Dairy Free Egg Free Vanilla Pudding

I just love it when you make something, and you accidentally end up making something else… I honestly thought I was going to build a new dairy free cheesecake– one that didn’t require freezing.  I was totally psyched.  And then,  I ended up with the best vanilla pudding, ever! I’m pretty excited about this…  Here we go!  I’ve included two versions, the straight vanilla pudding, and then the vanilla banana pudding.  To be honest, I really love the banana version the most-  its a touch lighter in consistency, and doesn’t have a strong banana taste.

Also- I’ve only used 1/4 cup of honey in this recipe (there is a vegan option).  When you add the banana, it does make it sweeter.  However, in general I prefer things not to be overpoweringly sweet.  If you want it sweeter, consider adding maybe maple sugar or maple syrup) I find if you use more honey it actually leaves a very strong taste in your mouth, its not so great.

Soooo…. are you ready?  I’ll give you two versions of this one,  with and without the banana….

Oh!! btw- I made this recipe only twice, so it is still subject to tweaking. Please, Please let me know if your results are different, I want to make it one more time to make sure I have the chemistry right!!

Note:  This pudding doesn’t have that famous yellow colour because there is no egg in it…. If you are feeding youngsters (lol… K thats you lol)  you might want to tell them before you serve it that it doesn’t look exactly the same… if they expect an exact carbon copy they’ll take one look at this and be like…err whats this??? lol

Last note: If you have a hand blender, use it! Its very helpful for this recipe.

Dairy Free Vanilla Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 cups vanilla almond milk
• 1 and 1/3 cup ground cashews (grind raw cashews in a coffee grinder until they are a super fine consistency)
• 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped
• 1/4 cup honey (Vegan: 1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup, or 1/4 cup brown rice syrup or yacon syrup, Anti-Candida diet: use several drops of stevia)
• 1 tsp almond extract (if you aren’t sure whether you like almond extract, just do 1/2 tsp or less. I love the stuff, but some people find it strong.  You can always add more at any point in the recipe and heating the pudding to incorporate it.)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground flax
• 1/2 tsp agar agar powder (you can get it at most asian grocery stores, way cheaper than at the health food store)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Directions

1. Pour the almond milk into a small sauce pot, and add the vanilla bean pods and seeds, coconut oil, and honey.
2. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for at least  a minute to infuse the vanilla.
3. Add the almond extract.  Remove the vanilla pods.
4. Sprinkle in the flax. It will start bubbling like crazy, so be careful and turn down the heat.
5. Mix the agar agar powder with 1 tsp of water and then pour into the mix.  If you have a hand blender,  don’t mix it with water, just sprinkle into the hot mixture and blend right away to prevent clumping.
6. In a separate bowl, mix the cashews with the cinnamon.
7. Pour the hot almond milk mix into the cashews, and mix vigorously. Yes, its going to clump.  At this point, use your hand blender. If you don’t have one,  try doing it in batches using a food processor (let it cool a bit first!!) or a regular drink blender (it may be sticky and a bit messy).
8. If after blending it as best you can, it is still super clumpy,  microwave it for 30 second intervals and mix it-  the agar agar is re-activated with heat and can be re-melted and re-mixed (thank goodness!).
9. Let it cool.  Its super yummy hot, but its at its thickest consistency after cooling for at least an hour or so. Plus, that gives time for the cashews to absorb the liquid and lose the graininess.

Note: If you want the pudding thicker,  you can re-heat it and add a bit more flax.  If you want it sturdier,  re-heat it and add more agar (be careful though- only add 1/4 tsp more at a time, the stuff can make it solid as a brick…!)

This would be super yummy with fresh fruit…

In the words of Wierd Al…. Eat itttt….  :)

Next is the banana pudding recipe!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dairy Free Banana Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond milk
• 1 cup cashew (ground finely in a coffee or spice grinder)
• 1/2 vanilla bean split and scraped
• 1/4 cup honey (Vegan: 1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup, or 1/4 cup brown rice syrup or yacon syrup)
• 1/2 tsp almond extract (if you aren’t sure whether you like almond extract, just do 1/2 tsp or less. I love the stuff, but some people find it strong.  You can always add more at any point in the recipe and heating the pudding to incorporate it.)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp agar agar powder
• 1/2 tsp flax
• 1 banana, frozen

Directions

1. The night before, or 3 hours in advance,  freeze the banana in its skin. Yes, this is important.  Frozen banana has a much smoother consistency, is way easier to blend into the pudding, and its also alot sweeter.  Before preparing the recipe,  defrost the banana in the microwave and squeeze it out into a bowl.
2. Pour the almond milk into a small sauce pot, and add the vanilla bean pods and seeds, coconut oil, and honey.
3. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for at least  a minute to infuse the vanilla.
4. Add the almond extract.  Remove the vanilla pods.
5. Sprinkle in the flax. It will start bubbling like crazy, so be careful and turn down the heat.
6. Add in the banana, and blend the mixture as much as possible ( hand blender, cool the mix a bit and use a regular blender, or food processor, or magic bullet or just mash as much as you can with a fork.)
7. Whatever blending method you used in the previous step, make sure the almond mix is back on the heat and bubbling.  Mix the agar agar powder with 1 tsp of water and then pour into the mix.  If you have a hand blender,  don’t mix it with water, just sprinkle into the hot mixture and blend right away to prevent clumping.
8. In a separate bowl, mix the cashews with the cinnamon.
9. Pour the hot almond milk mix into the cashews, and mix vigorously. Yes, its going to clump.  At this point, use your hand blender. If you don’t have one,  try doing it in batches using a food processor (let it cool a bit first!!) or a regular drink blender (it may be sticky and a bit messy), or mash it as much as possible with a fork.
10. If after blending it as best you can, it is still super clumpy,  microwave it for 30 second intervals and mix it-  the agar agar is re-activated with heat and can be re-melted and re-mixed (thank goodness!).
11. Let it cool.  Its super yummy hot, but its at its thickest consistency after cooling for at least an hour or so. Plus, that gives time for the cashews to absorb the liquid and lose the graininess.

Note: If you want the pudding thicker,  you can re-heat it and add a bit more flax.  If you want it sturdier,  re-heat it and add more agar (be careful though- only add 1/4 tsp more at a time, the stuff can make it solid as a brick…!)

This would be sooo yummy with melted chocolate on top!!