Why it works: Avocado and cocoa powder work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and 23 recipes mention both. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
(8 servings)Ingredients
Contains: milk, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Scoop the flesh from the 3 ripe avocados into a food processor or blender, discarding the pits.
Add the non-dairy milk, maple syrup, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt to the avocado.
Add the cocoa powder and the arrowroot powder, if using, as a thickener. Blend for about 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until completely smooth and glossy.
Taste the pudding and blend again briefly if it needs a smoother texture.
Spoon the pudding into serving dishes, cover and chill for at least 1 hour until thick and set before serving.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Avocado + cocoa powdertop 13% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together23 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together19,175 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Avocado + almondtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together98 recipes
Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).
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Vanilla + cocoa powdertop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,189 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Vanilla + almondtop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,961 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the arrowroot
The recipe marks arrowroot as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (avocado, milk, vanilla, almond, maple syrup, cocoa powder):
- Sweet potatobetter flavor fit
- Capsicumbetter flavor fit
- Potatoabout as good a flavor fit
- Arrowrootthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against avocado, milk, vanilla, almond, maple syrup, cocoa powder. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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