Vegan Chocolate Pudding

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” ~ Mohandas Gandhi

Chocolate Cashew Cream Pudding

My daughter, who is lactose intolerant, recently introduced me to cashew cream. It is a delicious substitute for dairy in all types of cooking and baking situations. I was  so intrigued by this “cream” that it enticed me to learn about vegan desserts.

The base of this pudding starts with cashew cream. Cocoa powder, chocolate chips and a few other ingredients are added to the cream to produce a great chocolate pudding.

The purist in me was very surprised that pudding could be made from such  nontraditional ingredients. 

As I said before, cashew cream is the foundation of this pudding. If you have it on hand, this pudding can be made in five minutes.

Here is the recipe for a basic sweetened cashew cream. If you want to use cashew cream in a savory recipe, eliminate the sweetener and the vanilla extract.

Cashew Cream
Ingredients:

• 5 ounces of whole raw cashews, rinsed and soaked overnight
• 2/3 cup of room temperature water
• 1/8 – 1/4 cup agave syrup or pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon guar gum

Instructions:

• Drain the cashews in a strainer. Put the rinsed nuts into a blender and add the water, agave or maple syrup and vanilla. Blend, starting on low, and then increase to high speed. Blend for one minute or until the cream in completely smooth.
• Scrap the sides of the blender container and blend for another minute.
• Add the guar gum and then blend for another minute. Guar gum keeps the mixture from separating.

NOTE: If you are using a high speed blender, the cream will be thick and smooth in minutes. If you are using a standard blender, blend the nuts in small batches and blend for a longer time.

For the pudding, heat the cashew cream over low heat until warm to the touch. Add the cocoa powder and the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.

Add the chocolate and the vanilla and stir until the chocolate is melted.

Serve warm or chilled.

The pudding can be kept in the refrigerator for up to three days.

This recipe comes from Vegan Chocolate by Fran Costigan.

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

By Patricia Rio Published: March 12, 2014

• Vegan Chocolate Pudding

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  2 votes, 5.00 avg. rating (98% score)
• Yield: 4 Servings
• Prep: 15 mins

  "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ Mohandas Gandhi Chocolate Cashew Cream Pudding My daughter, who is …

Ingredients

• 1 recipe Cashew Cream See blog
• 2 tablespoons sifted cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons organic cane sugar
• 2 ounces chopped dark chocolate
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Heat the cashew cream over low heat until warm to the touch. Add the cocoa powder and the sugar. Stir until dissolved. Remove from the heat.
   
2. Add the chocolate and the vanilla and stir until the chocolate is melted.
   
3. Serve warm or chilled.