super easy vegan cocoa hurray-souffle!

So i promised myself i'd keep this post short and sweet tonight, since i've been feeling the fatigue all day...but there was just something i had to share before getting started on a serious lounging session.  let me just get straight to the point:

this little dream boat was my breakfast this morning.  although you might not have recognized that charming face underneath this gorgeous little guise:

couple of stone cold foxes aren't they?  so easy to make, too.  and healthy, healthy, healthy!  chock full of protein and not a speck of added sugar.  and you know what's crazy?  one of the main ingredients is beans...but it's not like anybody needs to know about that.  they certainly wouldn't guess it by the look, taste, or sheer decadence of these custardy, cakey little heart throbs.  but hey, nothing wrong with a little stealthy health food hidden in your cake, right?  your secret is safe with me.  now go make these puppies!

vegan cocoa souffle

makes 2 little souffles (ALSO!  see the updated version at the bottom of the page for what i consider an even better, richer, crazier version)

• 1/2 very ripe banana
• packed 1/3 cup pitted dates
• about 3 oz of soft tofu (equals out to about 1/5 a block of nasoya brand tofu or probably most other tofu)
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans
• 1/3 cup soy (or any) milk
• 1 1/2 ts vanilla extract
• 2-3 T unsweetened cocoa powder depending on how chocolatey you'd like it.  i'd say go heavy, but you might be the modest type.  see what you like!
• 1/4 ts stevia or a little more to taste (you could use other sweetener as well, but you'd probably need more since stevia is sweet to the extreme)
• 1/4 ts baking powder
• unsweetened carob chips or chocolate chips for layering

preheat your oven for 350.  soften the dates in the microwave by covering with water and microwaving for about a minute or so or until nice and tender.  drain the water off and throw in your blender or food processor with all the other ingredients except for the carob chips.  blend until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.  put a few spoonfuls into 2 ramekins or muffin cubbies sprayed with cooking spray or lightly greased if not non stick.  cover with a layer of carob or chocolate chips and spoon the rest of the custard over top.  top with a few more carob/chocolate chips and pop them in the oven on the middle rack.  bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops are starting to crack

let them cool for about 10 minutes or so.  eat them plain or add toppings and/or creamy stuff.  i did a little of both and made some strawberry yogurt cream, which was really easy, light, fruity, and delicious.  it made a really good amount, too, so i had a little left over to play around with for possible other recipes later (dun dun duuunnn!  foreshadowing!!)

strawberry yogurt cream

• 1/2 very ripe banana
• heaping 1/2 cup chopped fresh strawberries
• 1 T greek yogurt
• about 1/2 inch slice (maybe 1.5 oz?) of soft tofu
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1 T light shredded coconut

throw into blender/food processor and blend until smooth.  slather on top of souffle and throw on a few whole pieces of strawberry if you'd like

gah....sometimes i hate making these posts at night because they start making me hungry.  oh, the torment of eating well!  you really need to try these out.  they're adorable, easy, just the right amount of sweet, and the texture is just so awesome.  a perfect combination between warm custard and dense chocolate cake.  i might did (see updated version at bottom of the page) toy around with the amount of dates and baking powder to try for something a little more puffed up and fudgy next time, but these really didn't disappoint as is.  i mean, look!

let's see that again....this time, more enticing!  bring on the creaminess!

oh.  yes.

there you have it.  short. sweet.  easy.  healthy.  amazing.  i will definitely be making these again....probably within the next 12 hours to be exact.  sweet, sweet dreams everyone!

**update!**

so, i tinkered around with a few things in the recipe this morning and made what i think is a way more superior version of this little guy.  don't get me wrong, it was awesome to start with, but i think these few changes really made the difference in bringing this over the top.

modifications:

• upped the amount of dates to 1/2 cup
• doubled the amount of baking powder to make it 1/2 ts
• definitely, definitely reccommend using 3 T cocoa instead of 2.  soooo rich and fudgeyy.  gahhh

the extra dates in this made the souffle taste much richer and enhanced the cocoa fudginess and the extra baking powder really helped it to puff up a bit more.  i ended up needing to bake it for an extra 10 minutes or so because of the added dates, but it was seriously worth the extra little wait time.  so rich and creamy and amazing.