This post is sponsored by Almond Breeze Almondmilk. As always all opinions are my own.
This easy to make, creamy, vegan chocolate almond pudding topped with a delicious sweet cherry sauce is sure to please all chocolate lovers!
Aside from popsicles galore, big bowls of ice cream, and no bake cheesecakes, my other favorite cold summer dessert is pudding. Now I’m not talking the box of pudding from the store, although I’m sure if someone handed me a bowl I would still eat it. I’m talking homemade, from scratch, thick, creamy pudding! Normally I’m a vanilla girl, but every once in a while I get a mad craving for chocolate and when it hits, look out world! I’ll go to great lengths to get myself that chocolatey treat!
As far as chocolate desserts go, chocolate pudding is probably one of my favorites. Normally I make my pudding with skim or low fat milk to keep the fat in check, and depending on if I want to mess with tempering eggs I’ll sometimes thicken it with cornstarch instead. One thing I hadn’t tried was making pudding using a non-dairy milk. When Blue Diamond sent me a box of their Almond Breeze Almondmilk Original I knew I had to use it to make some delicious chocolate pudding!
I decided that since I was making a dairy-free pudding I might as well skip the eggs and make it vegan as well. The almond milk gives the pudding a slight nutty flavor which I enhanced even more with sweet almond extract. I could seriously add almond extract to all of my desserts, I can’t get enough of it! I kept the fat and calories down in the pudding by using unsweetened cocoa powder rather than semi-sweet or dark chocolate.
Since it’s cherry season it seemed only right that this creamy rich chocolate almond pudding be topped with a cherry sauce. Not only are cherries and chocolate an amazing combination, but cherries and almond are as well. I couldn’t get over how luscious and sinful the pudding tasted, but in reality it was actually on the lighter side as far as desserts are concerned. Be sure to add this Chocolate Almond Pudding with Cherry Topping to your list of cold and tasty treats you make this summer!
Yields 8 servings
2 hr, 10 Prep Time
15 minCook Time
2 hr, 25 Total Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- 4 cups Almond Breeze Almondmilk Original
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups cherries, pitted
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Instructions
- In a medium sized bowl sift together the sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, cornstarch, and salt.
- Heat the almond milk in a large saucepan over medium high heat until bubble form around the edge, do not boil.
- Pour about 1 cup of the warm almond milk into the dry mixture and whisk together until smooth.
- Pour the chocolate mixture back into the saucepan with the remaining almond milk.
- Whisk the pudding constantly over medium high heat until it becomes thick, about 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract and vanilla.
- Pour the mixture into a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap so that the plastic is on top of the pudding (this will prevent a skin from forming).
- Refrigerate the pudding until it is cold, about 2 hours.
- Once cold, whisk the pudding then pour it into serving bowls or glasses and top with the cherry topping.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the water until it dissolves.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat add the cherries, sugar, water, and salt.
- Bring the cherry mixture to a boil stirring occasionally until the sauce thickens.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.
- Pour the sauce into a bowl, cover it, and refrigerate until it's cold.
