Avocado chocolate pudding with orange blossom water

With the thought in mind that a lot of people are looking for healthier foods, either in prep for spring break or summer, I thought I would show you guys a cheat dessert recipe.

This is the ultimate chocolate pudding for people who want a guilt-free dessert to soothe that chocolate craving. Unlike most puddings that use eggs and flour for a creamy factor, this uses an avocado. Yes, I know that sounds weird. However avocado blends into a creamy, pudding-like texture that is mild in flavor. As long as there is plenty of chocolate to cover the color, no one would know any better.

To kick things up a notch, and to compliment the light fruitiness that accompanies avocado, I added a dribble of orange blossom water. This ingredient is commonly used in middle eastern food and adds a touch of floral flavor to anything you make. *Do watch out though. If you use more than a dribble, everything will taste like perfume.

Lastly, for those looking for vegan options, full fat coconut milk can be subbed in for milk as an easy alternative. Additionally, the chocolate chips can be taken out and replaced with more cocoa powder – simply add more honey to even out the sweetness. When you add more cocoa powder, do it in increments to make sure you don’t overpower the recipe it as 100% cocoa is bitter.

Ingredients

• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons dark, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons honey, you can add more to suit your tastes
• 1/2 cup milk, plus more to help the blender if needed
• 1/8 tsp orange blossom water

Step 1: Halve and de-seed the avocado. Add to a food processor. Pour in your milk, orange blossom water and honey. Blend until creamy. There should be no lumps. If things aren’t moving smoothly, add more milk in a couple tablespoons at a time until everything blends evenly. The texture when you are done should be exactly the same as pudding.

Step 2: Add the cocoa powder, give the mix a stir before you blend again to prevent powder from being thrown onto the food processor walls. Blend again until the cocoa powder is fully incorporated. Look at the color, the level of brown should be similar to really dark chocolate. Add more cocoa powder if you need to.

Step 3: Melt your chocolate chips for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir. Keep microwaving at 10 second intervals until fully melted. Add the avocado mix into the chocolate. Stir well.

Step 4: Serve immediately with whipped cream and honey. Following the middle eastern feel, I sprinkled crushed rose petals and ground almonds on top. (Pistachios would be preferable)