Vegan Valentine

Here at Vegan Valentine, we take Valentine’s Day very seriously. This represents Part Three: The Final Part of my Valentine’s Day installment.

When you want a rich, chocolatey dessert but you don’t have a lot of time, you can whip up this recipe with ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen. (…Do most people keep baking chocolate in their kitchen?) It makes two servings, so it’s perfect for a romantic dinner. If you’re just cooking for yourself, you can keep one in the refrigerator and heat it up the next day. (Or eat both. I won’t tell.) The best part is: if you have a 2 cup microwavable liquid measuring cup, you can prepare all of the batter in there. And you know what that means: fewer dishes, and my life’s goal is accomplished.

Ingredients:

2-3 cups cubed bread, preferably a day or two old

1/2 cup plain soy milk or almond milk

2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Raspberries and/or seedless red raspberry jam (optional)

Soy whip (optional)

You will also need two ramekins or some sort of little dishes that you can put in the oven.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut your bread into cubes that are no bigger than an inch on all sides. I used a day-old loaf of Italian bread, but any white bread should work.

In a microwavable bowl or liquid measuring cup, melt the chocolate with the soy milk, stopping to stir at 30 second intervals.

When the chocolate is melted, add the sugar and vanilla and stir until smooth.

Put one layer of bread cubes in the ramekins. Pour about 1/4 of the batter in one dish and 1/4 in the other. Try to make sure all the bread is covered in chocolate.

Put another layer of bread cubes on top of the first and repeat.

Fill a baking dish with about an inch of water and place the ramekins in the dish.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, until chocolate looks set. Be careful taking them out of the oven. The first time I made these, I dropped one on the floor. That was sad. Don’t do that.

(Don’t worry if yours looks more dry when it first comes out of the oven. The liquid goes to the bottom, so I just mixed it up.)

Serve warm with raspberries and seedless red raspberry jam for a Valentine’s Day -appropriate look, if you like that kind of thing. Personally, I prefer to keep fruit far, far away from my chocolate. Soy whip, on the other hand, I have no problem with.

Happy Valentine’s Day!