20.09.2009 Le Pou Dingue

Whoa, dudes: the moment a spoonful of this stuff hit my best buds (aka my tastebuds), it was like I was eating the chestnut purée of my childhood. So good!

And rather good for you too, since it is devoid of refined sweeteners, can be made gluten-free by making sure to use oats that are certified to be gluten-free, and finally, soy-free too if you use oil to coat the ramekins, or have access to soy-free nondairy butter.
The best part is it ain’t flavor-free, you better believe this picky palate of mine when it comes to dessert.

You can probably eat this unbaked, by nixing the baking powder, or also eat it straight from the oven. But I prefer enjoying it cold, because it allows the flavors to develop and I…well, I like my desserts to be as cold as my cold, cold heart.

Make it even more special by using homemade applesauce (roast your apples!) and toasted nuts. Or use pears. Add ginger with the latter. Add a sprinkle of nutmeg with the former, if you fancy it that way.

I have about a million variations of this in mind, and you probably will too, because it’s not only tasty, it’s also hella quick and easy to make. And I’m all about quick and easy. Like Sunday morning.

(Oh, the title of this post is just a play on pudding/pou dingue, which are (wrongly, when you don’t know a word of English like I used to) pronounced just about the same in French. Pou dingue = Crazy nit.)

Baked Apple Puddings:

1/2 teaspoon nondairy butter, to grease the ramekins
1/4 cup (20 g) old-fashioned or quick oats
3/4 cup (75 g) walnuts halves
4 Medjool dates, pitted and cut in four to facilitate processing
1/2 cup (122 g) unsweetened applesauce
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus a little extra to sprinkle on top
Pinch fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4). Lightly coat two 6-ounce oven-safe ramekins with butter.
Combine oats and walnuts in food processor. Blend until finely ground, and that the walnuts start to release their oil a little.
Add dates, and process until the pieces of dates disappear into oblivion.
Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping sides and bottom once to make sure everyone joins the party.
Divide the sticky batter into the prepared ramekins. Sprinkle just a pinch of ground cinnamon on top of each ramekin.
Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool and chill in the fridge before eating.

Yield: 2 servings