This recipe is not quite as simple as typical recipes on Guess Who’s Cooking, but it can be adapted/simplified in a few ways:
- Make the pudding as a simple stand-alone dessert
- Make the pudding without the soy milk and use it as a simple stand-alone mousse, or use it as frosting for any cake
- Make the chocolate cake and frosting (pudding without the soy milk) and make cupcakes, a sheet cake, or a round layered cake
- Make just the cake and frost it with your favorite frosting
You may not believe that a dessert with this much tofu would be good, but it actually took first place in the Northern California Soy and Tofu Festival 2018 dessert competition.
Black Forest Trifle (Triple Tofu)
This trifle has three main layers, and believe it or not, every one of them is made with tofu! It is decadent, rich, tender, silky, moist, creamy, and not overly sweet. Juicy cherries provide a pop of flavor in every bite. This recipe also happens to be completely plant-based, as long as vegan dark chocolate (and sugar) is used. People will have no idea it’s vegan or made with tofu!
Ingredients
- 32 ounces silken tofu drained
- 1 3/4 cup cake flour
- 12 ounces frozen cherries thawed, juice reserved
- 1 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup canola oil plus 1 tablespoon for greasing pan
- 1/4 cup agave syrup divided
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract divided
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 ounce dark chocolate bar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For the cake
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 8x11” baking pan with 1 tablespoon canola oil and line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
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In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and ½ teaspoon salt. Whisk to combine.
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In a food processor, puree 12 ounces tofu until very smooth. Add sugar, ¾ cup soy milk, ½ cup canola oil, and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and puree until well combined.
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Pour tofu mixture into dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
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Pour batter into prepared baking pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool for 20 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
For the chocolate pudding
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In a food processor, puree 12 ounces tofu until very smooth. Add ½ cup soy milk, 2 tablespoons agave syrup and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and puree until well combined.
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Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl by microwaving for 30 seconds at a time, stirring, and repeating until melted (about 1 ½ minutes).
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Pour melted chocolate into tofu mixture and puree until smooth. Refrigerate until needed for assembly.
For the vanilla cream
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In a food processor, puree 8 ounces tofu until very smooth. Add 2 tablespoons agave, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and puree until smooth. Refrigerate until needed for assembly.
To assemble the trifle
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Cut cake into 1-inch cubes. Cut thawed cherries in half and place reserved juice in a shallow bowl.
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Dip one side of the cake into reserved cherry juice. Place 1 layer of cake cubes into serving dish, dipped side up. Spoon a light layer of cream on top of the cake. Add a sparse layer of cherries. Top with a fairly generous but not solid layer of pudding.
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Repeat steps above. Use a vegetable peeler to shave dark chocolate on top as a garnish. Serve cold.
