Happiness

Not eating anything in the grass family means not eating cane sugar.  Not eating cane sugar means it is hard to find anything chocolate.  Chocolate deprivation is not a good thing.  Once again I am indebted to the internet for helping me survive my diet issues.  

The first dessert option I was able to find for myself was a pumpkin pie filling made with coconut milk.  That got me wondering if there might be some kind of chocolate pudding recipe out there.  My search led me to this recipe:

Coconut Chocolate Pudding
 
However, the semi-sweet chocolate in this recipe was not an option, so I came up with an alternative using unsweetened baker's chocolate.  It is rich, thick, and very chocolatety.  Tummy happiness!

Here it is:

Elzbee's Chocolate Heaven

1 14oz. can coconut milk (full fat--hey, it's dessert!)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons arrowroot starch, firmly packed
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder
3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
1 teaspoon vanilla

Because coconut milk separates, I first like to spoon/pour the coconut milk into a large measuring cup and whisk it until blended.  Pour 1/4 cup of the coconut milk into a one cup measuring cup.  Add 1/2 cup maple syrup to the large measuring cup and pour it into a small skillet.


Add arrowroot starch, cocoa powder, and salt to the coconut milk in the 1 cup measuring cup, mixing well with a spoon.  Mixture will be very thick.

 Chop the baking chocolate into small chunks.

Heat coconut milk mixture in the skillet on medium-low heat just until it begins to simmer (don't let it boil), stirring constantly with a whisk.

 Add three to four large spoonful of the heated mixture to the cocoa mixture, stirring well.

Pour cocoa mixture into the skillet.  Keep the mixture on medium-low heat and stir with the whisk until thickened.

Remove the skillet from heat.  Add baking chocolate and vanilla, stirring until the baking chocolate has melted and the mixture is thoroughly blended.

Divided pudding into five or six containers, depending on how much indulgence you want.  I find the 1 cup Ziploc containers work very well for this.  Chill.  Enjoy.

The pudding also freezes well, so I keep the extras in the freezer and then refrigerate one container the night before or morning of the day I plan to eat it.  Ahhh, chocolate heaven!