Baked Chocolate Chia Pudding with Meringue

When you first become vegan there are certain foods you think that you will have to say goodbye to forever. Meringue was one of those foods I bid adieu to. After a year of being vegan I found some recipes on Pinterest, but although they looked positively delicious the ingredients they called for were pretty foreign and seemed like a little to much work for my lazy butt. Then I ran across Vegan Desserts by Hannah Kaminsky. If you don't own this book yet stop reading this post and go get it now (Or check out her blog)! It is filled with amazing dessert recipes sorted by season. Among these treasures was this ridiculously simple meringue recipe. You can find Ener G egg replacer in almost every grocery store, and basically all you have to do is throw the ingredients in the standing mixer and let it do it's thing. Perfect for a little lazy lady like me. But I got overzealous. I made the biggest batch of meringue ever, and then I had to figure out what to do with it all. I made the adorable Meringue as suggested in the book, but I still had soooooo much meringue. What's a girl to do? Well improvise of course! I'd been craving chia pudding, but since the cold front came in I was a little resistant to the idea of any chilled foods. Then I thought.. why not bake the pudding...with the meringue? I mean baked pudding? That's a thing right? Well it is now.... This charming pudding keeps a wonderfully moist consistency and tastes so delicious warm with the airy meringue. This is a pretty tasty treat to impress your significant other with on a cozy date night, or a great addition to a wine & dine with your best girl friend. 

Pudding adapted from Oh She Glows and Meringue adapted from a recipe in Vegan Desserts

Yields two servings
Ingredients
Pudding
1 1/4 cup of almond milk
1/2 cup of ground chia seeds
1 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp agave
1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips
Meringue
3/4 cup of water
1/3 cup of Ener G egg replacer
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tsp mint extract
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325
Pudding
1. Pour all of the pudding ingredients into a small mixing bowl and whisk together until completely combined
2. Spoon all of the pudding into two small baking ramekins
Meringue
1. Pour Ener G egg replacer and water into a large bowl for a standing mixer and whip on the highest speed for 5 minutes
2. Once 5 minutes are up slowing begin to add in the sugar as you continue to whip the meringue on high for an additional 5 minutes
3. Gently fold in the mint extract with a spoon or spatula
4. Spoon the meringue onto the top of the pudding in the ramekin
5. Bake pudding with meringue topping for 30-35 minutes

Serve warm and make sure you have a big spoon!