Chocolate Tofu Pudding

Tofu as dessert is not an alien concept for me. After all, I do grow up eating tons of dou hua (soybean pudding). But I admit that I have never thought of taking this experience up a notch until I found out about chocolate tofu pudding!

This chocolate tofu pudding is so good and delicious. And believe me, nobody would guess we use silken tofu to make this lovely dessert.

So if you are counting calories, or want a healthy dessert once in a while, make this. You can serve this chocolate tofu pudding to tofu haters, and they won’t even know what hit them ;)

What goes into chocolate tofu pudding?

For a super basic pudding, you will need:

• 150 gram (about 1/2 block) silken tofu
• 5 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder, so not the stuff to make a hot chocolate drink
• 1 cup milk (cow milk, soy milk, almond milk, oat milk, e.t.c.)
• 5 tablespoon sugar
• 5 gram (1 2/3 teaspoon) gelatin
• 2 tablespoon water

If you are preparing these puddings for special occasions, you may want to add these:

• 1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
• freshly grated zest from 1 orange, or 1/2 teaspoon orange oil
• 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier

How to make chocolate tofu pudding?

1. Bloom gelatin.

Pour water in a microwave-proof bowl, then sprinkle gelatin to bloom. Set aside.

2. Mix espresso with milk.

If adding instant espresso powder, heat the milk in a microwave-proof bowl, then stir in instant espresso powder until it dissolves. Set aside.

3. Puree tofu.

Place silken tofu, cocoa powder, and sugar in a blender. Puree until smooth.

4. Add liquid.

Add milk, orange oil/orange zest (if using), and orange liqueur (if using) to the chocolate and tofu mixture. Blend until evenly mixed.

5. Add gelatin.

Microwave the bloomed gelatin from step 1 for 2-3 seconds to dissolve. Add this into the chocolate tofu mixture and pulse to blend evenly.

6. Let the pudding set.

Pour the pudding mixture into your favorite molds and let them firm up in the fridge. It usually takes about 1 hour. Serve chill.

Chocolate tofu pudding decoration ideas

If you serve these puddings out from pretty looking molds, they look quite neat even when plain. But these can easily be dressed-up and modified for those special occasions.

• Berry delight chocolate pudding. A simple whip cream, chocolate shavings, and fresh berries.
• Christmas chocolate pudding. Whip cream, chocolate bark, crushed peppermint candies, and fresh mint leaves. Skip orange zest and orange liqueur, add 1 teaspoon peppermint oil instead to the pudding.
• Black forest chocolate pudding. Whip cream, chocolate shavings, and fresh cherries. Use 1 tablespoon of Kirsch instead of orange liqueur and orange zest.
• Smores chocolate pudding. Topped the pudding with crushed graham crackers, roughly chopped chocolate bars, and mini marshmallows.

Those are just my four easy ideas to play around with this basic recipe. Feel free to tinker with the recipe and come up with your own novel ways to make this chocolate tofu pudding.