Salted chocolate & date pudding
4 ingredients, no-bake, and a divine texture. What more could you ask for?
This is serious chocolate satisfaction. And I do mean that, because we’re using 100% chocolate for this recipe.
A few newsletters back I mentioned that I’m currently on a Detox Program for root cause healing.* It’s already been pretty transformative, albeit taxing too, requiring implementing some serious dietary changes to cut down on inflammation. This means I’m avoiding refined sugars as much as I can, and replacing them with naturally-occurring sugars instead - think dates, coconut sugar, fruits, raw honey. Obviously I’ve had to get creative in my cooking and baking in order to satisfy my cravings.
I had a hankering for an indulgent, creamy chocolate dessert that would make me forget about my dietary restrictions entirely - and I found it. By using 100% chocolate, I could cut out those unwanted ingredients like refined sugar and dairy, and add them back into the recipe in the quantities and form I wanted.
100% chocolate means there’s no added ingredients in that bar - just pure cacao beans. That means it’s insanely bitter! I’ve opted for dates as a sweetener because I love the deep, treacly flavour they bring, and because they stand up to the bitter chocolate; they’re also full of fibre, vitamins, and minerals. And in this recipe, they help thicken the pudding up without needing to add eggs, gelatine, or cornstarch, nor needing to bake the pudding for it to set.
You could use any milk you like here! My go-to is cashew milk to keep it dairy-free, but you could definitely opt for a dairy milk, or a soy or oat for those with nut intolerances.
The formula is straight-forward: blitz up the dates and milk, heat until nicely thickened, and pour over the chocolate and salt until all melted together. At this stage you may want to blitz it again, to get rid of those tiny date particles and get a super smooth texture. Pour into your dessert ramekins, chill in the fridge, and that’s it! This pudding is gorgeously unctuous and indulgent - exactly how I like my chocolate desserts.
Serve these up with some homemade crème fraîche, or perhaps some kombucha-pickled cherries - it’s an absolute show-stopper of a dessert, perfect for when you’re hosting. I served these at my last & the Table dinner, and they went down a treat.
*I’ll be sharing some REALLY exciting news in January related to this Detox Journey, and how you can get involved too. If you’d like to hear more, please reach out! Otherwise, stay tuned!
Salted chocolate & date pudding
Ingredients:
200g of 100% chocolate
280g of pitted dates
720g milk of your choice
Sea salt flakes
Homemade crème fraîche
Good quality olive oil
Instructions:
Blitz up the dates and the milk in a nutribullet or blender to break down the dates as small as possible (you might have some bits; this is fine, you can blitz it up again later in the recipe to obtain a super smooth texture).
Break the chocolate up into a large heat-proof bowl.
Heat the date/milk blend over medium heat, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn’t burning. We’re looking to evaporate the liquid until you get the texture of condensed milk.
Pour the date/milk blend over the chocolate and stir until the chocolate melts. Stir in a couple pinches of sea salt flakes.
Once cooled to room temperature, blitz the mix up in the blender one more time. This will ensure a super smooth final texture!
Pour the mixture into your dessert bowls or cute glasses and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days. It will form a skin - if you want to avoid this, cover with cling film, or drizzle 1 tsp of olive oil directly over the surface of the pudding to create a protective barrier.
Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche and a small drizzle of olive oil - enjoy!