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Today marks mine and Mike’s 8th wedding anniversary, which seems completely crazy to me. (Crazy that eight years have passed, not that we’ve stuck together that long. Although, maybe it is a little crazy since we were so young when we got married…who says kids can’t make good choices? Lol.) Anyway, people have been congratulating us all over the place for passing the “seven year itch”, so I’ll take our 8th anniversary as a really good omen.
I don’t like PDAs (which includes PDAs on the blog!) so not to worry, I won’t get all mushy here. But I will tell you a little something about our honeymoon…
We ate chocolate. Every.single.day.
Sometimes more than once a day.
We had velvety chocolate sorbets in sugar cones when we were out, spoonfuls of the creamiest chocolate ice cream eaten straight from the container in bed, and Swiss chocolate candy bars with whole roasted hazelnuts along with our Turkish coffee and Fairuz playing on the balcony in the mornings. It was bliss, no doubt the shortest three and a half weeks of my life.
Does anyone else see Batman in the pudding in the back? I don’t think I could have done that as well if I had been trying. And yeah, Batman is definitely not romantic.
Of course, being eight years older now, we don’t indulge in nearly as much chocolate. But every so often, when I eat a certain kind of chocolate or when we drink Turkish coffee together in the morning or when I hear a certain song, I’ll remember our honeymoon.
Last year I shared another chocolate recipe in honor of our honeymoon: Chocolate-Hazelnut Custard. That recipe is just as delicious as this one, but this one is a bit healthier; it boasts heart-healthy fats, antioxidants, and natural sweetener. This is definitely one chocolate treat I could get used to eating every day.
- 1 (14 oz/400 g) can full-fat coconut milk
- ½ cup (40 g) unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
- ½ cup (120 ml) pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon instant coffee powder, dissolved in 1 teaspoon hot water
- ⅛ teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Whisk together the coconut milk, cocoa powder, maple syrup, dissolved coffee, and salt in a medium saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn the heat down and simmer 15 minutes, whisking frequently. (It should be thickened, but not as thick as it is in the pictures because it will thicken more as it cools.)
- Turn off heat and whisk in the vanilla.
- Cool to room temperature (whisking occasionally to help the pudding cool more evenly), then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate to chill completely before serving.
- Serve chilled.
I’m the writer, recipe developer, photographer, and food stylist behind this blog. I love finding the human connection through something we all do every day: eat! Food is a common ground that we can all relate to, and our tables tell a story. It’s my goal to inspire you to get in the kitchen, try something new, and find a favorite you didn’t know you had.
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Thanks. I will try a different brand next time. It still tastes yummy!!
Mine set well, tastes good, but it is not all that smooth. The coconut milk separated and pooled slightly in the oorners of my container after it was refrigerated. There is a slight grainy texture. Any ideas? The full fat coconut milk in the can was partially solidified when I opened it. Is this normal?
Robin, This pudding should turn out really smooth, almost velvety – because I’ve noticed a pretty big difference in the quality between different brands of coconut milk, my best guess is that the coconut milk was the cause of the grainy texture. (I use Thai Kitchen’s full-fat coconut milk, which I really like.)
About coconut milk being partially solidified…when full-fat coconut milk is chilled (either refrigerated or kept at cool room temperature), a thick, waxy-looking layer will rise to the top, and a thinner, watery layer will separate to the bottom – this is totally normal.
I hope this helps! :)
How would organic honey go instead of maple syrup and coconut cream instead of coconut milk?
Vanessa, Sounds yummy! I haven’t tried this recipe with those changes, but please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
To add to my previous post from yesterday, i just had a great idea. After the recipe is done, and you’re about to eat a serving – add a handful of raisins and mix them into the pudding.
Just did it and it was incredible! I always used to love chocolate raisins so here’s the paleo way to do it! (if raisins are paleo.. which im not sure about tbh)
This recipe is incredible! Just finished making my 3rd batch. Works absolutely fine with honey instead of maple syrup.
My advice is to leave it overnight to set – a few hours in the fridge wont get it solid enough in my experience. Also dont bother eating it before it’s fully set, it’s nowhere near as nice for some reason.
I would love to modify this to a different sweetner to fit my low glycemic index diet. If I switch out the pure maple syrup (I know, so sad) for water with truvia would the evaporation process still work? Should I decrease the amount of water since maple syrup is thicker to start with? Thanks.
