Secret Ingredient Chocolate Pudding

You can use many ingredients as a creative non-dairy base for vegan puddings. Most recipes call for avocado, tofu, or even black beans, this version’s “secret ingredient” is sweet potato. The sweet potato flavour is virtually undetectable and it provides thickness and body, as well as a light sweetness. This pudding is rich, smooth, and chocolaty, just like chocolate pudding should be!

Prep: 10 min | Cook: 10 to 15 min

Ingredients

For the pudding

11/4 cups (300 mL/6 ounces/170 g) diced peeled sweet potato or yam
1/3 cup (75 mL) pure maple syrup
1/3 cup (75 mL) unsweetened almond milk
1/4 cup (60 mL) unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons (30 mL) raw or roasted smooth almond butter or raw cashew butter
1 tablespoon (15 mL) virgin coconut oil, softened
1 teaspoon (5 mL) pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon (1 mL) fine sea salt

Topping suggestions

Coconut Whipped Cream
Fresh berries or pomegranate arils
1/2 cup (125 mL) sliced almonds, toasted
Homemade granola

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and set a steamer basket on top. Steam the sweet potato in the basket, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until fork-tender. You may also use a steamer appliance. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Transfer the sweet potato (you should have 1 lightly packed cup/250 mL) to a food processor and add the maple syrup. Process until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. Taste and adjust the sweetness, if desired. I find this pudding tastes a bit sweeter after chilling, so keep that in mind. You can always adjust the sweetness after it chills.

Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least a few hours or up to overnight to thicken. If the pudding is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out with a splash of almond milk.

Serve the pudding with Coconut Whipped Cream, fresh berries, and toasted sliced almonds, if desired. You can also enjoy it on its own, or with homemade granola sprinkled on top. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.

Tips

To toast the almonds, preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Spread the sliced almonds over a small rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly golden. Don’t want to steam the sweet potatoes? You can boil the potatoes instead.

Excerpted from Oh She Glows Every Day: Quick and Simply Satisfying Plant-Based Recipes by Angela Liddon. Copyright © 2016 Glo Bakery Corporation. Photography by Ashley McLaughlin. Published by Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.