Give tofu pie a try with chocolate

If you have a tofu aversion — for example, if I were to tell you the pie you just ate was made with tofu and you said “ack!” — grow up already.

“Many years ago I made a delicious and simple chocolate cream pie, which contained tofu,” wrote Janet Ness. “My family expressed dismay when they learned the contents, and I didn’t keep the recipe. Now my daughter in the Midwest is introducing some friends to tofu and wants that recipe. She has matured so that she now recalls the pie as delicious!”

You see? She grew up.

Tofu in a cream pie is a miraculous thing. The soy milk that is the main ingredient of tofu replaces most if not all of the dairy in the pie. The natural coagulant used to turn the soy milk solid makes the pie firm without the use of eggs, gelatin, cornstarch or any other thickener.

And it is so simple. Tofu goes in a blender with a sweetener while chocolate chips go in the microwave to melt. Stir in a bit of liquid to smooth it out and the filling is done. No stirring a pot on the stove, hoping the eggs won’t curdle or the chocolate won’t burn.

What you want to avoid, though, is the taste of tofu in your sweet treat. In that regard, chocolate is a miraculous thing, so powerful in flavor that it masks any soybeaniness.

Recipes for chocolate-cream tofu pies are thick on the ground. A simple Internet search will turn up dozens (in fact, Ness found her own lost recipe on the same day I was testing my pies). So I’m offering a tofu pie with a local twist: a topping of haupia.

CHOCOLATE-HAUPIA TOFU PIE

1 pound soft tofu (also called silken tofu)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
13-ounce bag semisweet chocolate chips (or for extra richness use dark chocolate)
1/4 cup nonfat milk or soy milk (or for extra richness use a coffee liqueur such as Kahlua)
1 9-inch baked pie crust or graham cracker crust

>> Haupia topping
2 cups water
1 4-ounce package instant haupia mix

Cut tofu in chunks and place in colander. Place a weight over tofu (the tofu container filled with water works well). Let sit at least 30 minutes to press excess water out of tofu.

Place tofu, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon in blender or food processor and purée until smooth.

Place chocolate chips in microwave-save dish and microwave on high in 30-second bursts, stirring between each one, until chocolate is melted (chocolate can burn, so be careful). Stir in milk until smooth. Combine chocolate and tofu mixtures, stirring until evenly combined. Pour into pie shell and refrigerate.

To make topping: Bring water to boil, add haupia mix and stir until dissolved. Pour into bowl and refrigerate until haupia is at room temperature but has not set.

Remove any skin formed at top of haupia, then spoon pudding carefully over chocolate layer. Chill until well set, at least 2 hours.

Cut in thin slices to serve (pie is very rich so large slices are overwhelming).

Nutritional information unavailable.

Variation: Make single-serve desserts by layering the chocolate and haupia over a vanilla wafer or a gingersnap. Assemble in foil cupcake cups.

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Write “By Request,” Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, Honolulu 96813. Email requests to bshimabukuro@staradvertiser.com.