Recently I had the pleasure of being invited to compete in a dessert cook off for abused children sponsored by the 80 year old ice cream parlor called Four Seas. I am not sure who won but everyone had a good time in helping a worthy cause.
I decided to make a cake that was a little outside the box for me. I am not a vegan nor a vegetarian but find myself preparing and eating more dishes everyday that feature grains and vegetables and other non meat alternatives. So this time around I decided to prepare a dish that featured tofu to make chocolate cake. The recipe replaced 4 eggs and was said to be a big hit. I tinkered with it further and changed the type of flour, replaced cow’s milk with almond vanilla milk, and increased the amount of chocolate powder.
I learned about the idea of using tofu from cooking Chinese food for a Senior Center last Fall. Rarely have i run across such culinary alternatives from the Pacific Rim. But this time I found myself pleasantly surprised. The recipe below features tofu and gluten free flower but other non gluten flours are no less delicious such as rice and chickpea flours. Enjoy!
Healthy Gluten Free Chocolate Cake with Tofu
Preheat oven to 350F Equipment: Bundt Pan, Blender, Mixmaster Ingredients: 1 pound Silkin Tofu (instead of 4 eggs) 1/2 cup Almond Vanilla milk 1 cup sugar 8 ounces unsweetened butter 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 cup gluten free flour, or rice flour or chick pea flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 tsp vanilla Extract 1/4 cup powdered sugar
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Next lightly coat the Bundt pan with unsalted butter to avoid sticking.
Combine tofu and milk and mix until smooth using the blender.
Cream the butter and sugar in the mix-master until all is combined.
Add the vanilla extract and continue beating well.
Add the tofu to the butter-sugar mixture in the mix-master.
Sift together the gluten free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the mix-master. Then add the creamy tofu and almond vanilla milk to the sugar and butter and mix all ingredients together until smooth—about 2 – 2 1/2 minutes of mixing.
Add the creamy, well mixed batter to the bundt pan.
Bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and insert a narrow, sharp knife. Cake is done if knife is dry. Let cool for 15-20 minutes.
Carefully cut around the inside edges of the bundt cake once it cools down and briskly turn over the pan on the counter to release the cake. You may wish to cut a sheet of plastic paper wider than the diameter of the bundt pan and release the cake on top of it so that you can more easily place the cake on a plate by holding the plastic paper on either side of the cake.
Cut cake into 2 inch wide pieces. Then decorate the cake by sifting powdered sugar on top. Enjoy your healthy cake that has fewer calories even though it is very chocolaty.
A scoop of your favorite ice cream might be a pleasant addition. We used Salty Caramel ice cream at the event. It was excellent!
Contact Chef Zox with questions or comments and new recipes at www.zoxkitchen.com or email us at [email protected]. Enjoy healthy eating so you can eat well while eating alone or with others.
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