Indulge your loved ones this Valentine’s Day with a delightful plant-based twist on a beloved classic. This innovative recipe swaps the traditional dairy cream filling for a tofu-based one and uses rye crispbread instead of the traditional cookies. Rye crackers have been shown to help benefit heart and digestive health and are a great low-sugar alternative in this tiramisu preparation.
1 cup (250 mL) strong, hot coffee
2 oz (57 g) dark chocolate
10.5 oz (300 g) firm silken tofu, drained
1/4 cup (60 mL) golden cane sugar
1 Tbsp (15 mL) natural cocoa powder, plus extra for garnish
2 Tbsp (30 mL) apple cider vinegar
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla extract
2 tsp (10 mL) finely grated orange zest, plus extra for garnish
2 cups (500 mL) thick portion of canned coconut cream, about 2 – 14 oz (400 mL) cans
Rye crispbread crackers or gluten-free crackers, as needed
Cocoa nibs, for garnish (optional)
In medium heatproof bowl, whisk together hot coffee and dark chocolate until chocolate is melted. Set aside to cool at room temperature.
Meanwhile, make creamy tofu filling. To blender, add tofu, sugar, cocoa powder, vinegar, vanilla, and orange zest. Blend until smooth and creamy with no more tofu chunks, stopping to scrape down sides of blender container as needed. Add coconut cream to blender and mix until just combined, about 1 minute. Take care: if mixture is blended too long it may split. If this happens, simply continue blending; the mixture will warm up and emulsify again. This process could take up to 5 minutes.
To assemble, set an 8 inch (20 cm) square baking dish in front of you. Have cooled mocha mixture, crispbread or cookies, and tofu filling all close at hand. Dip crispbread in coffee mixture for 6 to 10 seconds, then quickly transfer to bottom of baking dish. Repeat until you have an even layer of dipped crispbread covering bottom of dish. Pour half of tofu filling over soaked crispbread and smooth out into an even layer completely covering crispbread. Dip more crispbread into mocha mixture and lay another layer of dipped crispbread on top of filling layer, covering completely. Pour remaining tofu filling overtop and smooth out into an even layer, again covering crispbread completely. Cover baking dish with lid or beeswax wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight.
Just before serving, dust top of tiramisu with some cocoa powder and additional finely grated orange zest. For some textural contrast, a sprinkling of cocoa nibs would be lovely here, but is optional. Spoon into bowls and serve. Any leftovers will keep, covered, in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Serves 12
by Lawren Moneta
