648. Chocolate Avocado Pudding

A big green berry

      Yes you read the title correct. Botanically speaking an avocado is a berry and thus classified as a fruit. It is a single berry fruit. There is much confusion as to whether it is a summer fruit or spring and nowadays its available in winter too. However, in Kenya where we don't really have our climate divided into 3 or 4 seasons like winter, spring, summer and autumn, avocados are available mostly throughout the year. Some countries classify it as a summer fruit. So as far as I'm concerned summer fruit or not I decided to use it for our 93rd theme on FoodieMonday Bloghop group. The theme is Summer Fruits suggested by our group member Pushpita. It certainly isn't hot here as we're into the rainy season. 

        Basically the only locally grown fruits available in abundance during this season are watermelon, banana, papaya and avocados. Didn't want to do another watermelon recipe, the papaya is still not ripe and banana.... got quite a few recipes on the blog using banana. Imported summer fruits are very expensive. So I was left with avocados as an option.
    
         Did you know that avocados contain more potassium than bananas? Avocados can be used to replace cream and butter. That is why they are used in baking and as an excellent option for desserts to replace dairy products. I'm not going to go into the health benefits of including avocados in your diet as most of us are aware of nutritional value of this alligator pear, butter fruit, avocado pear,cheese pear etc. 

        I am trying to prepare healthy dishes as much as possible this year. So for this theme I decided to make an avocado chocolate pudding. Its one of the easiest desserts to make and healthy. The dessert leaves you feeling full but its light on the stomach compared to desserts made using fresh cream. Both hubby and I love our desserts but we cannot have a sweet treat that often. So as an alternative I make this pudding often. I add honey or maple syrup to my portion and add stevia to hubby's portion (he is diabetic and so the notion that diabetics can have honey and maple syrup till end of time is absolutely wrong.Honey, maple syrup all affect blood sugar levels just the same way as sugar does).  I also keep the portions small, say about ¼ - ½ cup for each.

        Check out the recipe for this delicious chocolatey dessert.

CHOCOLATE AVOCADO PUDDING
Makes 3-4

1 large ripe avocado (about 1½ cups of the pulp)
¼ -⅓ cup of honey, maple syrup or agave nectar)
¼ - ⅓ cup cocoa powder or cacao powder
½ tsp orange extract
1 tsp orange zest or rind, grated
¼ cup milk (can be normal, nut, soy or coconut milk)
a small pinch of salt
1 tsp chia seed powder

To serve, some options:
whipped cream, fresh berries, grated dark chocolate, chopped nuts.

1. Cut the avocado into half and scoop out the flesh into a blender.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Process the mixture till it is smooth. You may need to use a spatula to mix the avocado mixture to help it process well.
4. Scoop out the pudding into serving bowls or small glasses. Cover it with cling film.
5. Refrigerate the pudding for 30- 60 minutes or till its chilled.
6. Serve topped with a topping of your choice. I served mine with a generous sprinkle of pistachios and dark chocolate shavings.

Tips:

• Add a small banana for a much thicker creamier pudding.
• Add ¼ cup of melted chocolate if you want.
• Add flavourings or spices of your choice.
• For vegan option use maple syrup instead of honey and nut milk of your preference.
• Adding chia seed powder is totally optional. I added it for nutritional value.

You may want to check out my other avocado recipes:

avocado dressing

avocado beetroot salad

mashed avocado and tomato bruschetta

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