Almond cranberry pudding
/Almond flour, a little like coconut flour, can be tricky to handle at first. Whilst coconut flour has a tendency to be very drying, almond flour has a way of 'sticking to the roof of your mouth' does that sound odd? I wasn't sure how else to describe it. However, when used in the right way and combined with complimentary ingredients these wholefood, gluten free flours can make a totally unique and delicious dish. It is well worth the perseverance!
Last year I tried an experiment using almond flour to make a white fudge (think of an equivalent of this amazing chocolate fudge) ...but it was a total disaster! Last weekend I was once again in the mood to experiment with almond flour and began to prepare what going to be a thick fluffy cranberry infused pancake along the lines of this recipe but fluffier (yes really...don't ask!) As I was making the 'batter' it appeared to take on an thick separated texture that was not at all like pancake batter and I was not convinced that anything edible would result, however since I'd already begun I figured I may as well continue!
Working with the more cake-like texture of the batter, I changed tack and decided to spoon the mixture into a small lightly greased dish, I then pressed my part cooked cranberries into the top, sprinkled a little coconut sugar... ( a little magic fairy dust) and put the dish in the oven.
Twenty minutes later, I had my very own chocolate cranberry almond pudding. It was light, moist, delicious and perfectly worthy of its own post! The tart cranberries were the perfect filling. Yiu could easily double this and cook in a larger pan.
Pancakes can wait for another day.
Recipe: Almond cranberry pudding
Serves 1
Ingredients
¼ cup cranberries
¼ cup almond flour
1 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp ground flax or chia seed
1 tsp agave syrup
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch salt
½ cup soy milk (start with 1/4 cup and add more as needed)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp melted coconut oil/vegetable oil
Sprinkle of coconut sugar
Method
Cook the cranberries for 5 mins in a little water in a saucepan until part cooked.
Meanwhile prepare the batter. Mix dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients. Mix well until you have a smooth thick batter with no lumps. It will have a lot of ‘texture’ and not appear very wet or runny- this is normal.
Lightly grease a small oven dish (single serving size) and spoon the mixture in spreading it evenly. Press the part-cooked cranberries into the top of the batter and sprinkle with coconut sugar to offset the tartness of the cranberries.
Bake at 180 for approx. 20 minutes until golden. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes before serving.