Beth, I haven’t tried this recipe using another sweetener, so I can’t say for sure, but to omit the maple syrup I would be concerned that it wouldn’t thicken properly since maple syrup reduces to a thick, syrupy consistency when cooked down, which probably helps thicken this pudding. You could try adding something else to thicken it if you want to omit the maple syrup (such as arrowroot powder or eggs), but I haven’t tried any of these variations to know what works best. Please let me know how it goes if you give it a try!
What about using brown rice syrup instead of maple syrup? I am under the impression that brown rice syrup is a lower GI sweetener.
Leslie, I haven’t tried this recipe using brown rice syrup, but I think it would work fine! If you give it a try, let me know how it turns out!
I tried this and it came out great! I was expecting it to be runny, but I made sure to cook it a good long time to let it thicken. Delicious! I was feeling really deprived, and this hit the spot. Thank you!
This was just what I was looking for in a chocolate pudding, thank you!
Any luck using light coconut milk? That’s what I have in my pantry
Hi Jen, I would stick with full-fat canned coconut milk for this recipe…sorry about that!
this is also fabulous with orange zest, homemade or commercial orange extract, or Grand Marnier added once you remove it from the heat. Candied orange peel or a super thin twist of orange atop each serving. Candied ginger is great too. And ramp it up by combining with steamed black thai rice or Chinese black rice (aka Forbidden or Emperor’s rice)
Su bummed, mine didn’t set up! Glad I had ice cream as a back up for our guests and kiddos.
Theresa, I’m sorry to hear that! Did you make sure to use canned full-fat coconut milk like the recipe says? The only other thing I can think of is that maybe it needed to cook longer for you (because if the right ingredients are used it should set every time – it’s just a matter of evaporation in this pudding), but if it was humid when you made this, it might have needed a bit of extra time for the evaporation process.
i’m REALLY coming to appreciate maple syrup as a sweetener. i think this treat looks perfectly decadent, faith. happy anniversay and may you always enjoy each other as much as i enjoy chocolate. :)
Happy 8th anniversary Faith! The chocolate pudding looks luscious! I’m gonna try it.
Happy anniversary, Faith! Your pudding looks delicious.
I vote for chocolate every day. Since I just started I’m pretty sure I have a lot of makeup days coming to me.
Congratulations! Happy 8th Anniversary :)
This pudding looks heavenly Faith!! So luscious and creamy! It’s amazing that there’s no cream in it! I’m definitely gonna try this recipe :) Many thanks for sharing!!
xox Amy
Happy Anniversary, darling!!! I’m so happy you ate chocolate on your honeymoon every-single-day… it just seems like the right thing to do,
And this pudding!? Yes. Yes, please. xx
Is there a substitute for the instant coffee?
Amy, You could use a small amount of strong brewed coffee (maybe a couple teaspoons) instead if you want, or just omit the coffee altogether. It’s just there to enhance the flavor notes of the chocolate, but you shouldn’t actually be able to pull out the flavor of coffee.
Happy Anniversary, Faith! This pudding looks creamy and dreamy, I love it! :)
Congratulations! Reminds me a bit of when I took my daughter to Italy for her sweet 16 – we ate gelato EVERY DAY! Ah, la dolce vita!
I have questions that probably sounds crazy: How coconutty does this taste? My husband swears he hates coconut, but (like eggplant) I can usually get away with it if the flavour is not too obvious.
Thanks!!
Colette
Colette, In this pudding, coconut isn’t the predominant flavor, but it definitely is in the background.
I have to say, I’m jealous that you can sneak in eggplant with your hubby! My hubby can pick it out no matter what I do, lol. :)
Happy Anniversary Faith!!! Here is to many, many more happy years together <3
Whoa, this looks delightful in so many ways! Happy anniversary!
Happy, happy anniversary to you and Mike!!! I will eat some chocolate in virtual celebration! Our honeymoon was “spectacular” in a different way… A wildfire started the day of our wedding, and at one point was close to our home. We basically sheltered in place and watched the news – and tried to keep the dog calm.
Happy 8th Anniversary!
This pudding looks really good! A luscious dessert.
Cheers,
Rosa
Congratulations on your anniversary.
Chocolate every day? That sounds like my kind of honeymoon – may have to suggest that to the boy when we plan ours.
Your chocolate puddings look heavenly. Your bowls are super cute too.
What a great way to celebrate! SO yum. Chocolate every day? I’m in ;). Happy Anniversary!!