Silky Chocolate Pudding (Vegan)

duonyte's Note:

I got this recipe at a class I am taking at Whole Foods. Make sure the family does not see you making it - they will never guess it is healthy. It is really tasty. We estimated 8 1/2-cup servings, but be prepared to be asked for seconds. Prep time does not include chilling time.

• Total Time: 25 mins
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 6

• 1 cup pitted dates, packed
• 2 1/2 cups hot water or 2 1/2 cups almond milk or 2 1/2 cups coconut milk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In a blender, pour the hot water over the dates and let them stand 10-15 minutes or so to soften. (you can use a hot non-dairy milk, but it tasted just great using only water).
2. After they have soaked, add the flesh of the avocado and all remaining ingredients. Blend on high, scraping down sides as necessary, until smooth.
3. You can eat it warm, but it tastes best if you can refrigerate it for 2 to 3 hours in an airtight container. Nice with raspberries on top. You can also freeze to make fudgiscles, we were told.

Reviews

[Lalaloula]

Mmmm, yummy! What a great smooth, indulgent and chocolatey pudding! It was so sweet and creamy, only the scent of avocade that it gave off revealed its secret. Otherwise you wouldnt have known.
I loved how easy this was to prepare and how healthy it is while still tasting very rich and sinful! I thought the vanilla was very nice in this, but I think you could also use other flavourings like e.g. coffee.
For taste this is a true 5 star recipe, however it was a bit too runny for my (pudding) taste and that even though I already reduced the water to 2 cups. I guess that really depends on your dates and avocado, though. Next time Ill start with 1 1/2 cups and see how that goes.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sharing this keeper with us, duyonte! :)
Made and reviewed for the Spain/Portugal Avocado Event July 2012.