I was playing around with a new silicone bar mold that I just bought, and that’s where this dessert came from. Well, that and me wanting to make a dessert that was inspired by chocolate and tofu. We have a chocolate cake with a tofu-chocolate mousse, soy caramel ganache, cocoa praline, and a tofu ice cream. The entire dessert is 100% gluten-free and vegan, which was a lot of fun to practice doing! With the chocolate cake, I did a method where I combined the flours with the oil and sugar first, similarly to a pie crust, before pouring in the hot water with the cocoa powder. I learned this technique from my friend Shari, and I found it to be wonderful for creating a super fluffy, light batter, which is important since I’m not working with traditional flours or even ingredients here. I find that the combination of tofu and chocolate is decadent, rich, and very fulfilling, all things that I would describe as the perfect experience for a devil’s food cake! With the tofu ice cream, I’ve had it several times in Japan, and I found it to be pleasant, nutty, and not too sweet, so if you somehow have apprehensions about it, just give it a try! It’s fairly easy to make and it is one of my favorites!

For the tofu ice cream:
8 oz silken tofu
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon miso paste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a blender, puree together all of your ingredients except for the vanilla. If you are using a Vitamix, continue to puree for another 3 to 4 minutes so that the cornstarch will activated. If not, pour into a pot and whisk on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until thick enough to cling to your whisk. Take off heat and whisk in your vanilla. Pour into an ice cream maker and churn for 10 to 20 minutes, then transfer to the freezer for another hour. Optionally, you can pour the ice cream into silicone half sphere molds too, but you do not have to.

For the devil’s food cake:
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup misugaru
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup black cacao powder
1/2 cup hot water
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

In a bowl, sift together your baking powder, salt, tapioca, misugaru, white sugar, and xanthan gum first. Then whisk into that your canola oil. In another bowl, mix together your vanilla, hot water, cacao and cider vinegar. Pour that into your dry ingredients and whisk to form your batter. Pour onto a parchment-lined sheet tray and bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool down the cake completely before cutting out rectangles of it to match the dimensions of your silicone bar mold.

For the tofu chocolate mousse:
8 oz silken tofu
1 cup dark chocolate
a pinch of salt

Puree your tofu into a smooth, creamy liquid. Melt the dark chocolate and salt over a double boiler and mix into that the tofu until everything is combined into a creamy, smooth mousse. Pipe into silicone bar molds, filling them about 3/4 the way full. Press into that your cakes. Freeze these solid.

For the soy-caramel ganache:
1/4 cup muscovado sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1/4 teaspoon miso paste
1/4 cup dark chocolate

In a pot, heat up your sugar until it reaches 300 degrees F. Pour into that your soy milk and miso paste and stir on low heat until combined and melted together. Mix into that your dark chocolate to finish. Pass through a sieve and keep at room temperature for plating.

For the cacao praline:
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon black cacao powder

Heat up sugar, corn syrup, salt, and water in a pot to 275 degrees F. Stir in the cacao powder then pour the praline onto a parchment sheet. Place another parchment sheet over the praline and spread it out thinly and evenly using a heatproof rolling pin. Allow the praline to cool down before cracking it into smaller pieces.

To plate:
Start with a small bed of praline to place your ice cream on. Then to the side of that, place on some ganache. Slice the set bar cakes into 1/3rds along the length, and then place the cakes onto the ganache. Top with some more pieces of praline to finish.