For Love of Chocolate: Easy Chocolate Cups (dairy, gluten, corn free)

Wow!  It's been a while since I blogged.  Sorry, but I honestly had no power over it.  The "cold" I thought I was getting at the time of my last group of posts?  Turned out to be the flu.  Which then hit my entire family after I was down with it for a week and after my husband and son relapsed with it...we've been well for three whole days now.  So *fingers crossed* here's hoping that we stay that way as I'm getting really burned out on sickness around here (I mean it's been a month and a half!).

Anyway, onto more pleasant matters.  Valentine's Day!  The day where you get to go out and buy chocolate and flowers for the one you love.  Well...unless you have allergies.  Then things get not so fun.

I really feel for my kids when there are celebrations around school and at family functions.  I mean it's bad enough that they don't get to go to birthday parties and other celebrations that revolve around food due to allergies, but when you are constantly passed over with treats that people bring to school on holidays, like today, it just makes, especially my daughter, feel so left out of things.  So, today, I wanted to make something cool that everyone in our house could enjoy for dessert (and surprise my husband with chocolate ;).

I've had this "method" in my hat for years.  I learned it from 30 Minute Meals (love how Rachel Ray can make anything not take long *laugh*) and have been using it for years.  I took the old recipe I had of hers,  mixed it up to make it dairy free and corn free and voila!  Lovely chocolatey goodness that is super easy to make, sets up in no time, makes you feel like a culinary rock star and is so yummy you'll never know it was so easy to make.

And the best part?  There's no tempering or other "fussy" processes involved.  Just put it into a blender and it all comes together in no time.

I usually use tea cups as molds for this.  I used to use espresso cups ages ago (which is what Rachel Ray used on the original show I saw), but I have no idea where those cups ended up in the move, so tea cups it has been for serving since we moved.  Either way it's a great cute way to serve the custardish pudding as it looks like coffee when you first glance down into the cup and then it's a big surprise when the other party realizes that it's actually chocolate dessert.

Just a quick note:  DO NOT try and sub out any low fat anything for the full fat milk in this or it won't come together.  Yes, it's that important.

Easy Chocolate Cups  (gluten, dairy, corn free)

• 2/3 Cup + 1 TBS Full fat coconut milk
• 1 Cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips
• 1 TBS palm sugar (or 2 TBS white sugar)
• 1 TBS pure vanilla extract (be sure it's corn free)
• 1 tsp. pure almond extract
• 1 egg

Bring coconut milk to a boil in a small saucepan over moderate heat.  While the milk is heating, pour other ingredients into blender and blend well  to break up the chocolate pieces a bit and incorporate your liquids in with your chocolate (makes it easier to melt the chocolate later and coats the egg with chocolate fat, which stops it from curdling too).

Once milk comes to a boil, kill the heat under the milk and with the blender running, CAREFULLY pour the milk into the chocolate mixture.  The chocolate will melt really fast and everything should come together pretty quick.

Once the mixture is smooth and liquid, pour into single serving containers (like I said I use tea cups, which gives you three servings...when I used espresso cups I'd get four, so use what you have) and place in fridge until they set up (you can serve in as little as a half an hour).

Top with whipped topping of choice, if you wish, or you could sprinkle some powdered sugar on top for a really cool effect.  Whatever your pleasure.

By the way, if you can tolerate dairy at all (which I can), you can remove the 1 tsp. of almond extract and replace it with 1 tablespoon of Nutella spread and oohhhh baby that just adds another layer of yummy to the mix.  Just saying :).

I am not sure if flax or chia eggs would work as a binder in this, but if you need to be egg free, try it sometime.  Even if the mixture doesn't set up to a pudding-like consistency it'll still be darned tasty!

Enjoy everyone and Happy Valentine's Day!