I’ve been trying to curb my sugar intake lately – just because I’m vegan doesn’t mean my life is devoid of temptation, far from it in fact. Even though I can’t indulge in ‘normal’ confectionery or baked goods there is plenty available to me that I can eat and eat I do! For this reason I’m always searching for treats that are big on taste and low on the guilt factor.

Sugar tastes good. I know that, you know that but we also know that too much is not a good thing. The question is how much is too much? I include my fruit as part of my daily sugar fix because whether we want to admit it or not fruit contains a whole heap of sugar. Now don’t get me wrong, fruit is definitely good for you and we all need a bit of sugar but it’s the refined kind that concerns me – that’s the stuff that’ll send your sugar levels spiking.

Some people say sugar is sugar but I beg to differ. I’m well aware this is risky territory so I’m not going into the in’s and out’s of sugars and sweeteners. What I will say is that I’ve heard enough conflicting information about agave nectar to make me want to use it less frequently – I’ll still use it but more sparingly. I’m from the school of thought that everything in moderation is the way to go – does that sound crazy coming from a vegan?

I’m pretty taken with Sweet Freedom anyway so that kinda solves my ‘what to use in place of agave’ problems – well until I discover something dubious about that. For now though I’m happy to take part in a little maple syrup action coupled with small doses of date syrup,  scant amounts of malt syrup and molasses with a reasonable reliance on the aforementioned sweet freedom, which is basically fruit syrup.

I now find I rarely use refined sugar except for perhaps in pancakes and baked goods but even then I’m always finding ways of substituting. My problem is I will not sacrifice taste and in some cases only ‘real’ sugar will do. Not here though – this pudding is perfectly sweet with the small amount of sweet freedom, dash of almond extract and cacao powder that is included. It helps that cacao powder has a lovely natural sweetness to it. Cacao is less bitter than cocoa powder with a smoother result yielded in the overall flavour. It is expensive, however, so feel free to use cocoa powder – just make sure it’s fairtrade.

Oooof! That was very long winded post for what is actually a very simple recipe. Literally made in seconds with just enough sweetness to satisfy that nagging tooth.

vegan chocolate pudding in minutes

1 cup silken tofu

1 1/2 tbsp sweet freedom

1 tbsp cacao powder

1/4 tsp or dash of almond extract (or a cheeky splash of Disaronno)

Put all the ingredients in a hand blender and blitz.

Divide between two ramekins and eat immediately or for a firmer pudding refrigerate for a few hours.

Serve on its own or with some whipped sweetened coconut cream.

That’s it!