dessert | Cornered Tomato

Chocolate pudding made from avocados?!!! If your response is anything like mine, it is hard to envision a chocolate dessert pudding that is made with avocados. You might be seeing a green pudding but rest assured the pudding is not green, it doesn’t taste like avocados and it IS good and healthy. Did you know that avocados are packed with good fats and have more useable protein for your body than a steak?

You will just have to try it for yourself. Do a fun taste test – serve it to friends and family that have not watched you make it and do not know what ingredients are included. The pudding is not super sweet but instead is reminiscent of a dark chocolate flavor. The avocados are simply there to add “pudding texture”. I found the recipe here and then added a few notes and modifications which are included in my recipe below.

Ingredients:

2 avocados – the riper the better your pudding will mix and be a better texture
2 Tablespoons of honey (raw and unfiltered is the best)
1/3 cup cocoa
2 Tablespoons of melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Unsweetened almond milk – add to your desired creaminess
Agave – add a bit to enhance texture and sweetness

Directions:

The recipe requires a lot of taste and texture testing throughout to get your desired pudding (bummer, right?!!). Combine all ingredients (except for the almond milk and agave) in a blender or food processor and puree until you reach your desired consistency. This is where I added a bit of almond milk and agave to create a creamier texture and a bit sweeter taste. Place in the fridge and allow it to get cold – usually takes about an hour – and then enjoy and surprise your friends with your interesting and tasty creation!

I have never tasted better cherries than the ones we have gotten the last couple of weeks from our CSA share. The last couple of weeks have brought not only fresh cherries but fresh apricots as well – an unlikely pair. Inspired by a good friend and a recipe I found online by Erika Kerekes for Apricot Cherry Clafoutis (a baked French dessert) I created a gluten free, dairy free, sugar free version of the Apricot Cherry Clafoutis. It makes an unlikely pair into an easy, unique and delicious treat.

6 large or 8 small fresh apricots, pitted and cut into chunks
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted
1 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk
3 eggs
1/2 cup agave
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup almond flour
1/8 tsp salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a small casserole dish or a pie plate with cooking spray (I used olive oil in a oil sprayer) and add your apricots and cherries (make sure to remove pits). Whisk together the almond milk, eggs, agave, vanilla and almond. Add the almond flour and salt and whisk until smooth. Pour the mixture over the fruit and bake for 45 minutes. The top should be lightly browned. It should no longer be liquid in the center but will be jiggly. Let it cool and enjoy!