Tweaked from my brother’s 8th birthday party (circa 1990)
In honour of my big bro’s b-day this week (actually, all of my siblings are born in the same week – myself included!), I thought I’d tweak the classic old birthday “dirt” pudding my mom used to make for the festivities.
Back then it was likely that instant pudding stuff (busy moms gotta do what they gotta do!) but we tweaked it for modern health-conscious diets by combining two of my favourite healthy (and quick!) puddings: tapioca and chocolate-avocado.
Layer those with gluten-free gingersnaps and candy worms and you’ve got yourself a dirt pudding birthday treat!
Tip: I’m no mom but I’d suggest some clear plastic cups if making this for kids! Also don’t worry about making the layers all pretty – you can speed up the process by doing just one layer of each.
Tapioca Pudding
(enough for ~5 servings)
½ cup quick cooking tapioca
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ cup honey and/or maple syrup
two 14oz cans coconut milk
2 tsp grated lemon (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1. Combine the tapioca, salt and coconut milk in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer on high heat.
2. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly to avoid sticking, until creamy and thick. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the lemon zest and vanilla and honey/ maple syrup.
4. Set aside to cool slightly while you make the chocolate pudding.
Chocolate Pudding
(enough for ~5 servings)
3 avocados
¾ cup unsweetened cacao
¼ cup honey/ maple syrup
½ cup non-dairy milk
2 tsp vanilla
Combine all of your chocolate-avocado pudding ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.
Assembly
1. Have some gluten free gingersnap cookies already crumbled/ crushed or ground (using a blender or food processor) and your worms ready to go.
2. In your clear, plastic cup or glass – begin layering your two pudding flavours and the gingersnap crumbs. When you reach the top of the glass, add your creepy crawlers and serve nice and fresh!
