Tofu Chocolate Pudding

Mmm.  Just look at that chocolate pudding.  Creamy.  Dreamy.  Rich and decadent.  Don’t you just love tofu?

What?  Tofu?  Uh huh!  That’s what I said!  Tofu.  Hard to believe isn’t it?  But there it is.  And yes, it tastes as good as it looks.

My history with tofu, a soybean based protein, is kind of interesting.  My Mom went through a tofu phase when we were kids and put it in everything.  I even did a presentation about it to my fifth grade class.  To this day, whenever I go back home and bump into that teacher (What up, Mr Sapa!) he reminds me about that demonstration.  This was around the same time my Mom tried to convince us, albeit unsuccessfully, that carob was the same as chocolate.  Anyway, it was years before we found out that she had been sneaking pureed tofu into our pancake and waffle batter without any of us ever finding out.  I discovered that eating it plain and warm, like in a stir fry, is not my favorite.  It is a texture thing.  But adding it to smoothies in a blender?  Now that is yummy.  It makes everything thick and rich and utterly wonderful.

So here is the skinny-no pun intended.  Tofu+chocolate=low fat and protein packed loveliness.  Several years ago I came across a group of dessert recipes that were all centered around tofu.  No-bake pies, parfaits, and puddings.  This pudding is my version of one of those.  Light, creamy, and nearly guilt free.  It comes together fast which makes it perfect for a weeknight dessert or last minute treat.  My kids were thrilled when I started testing different recipes.  Endless amounts of chocolate pudding wasn’t exactly hard to get them to eat!  And the results were unanimous.
One Year Ago: White Chocolate Rainbow Cake, Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream, Lemon Thyme Orzo

Tofu Chocolate Pudding
Feel free to use dark chocolate chips for an extra boost of antioxidants.  Be sure to use a good quality chocolate chip to ensure decent melting.

1 pkg silken tofu
1 bag chocolate chips
1/4 c pure maple syrup
a splash of hot coffee, optional

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, puree the tofu and the maple syrup until smooth.  Meanwhile, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals until just barely melted.  Stir until smooth and with the machine running, pour carefully into the food processor.  Add the coffee, if using.  Puree until completely smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.  Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Note:  Eaten right away this pudding is smooth and light and creamy.  If you let it sit in the fridge the chocolate cools and it firms up-more like a thick, rich, cheesecake consistency.  Either way, sooooo good.  Also, firm tofu doesn’t puree as well and won’t get as creamy (it ends up kind of grainy) so I don’t recommend it.  It still tastes good though so if that is all you have, go ahead and use it.  But you will have to thin out the puree with milk or cream in order to get it to work.