Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding

It’s no secret that I love tofu. I love it with vegetables and marinades and whatnot—as a meat substitute, essentially. I have never had tofu with chocolate. I understand that tofu is a fantastic source of protein and all that, but tofu is a main course type of food, not a dessert food. Just as there are breakfast cereals (like cornflakes) and dessert cereals (like frosted flakes), there are main course foods (like tofu, vegetables, fish, beef, etc) and dessert foods (like chocolate, cake, cookies, brownies, etc). The two things are separate—for a reason. Combining chocolate and tofu would be like combining chicken and frosting… And yet, I tried it (chocolate and tofu). Why? Because Mark Bittman said it was good. He was right.

(Adapted from The Minimalist)

¾ cup organic sugar

¾ cup water

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted

1 lb. silken tofu

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. chili powder

1. Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Set aside, allowing the mixture to cool for a few minutes before adding it to the blender.

2. Combine the melted chocolate, tofu, vanilla, cinnamon, chili powder and sugar water in a blender. Blend until smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into ramekins (we filled six ramekins and one small bowl).

4. Transfer the ramekins to the refrigerator and chill for at least 30 minutes. (The pudding is still rather delicious the next day so chilling for 24 hours seems totally appropriate.)