Recipe: Coconut Chocolate Pudding

From Denny: OK, two of my favorites are coconut and chocolate in a happy marriage with me as the happy child enjoying the company of both! :) From 101 Cookbooks, she really outdid herself developing this awesome recipe. Any time you add a dry roasted ingredient to a dish it really kicks up the taste, in this case she used coconut flakes. Take a look at the rest of her site as there are varied recipes for everyone to enjoy!

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

"I used Scharffen Berger 62% semi-sweet chocolate in this pudding, I also did a batch with 70% - delicious. You can play around with a few of the variables here. For example, it might be fun to use one of the uniquely spiced Vosges chocolate bars in place of the straight semi-sweet. I used raz el hanout spice blend here - but you should feel free to experiment with your favorite curry spice blend. If you want to use regular or low-fat milk in place of the coconut milk, give it a go. For a more pronounced coconut flavor, you might want to add a small splash of coconut extract."

Ingredients:

1 14-ounce can of coconut milk (lite is fine), divided

3 tablespoons sugar

scant 1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup arrowroot powder, sifted

1 teaspoon raz el hanout spice blend or curry powder, (optional)

3 tablespoons alkalized dutch-cocoa powder, sifted

1 3.5-ounce bar semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

1 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 cup coconut flakes, toasted in a dry skillet


Directions:

Shake the can of coconut milk vigorously for a few seconds. In a heavy saucepan bring 1 1/4 cups of the coconut milk, sugar, and the salt (just) to a simmer over low heat.

While that is heating, in a separate bowl whisk together the remaining coconut milk, arrowroot powder, spice blend (or curry powder), and cocoa powder. It should look like a chocolate frosting.

When the coconut milk and sugar mixture has started simmering take about 1/4 cup of it and whisk it little by little into the arrowroot mixture, creating a slurry. Turn down the heat to the very lowest setting.

Now drizzle the arrowroot slurry mixture into the simmering pan of coconut milk whisking vigorously all the while. Keep whisking until the pudding comes back up barely to a simmer and thickens up a bit, about a minute.

Remove the saucepan from heat, continue whisking while it is cooling for about a minute. Now whisk in the chocolate and vanilla. Keep stirring until the pudding is smooth.

Place in a refrigerator to chill thoroughly. To prevent a skin from forming press plastic up against the surface of the pudding. Serve dusted with the coconut flakes and a tiny pinch of spices (or curry powder).

Serves four. (From Denny: Like 4 people would even get the chance in my house!)

Recipe: Heavenly Pie

From Denny: This old recipe, retweaked for vegan, comes to us from the wonderful 101 Cookbooks site. To read about where she found it and the journey it took to you just click on the title link. Here is the link to purchase the cookbook at a reduced price from Romancing The Chocolate blog's Amazon store, go here:

"Heavenly Pie Recipe Adapted from Country Wisdom and Know-How. Instead of running this recipe verbatim (like I normally might), I've tweaked a few of the ingredients, added some notes. Serve this pie well-chilled."

2 cups well-crushed graham crackers

1/3 cup melted butter

2 tablespoons honey

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

8 ounces organic silken tofu

1 large egg

6 ounces carob or chocolate chips, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

Greek yogurt (sweetened a bit, optional for serving), in place of whipped cream

Directions:

To make the crust make combine the cracker crumbs, butter, and honey. Press into a 9-inch pie pan. I gave this mixture a whirl in the food processor to bring it all together and work out and chunks of cracker.

In a food processor, or with the mixer at medium speed, blend together the cream cheese, tofu, egg, chocolate, and vanilla. Scrape down the sides once or twice. Blend until filling is very smooth, with no visible lumps.

Spoon the filling into the pie pan and bake at 350F degrees for about 30 minutes (when I went to 35 minutes I started seeing fissures in the filling). CHILL COMPLETELY BEFORE SERVING. Serve with a dollop of sweetened yogurt or whipped cream (if desired).
Makes one pie. About 12 servings.