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.

the dessert defense

so, i have a confession.  i eat dessert.  for breakfast.  a lot.  but honestly, i've gotten to a point where i feel like it's alright, no scratch that, it's best if i let my crazy little breakfast brain have what it wants.  if i'm really in the mood for something, there's no sense in depriving myself and feeling sad and cranky about the many cakes/pastries/treats that could have been.  food is supposed to taste awesome and make you feel good.  so why not kill 2 birds with 1 stone and make an effort to eat food that does both?  it really is possible...all you need is a little creativity, quality ingredients, and some good inspiration.  a solid blender wouldn't hurt either...i'm kind of in the middle of a love affair with mine since the big purchase a few months ago.  *swoon*  but i digress.  bottom line is this: i've kind of come to realize that there's no sense in following some strict diet or weird code of eating ethic with myself that feels like punishment.  i'm driven by reward.  sweet, gooey, cakey, chocolatey, crunchy, spicy reward.  but there IS a way to treat myself sensibly so that i'm still fueling my body with the things it craves nutritionally in addition to the treats in question.  knowing that i'm doing both feels doubley good.  that's why when i wake up with some absurd craving for pudding, chocolate, dumplings, AND pie all at once, i decide what the hell?  let's give it a go.

it's a bird!  it's a plane!  it's...hmmm...a little bit of everything?

cocoa pudding stuffed dumpling pies
ohhh yeah...
makes about 2 mini dumpling pies

preheat your oven to 375 and start to make your cocoa avocado pudding:

• 1 large ripe avocado
• 1/2 large banana or 1 small
• 1 T fat free cottage cheese
• 1 ts vanilla extract
• 1/8 to 1/4 ts stevia (start small and add more if you need it...this stuff is sweeeeet.  or you can use another sweetener if you'd like, but you may need a bit more)
• 1 heaping T unsweetened cocoa powder
• splash of soy (or any) milk...just enough to help with blending
• dash of cinnamon (optional)

now you're going to have to trust me on this one.  avocado may seem like the last thing that belongs in a sweet tooth driven, chocolate laden fantasy, but it actually blends into an incredibly smooth, creamy, decadently textured neutral canvas that easily adopts other flavors.  cocoa just happens to work amazingly well.  so, now that we've overcome the fear, let's make some pudding.
throw all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend on low or pulse until smooth.  you may have to work with it a bit to make sure it all blends.  it tends to get very thick and require a bit of assistance in my little blender, but it's nothing a little scraping of the edges and stirring to the bottom won't fix.  once it's all smooth and pudding-like, set it aside or even chill it a bit while you get your dough ready.

dumpling pie crust:

• heaping 1/2 cup of garbanzo bean flour (or other flour if you'd like to try something else.  i just really like garbanzo bean flour for its consistency and nutrition.  i haven't made this with anything else to vouch for other outcomes, but experiment if you'd like!)
• 2 T flaxmeal
• 1/4 ts baking powder
• 1/2 ts cinnamon
• 2 T unsweetened apple sauce
• 1 T agave or honey

mix all the ingredients together in a bowl to make a doughy mass.  you may need to add more flour if the dough seems too sticky.  you will want to be able to handle it with your hands without a lot of it goo-ing onto your fingers.  once mixed, split the dough into 2 lumps and transfer onto a small foil lined baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking oil or lightly greased.  sprinkle each dough lump with flour to keep it from sticking to your hands, and flatten into little pancakes, being careful that they don't tear.  add more flour to the surface as needed to make it easier to work with. 

one little dumpling pie ready to set sail, and another on the way

garbanzo bean flour tends to be rather fragile since it's such a fine powder, but produces a really yummy, creamy consistency with baked goods.  you could try this with other flours if you'd like.  it may be a bit easier to work with and may not require so much care, but will most likely come out with a completely different sort of consistency.  i happen to love garbanzo bean flour, but it can be tricky to work with if you're not used to it.
after you've made your little pancakes, it's time to add your filling.  spoon about 2 T of pudding into the center of each pancake, leaving a good amount of the pancake edge to work with.  you want to be sure you don't have too much filling, since you'll have to wrap it all up in a second.

you'll have about half of your pudding left.  you can either cover it and save it in the fridge for later, double the batch amount for the dumpling dough and make more pastries with it, or eat it right away.  i may or may not have lightly considered the first two options only to fully commit to the third.  ahem.
next, start to carefully bring the edges of the pancake up and over the pudding, pinching together at the top to make your little dumplings.  spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with cinnamon.

choco pudding vessel all locked and loaded!

put them in the oven on the middle rack and bake for 12 minutes or so...until the crust has started to brown and crisp a bit at the peaks.  top with a drizzle of agave, maple syrup, or honey, a little cinnamon, some fruit and relish in the fact that each one of these delicious little pudding pockets has about as much protein as a single serving of lean turkey breast, 12 g of fiber (that's nearly half your RDA) with under 275 calories.  not so shabby, eh?

who says health food sucks?