The secret of this chocolate dessert is the use of agar-agar, a natural gelling and thickening agent that, when mixed hot and then cooled, gives this recipe a very particular texture. For every half liter of liquid will be used 3 to 7 grams of it, depending if we aim for a more gelatinous or firmer consistency.
Ingredients:
1/2 liter of regular or vegetable milk
4 full teaspoons of 100% cocoa powder
5 grams of agar-agar
4 teaspoons of sugar or xylitol
The preparation couldn’t be easier: heat the milk over moderate heat in a saucepan and at the same time mix the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. When the milk is hot, pour a little into the bowl to properly dissolve the dry ingredients, mix and return everything to the pot. Continue heating until the first bubbles appear, stirring constantly to prevent the cocoa from sticking to the bottom. Remove and serve in a rectangular mold. Store in the fridge for a couple of hours after the mixture has cooled down. When serving, unmold and cut into slices. Decorate by sprinkling cocoa powder or grated coconut, or also serve with red fruit jam.
Tips and tricks:
- The Agar-agar is a non-digestible polysaccharide, which is why it has no caloric value. Also, unlike gelatin, it is of plant origin. In this way, this dessert will be absolutely vegan if we use coconut milk, almond milk, etc.
- After many tries of preparing this dessert with coconut milk, I can confirm that the needed amount of agar-agar is not less than 7 grams for half a liter of milk. Otherwise, you will get a consistency similar to a pudding or a mousse, which is actually not bad, but still not the idea of this recipe. I still didn’t find any proper explanation for this exception, but I’m sure it’s related to the higher amount of fats that this milk contains.
- As with any dessert, calories can be reduced by using a natural substitute instead of sugar. The amount in any case is to taste, only with the warning to always use xylitol in moderation, due to its laxative properties.