Every now and then, I stumble across an intriguing food idea – the kind I realize might be a monumental failure, but I end up making anyway out of sheer nerd-like curiosity. And once in a blue moon, I’m wrong about the bad assumptions (isn’t that just a plain ‘ol slice of life?) and my mind is blown. Chocolate Tofu Tarts? Why not? Taking risks is good – so here’s a rich, sweet, creamy dessert with all the health kicks – and if you weren’t told that the secret ingredient was tofu you’d never know. I can say this because I tested the tarts on unsuspecting subjects – no complaints recorded – we had no tarts left:
The tarts are assembled in less than 10 minutes and take a further 20 to bake. So it’s the sort of dessert you can make in a spur of the moment, like when having a giant chocolate craving but no will to go out and get any. If you tend to have tofu in your fridge anyway, the rest of the ingredients are pretty standard pantry items. I wouldn’t say the same thing about ricotta cheese – basically what we swapped for tofu. In my house, ricotta is either used up the same day for a specific thing, or forgotten and getting greenish at the back of the fridge. That’s life, too.
So what do these babies really taste like? I’d say somewhere between rich fudge and chocolate cake, totally honest, not pulling your leg. I don’t know how the tofu manages to taste so creamy and fool my senses into thinking I’m scarfing down a million calories, but hey – I’ll take it!
I decorated the top with segmented oranges and almonds, but they would be tasty with berries and a dollop of whip cream. Or why not top them with banana slices and caramelize with a crème brûlée torch?
Tip:
You will need to use a food processor to blend the batter – not only will it save time, the tofu will not be as smoothly broken if blended by hand.
Chocolate Tofu Tarts
Ingredients
- 450 g soft tofu drained
- ¾ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
- ½ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- zest of 1 orange finely chopped
- 3 tbs fresh orange juice
- 3 tbs Amaretto
- graham crackers crumbled, enough to fill each tart shell bottom to your preference
- 2 tbs butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, microwave the semi-sweet chocolate for 2 minutes to melt. In a food processor, combine tofu, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, vegetable oil, orange zest & juice, Amaretto and then pour in the melted chocolate. Use a rubber spatula to remove all chocolate from the bowl. Blend until smooth.
- Grease 10 tart shells with removable bases. Sprinkle the crumbled graham crackers on the bottom of each tart shell. Pour in the batter and smooth on top with a rubber spatula.
- Bake until firm on the outside, but still soft in the middle, 20 minutes. Don’t overcook. Take out from the oven and remove the bottom when cool enough to handle. Refrigerate until chilled, then top with your favorite fruits and serve.
