to have it cold, just know that it will thicken up a bit more as it cools.
  4. Top it with toasted coconut and enjoy alongside fresh berries.

Note: If you have a Vitamix you can just pour all of the ingredients into it, and blend on high for 5-6 minutes. No need to use a saucepan.