Recipe by: Diane Garber of willpoweryourday.com – PCRM Food-for-Life Trainer
Ingredients:
- NEEDED for a water bath, separate from the recipe ingredients: About 2 cups hot water from a tea kettle
- SEPARATED: 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
- 1 1/2 orange – separated (1/2 orange is used for the custard, 1 orange is roasted for decorative slices)
- 3 – 6 Tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1/2 cup finely ground rolled oats/gf oats
- SEPARATED: 4+ teaspoons Chocolate Orange Balsamic (1 overflowing teaspoon per serving)
- Optional: Vegan chocolate chips, sliced almonds
Directions:
- In Food Processor, add ¾ cup of water and rolled oats. Pulse until liquefied, set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. This recipe calls for a water bath – choose a baking dish that will hold 4 ramekins. Thinly slice the whole orange so that thin, round discs are created. Place the discs on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper – place this cookie sheet on the higher rack in the preheated oven.
- Place ¾ cup of the water, arrowroot powder in a large saucepan. No heat right now — stir to combine.
- Use 1/2 of an orange – use a microplane to remove the outer orange rind (lightly remove the rind, only remove the orange color, not the white pith.) Squeeze the juice from the ½ orange (include the rind if desired – otherwise save the rind for later) directly into the saucepan.
- Add the set aside oat water mixture and 3 T of frozen orange juice concentrate to saucepan. Stir – still, no heat.
- Now, use medium heat and stir the saucepan mixture – after a few minutes, it will thicken.
- Once it has thickened, slightly reduce the heat. Take a small sample to test for sweetness, knowing that the Chocolate Orange Balsamic will definitely add in a sweet kick when added later. (optional: Some individuals may choose to add in another 1T – 3T of the frozen OJ concentrate for maximum sweetness)
- Once the sweetness is desired, pour out 1/4 of the mixture into each of 4 ramekins. Place each ramekin inside a DRY baking dish. Add 1 overflowing teaspoon of the Chocolate Orange Balsamic Vinegar into each ramekin. Stir each serving well.
- Open the hot oven. Place the baking dish on the lower rack. NOW, slowly and carefully pour in the heated tea kettle water so that the ‘water bath’ is about 1/2 of the height of the ramekin. Bake for 40 minutes.
- Carefully remove the custards from the lower oven rack. After 15 minutes, with POTHOLDERS, remove each ramekin from the bath.
- Now, remove the tray of thinly sliced oranges. Top each ramekin with an orange slice. Use the remaining orange slices for garnishes, snacks, desserts. – Serve warm or chilled. Refrigerate after the custards have cooled.