Well, this weekend is Valentine’s Day, so I’d like to share one of my favorite raw desserts that I have come up with. It’s a raw vegan chocolate orange pudding. If you are into the chocolate and orange flavor combination like me, you’ll love this pudding! This was a huge hit at the raw food class I taught previously at Rawkin Juice. It’s rich, decadent, and chocolatey with bright orange flavors. It’ll convert even the toughest non-vegan critics.
This pudding is a variation on the chocolate avocado pudding recipe I shared last week. It’s a 3 layer pudding with, starting from the bottom, a chocolate avocado pudding layer, an orange cream layer, and a chocolate sauce layer. Even though you have to make 3 components, each one is very easy and fast so you’ll be done in 30 min!
It’s hard to believe that this decadent pudding is good for you, but it is! It’s really good for you! With the healthy fats from the avocado and coconut oil, vitamin C from the oranges, antioxidants from the cacao powder, the list goes on. It truly demonstrates the awesomeness of raw food sweets, providing health and beauty benefits without sacrificing the flavor.
Let’s get cooking! First up, the chocolate avocado pudding layer. All you have to do is throw all the ingredients into the food processor and blend until smooth. Chocolatey goodness! Check out my chocolate avocado pudding post for more details.
Next, the orange cream layer. Once again, throw all ingredients into a clean blender and blend until smooth! You’ll need the zest of one whole orange. If you don’t own a zester, peel the skin with a knife very thin and mince. Try not to get the white part of the skin, as it is bitter, and will make the cream taste bitter.
FYI, this is the zester I use from Microplane, and it’s awesome. They’re sharp, a breeze to use, and make the fluffiest zest.
Lastly, the chocolate sauce. The base for this sauce is coconut oil. Coconut oil solidifies below 75° so sometimes you see them solid in a jar or in a liquid form. This unique property is utilized to make a lot of desserts in raw food cooking, like pies, bars, pudding, etc. When using coconut oil for raw food recipes, make sure you measure the amount in its liquid state. If your coconut oil is solid, you can make a luke warm double boiler, run the jar under luke warm tap water, or stick it in a dehydrator for 10 minutes. It only needs to be over 75° for it to melt. To make the chocolate sauce, just whisk together all ingredients until it’s nice and smooth.
There’s 2 ways to finish the top layer on this pudding. Depending on which method you chose, the order you make the components will differ.
- If you would like the top layer to be a chocolate sauce: Make the chocolate avocado pudding and orange cream. Assemble in a glass, starting with chocolate avocado pudding, then the orange cream. Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours. Make the chocolate sauce and pour on top.
- If you would like the top layer to be a chocolate shell: Make all 3 layers and assemble starting from the bottom, chocolate avocado pudding, orange cream, and lastly, the chocolate sauce. Chill in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours, until the pudding is cold and the chocolate sauce layer has hardened. You’ll be able to crack the surface with the spoon like eating a crème brûlée. The chocolate bits with the creamy pudding and orange cream really compliments each other.
Now, this is how I like to do it. I make all 3 layer at once and assemble the three layers. It’ll depend on the size of the glass you use, but if it’s a large glass, it’ll be 2 servings, and if it’s a smaller glass, it’ll make about 3-4 servings. Then, well, since me and my husband cannot help ourselves from devouring them immediately, we eat our serving and put the rest in the refrigerator. This way, we can enjoy both textures!
Garnish with orange segments, and dig in! It’s not something you’ll eat every meal, because it’s so decadent, but boy when you’re craving a rich and decadent dessert, this will do it! It’s one of my husband’s favorite desserts, and he’s got quite a picky sweet tooth. Hope you give this one a try, so you can enjoy the awesomeness! Enjoy!
- 1 avocado
- ¾ cup dates
- 2½ Tablespoons raw cacao powder
- A dash of non-alcohol vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- ½ cup water or soak water from dates
- 1 cup soaked cashews
- Juice and zest of 1 large orange
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- A dash of non-alcohol vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
- 1 Tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons raw cacao powder
- A pinch of salt
- If your dates are firm, soak them in water until they become soft, about 1 hour.
- Add all the ingredients into the food processor, and blend until smooth.
- Soak the cashews for 2-4 hours, drain and rinse.
- Put all ingredients into a blender and run until smooth.
- Melt the coconut oil in a luke warm double boiler, and measure out the amount.
- Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl.
- Assemble in a glass, starting with chocolate avocado pudding, then the orange cream. Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
- Make the chocolate sauce and pour on top. Garnish with orange segments.
- Assemble in a glass, starting with chocolate avocado pudding, the orange cream, then the chocolate sauce.
- Chill in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, until the pudding is cold and the chocolate sauce layer has hardened.
- Garnish with orange segments.
Please make sure to use a fully ripe and soft avocado. If you can't, it might taste bitter. If you do end up with an under ripe avocado anyway, add some maple syrup to improve the flavor. Really do your best to use ripe and soft avocado to do justice to this recipe.
Orange Cream
If you don't own a zester, peel the skin with a knife very thin and mince. Try not to get the white part of the skin, as it is bitter, and will make the cream taste bitter.
Chocolate Sauce
You can skip this if you are in a rush.
The number of servings it makes depends on the size of the glass you use. If you use a larger glass, it'll make 2 servings, and in a small glass, it'll make about 3-4 servings.
Keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator.
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