Mexican Chocolate Pots with Orange Cream and Candied Almonds

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When I was in culinary school, we learned how to make traditional, French chocolate mousse. It was one of my favourite things to make and I was really good at it.

The end result was so light and airy, but deep and rich at the same time. It’s incredibly simple to make, but feels complex when you eat it.

This pudding is the same for me — the flavours are complex and deep, the texture is velvety and smooth and, you’d think it would be heavy, but the black beans keep it incredibly light. You walk away from a little pot of this feeling uplifted, not like you need to unbutton your pants. 🙂

It’s important to note that this is a base recipe at it’s core — you can trade out the spices for any that you prefer and want to get creative with ( cardamom, ginger, orange and coffee would work beautifully too ) and the almond butter can be traded for tahini, cashew butter, pecan butter… the possibilities are endless. Just remember to pair the spices with the nuts and you’re onto a winner.

240g ( 1 cup ) black beans, cooked (from a tin or home cooked )
35g (¼ cup ) dark cocoa powder
85g ( ¼ cup ) almond butter
100g ( ¼ cup ) honey or maple
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp almond extract
15g tamari
40g ( 2 tbsp ) cacao paste, melted
100g ( ½ cup ) water

Method

• In a high speed blender or food processor (use the blender if you have one as it’ll break the beans down better ) blend all the ingredients until the mix is smooth.

• Pour between a few small bowls, ramekins or glasses and set in the fridge till firm – about 2 hours.

• Make the cream while the pudding sets.

• The puddings will keep 3-5 days in the fridge in an airtight container if you want to make them ahead of time.

Orange Coconut Creme

75g ( ½ cup ) coconut butter, softened or melted
15g ( 1 tbsp ) cacao butter, melted
30g ( 2 tbsp ) orange juice
15g ( 1 tbsp ) lemon juice
100g ( ½ cup ) warm water
35g ( ¼ cup ) xylitol or coconut sugar
50g ( scant ¼ cup ) honey
1g ( ½ tsp ) vanilla
Pinch salt

Method

• In a high speed blender combine all the ingredients and blend on high.

• Transfer to a container and pop in the fridge to firm up slightly.

• The cream will keep 5 days in the fridge, if you want to make it ahead of time.

Candied Almonds

( or you can simply use chopped almonds )

• 100g ( 1 cup ) almonds, soaked 8 hours and rinsed

 

• 75g ( ¾ cup ) coconut sugar

 

• 50g ( ¼ cup ) maple syrup

 

Pinch salt

Method

• In a food processor pulse all ingredients to break the almonds down into larger and smaller sizes – some halves, some the size of grains of buckwheat.

• Transfer to a teflex lined dehydrator tray and dry 10 hours, flip onto mesh and dry further 10-15 hours or until crisp and dry.

• Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temp for several months.

• To use as a garnish, chop with a knife, break by hand or pulse in the food processor — depending on the look you want to achieve.

To serve

• Spoon some cream on top of the pudding and sprinkle with candied (or plain ) chopped almonds and dust with cinnamon.