Chocolate chia seed dirt pudding

It's almost Earth Day, and I'm making pudding cups featuring one of the most sustainable plant foods you can consume: chia seeds!

What makes chia seeds so sustainable? The plant grows well in arid regions, and they have a low water footprint; they don’t require pesticides or chemicals to grow; and they have a low carbon footprint--in fact, they make the air we breathe cleaner. 

Back to the dirt pudding cups—there are 3 parts: chocolate chia seed pudding, chocolate granola, and worms made out of dates.

I made the pudding with chia seeds, Dutch-processed cocoa powder, milk (plant or cow), a little maple syrup for sweetener, and vanilla extract. The trick to make it silky smooth and not have a weird texture is to blend it after the chia seeds soak.

For the chocolate granola I used "Clay’s Chocolate Buzz” Warrior Snack Mix from Bee Free. It's a local, woman-owned company that uses non-processed ingredients and does a lot of good for the community.

Chocolate chia seed dirt pudding

Yield: Makes about 4 (8-ounce) pudding cups

Time: 20 minutes prep, 4 hours wait time

Ingredients

For the chocolate chia pudding

• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 6 Tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 cups milk (plant-based milk or cow milk)
• 1 cup chocolate granola crumbles (I use Clay’s Chocolate Buzz Warrior Mix by Bee Free)

For the worms

• 4 dates, pitted
• 3 Tablespoons almond flour
• 2 teaspoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Directions

For the chocolate chia pudding

1. Mix chia seeds, cocoa powder, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt in medium-sized bowl.
2. Slowly pour in milk, whisking as you pour. Incorporate any clumps sticking to sides.
3. Cover pudding and refrigerate at least 4 hours but preferably overnight.
4. Pour chia seed pudding into blender and blend until smooth.

For the worms

1. Blend everything in food processor. Dough should be sticky but manageable. If dough is too sticky, add another tablespoon of almond flour.
2. Pinch off pieces of dough and shape into worms.

For assembly

1. Place 2 teaspoons chocolate granola crumbles in bottom of jar.
2. Add layer of pudding to about halfway up. Layer 2 more teaspoons of granola on top of pudding.
3. Top off with another layer of pudding and 2 teaspoons granola.
4. Place worms on top and serve.

Lemon Lavender Easter Egg Truffles

 

Lemon Lavender Easter Egg Truffles consist of a lemon lavender cake and buttercream mixture that is coated in white chocolate. They're very similar to cake pops but 100 times easier. Cake pops are actually a tricky to make. They're a pain to roll and dip, and they can easily crack and fall apart if you aren't careful. 

I use a silicone egg mold (this is the exact one I have) to form the cake mixture into an egg shape, and I also use the mold to evenly coat the truffles in white chocolate. The back of the truffles aren't coated in chocolate, but I don't think that takes away from their appearance or taste. 

I choose a lemon lavender flavor combination for the truffles—one of my favorites, and it's perfect for spring. There are a few ways to incorporate lavender flavoring in baked goods. My favorite way to infuse cakes and buttercream with lavender flavor is to steep dried lavender buds in the milk and cream that are necessary for the recipe. I think this tastes the most natural, and you don't run the risk of overdoing the lavender flavor, which can happen with lavender extract. There are two types of dried lavender buds you can buy: English and French. English lavender is for eating; French is for fragrance. So make sure you use English lavender. Steep the lavender buds in the dairy for at least 30 minutes. I personally like a stronger lavender flavor, so I steep mine for several hours and sometimes overnight.

If I was baking a layered cake, I would not use a cake mix. I usually don't like the texture, and I don't think it requires that much more effort to bake from scratch. But in this case, we're crumbling the cake into crumbs, so the texture doesn't matter. That's why I used a cake mix. I used a combination of lemon zest and lemon extract for the lemon flavor. Use less extract if you prefer less lemon flavor. As this recipe stands, I don't think the lemon flavor is super strong.

Here are some potential questions that may arise as you make this recipe:

Q: What is the best cake to frosting ratio?

A: I prefer a 2:1 cake to frosting ratio by weight

Q: What chocolate is best?

A: You could certainly spend a lot of money and use a high-quality chocolate like Ghirardelli, but I prefer to use melting wafers. They are specifically designed for melting and coating.

Q: How do I color chocolate?

A: You CANNOT use liquid to color chocolate. You must use either oil or gel-based color or powder. Liquid will cause the chocolate to seize.

Q:  Can I flavor chocolate?

A: Yes, but you CANNOT use liquid extracts to flavor chocolate. You must use either oil-based flavorings or powder. Liquid will cause the chocolate to seize.

Lemon Lavender Easter Egg Truffles

Yield: Makes about 16 servings depending on size of mold

Time: About 2 hours

Ingredients

For the lavender cream

• 1/4 cup + 1 Tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tablespoon dried culinary lavender

For the lavender milk

• 1 cup milk + 3 Tablespoons
• 3 Tablespoons dried culinary lavender

For the lemon lavender buttercream frosting

• 1/2 cup Challenge unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons lavender cream
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the truffles

• 1 box white cake mix
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup Challenge unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup lavender milk
• 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
• About 12 - 18 ounces white chocolate candy melts 

Directions

For the lavender cream

1. Add cream to small saucepan over low heat. Once cream starts to simmer, remove from heat and stir in lavender.
2. Cover and steep for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Strain through fine-mesh sieve set over bowl. Discard lavender. 
4. Set aside.

For the lavender milk

1. Add milk to small saucepan over low heat. Once milk starts to simmer, remove from heat and stir in lavender.
2. Cover and steep for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
3. Strain through fine-mesh sieve set over bowl. Discard lavender. 
4. Set aside.

For the lemon lavender buttercream

1. Cream softened butter on medium speed for about 3 minutes. 
2. Slowly add powdered sugar in several additions. Scrape bowl after each addition.
3. Add lavender cream, lemon extract, and salt and mix thoroughly. If frosting is too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick, add more cream (1 teaspoon). If frosting is too sweet, add more salt (1/4 teaspoon). Set aside.

For the truffles

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line bottoms of two 9-inch cake pans with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Set aside,
3. Mix cake mix with eggs, butter, lavender milk. lemon zest, and lemon extract.
4. Divide batter between cake pans. 
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and top bounces back when pressed lightly. Allow to cool for about 25 minutes on wire rack before removing from cake pan.
6. Once cake cools, crumble cake in bowl. Add frosting and mix thoroughly.
7. Measure about 1 Tablespoon of cake mixture and press into each egg-shaped cavities in mold.
8. Place mold in freezer for about 10 minutes.
9. Remove mold from freezer and remove solid cake mixture from cavities.
10. Thoroughly clean mold.
11. Heat candy melts in separate bowl. Start with 1 minute and stir. Continue to heat in 15-second intervals until it's smooth. Color candy melts with oil-based coloring or powder if desired.
12. Add about 1 Tablespoon of candy melts to each egg cavity in mold.
13. Press solid cake mixture back into egg cavities (on top of candy melts). Candy melts should come up sides of cake mixture.
14. Place molds in refrigerator for about 15 minutes or until candy melts solidify.
15. Remove truffles from mold. Decorate if desired and serve.
16. Place leftovers in refrigerator for up to 1 week.