Chocolate Mousse Pudding/Pie

This recipe is extraordinarily easy and delicious. Here’s the original, and you’ll note I’ve dropped the word “medicinal” — one person wouldn’t try it because of that word! I prefer it as a pudding, without the pie shell: easier. (I’m a guy.)

Janet’s Chocolate Mousse Pudding or Pie

Serves 8 to 12

This recipe, a household favorite, wows guests who—even after finishing a sinfully rich helping—never suspect that the main ingredient is tofu. In the past, I’ve always billed the dessert as heart-healthy, based on studies suggesting that soy products can offer cardiovascular and anti-cancer benefits. In fact, I adapted this recipe from a fattier and more heavily sweetened version that was served 6 years ago to me and other attendees of the First International Symposium on the Role of Soy in Preventing and Treating Chronic Disease.

Despite the pie’s soy base, however, I often felt a twinge of guilt over the heavy dose of chocolate present in each slice. With the newly emerging data on dark chocolate’s flavonoids, I now feel less self-conscious about serving this popular dessert. I can point out that its bounty of chocolate may actually contribute to the pie’s offering of a cardiovascular double whammy. And the stearic acid in chocolate, although a saturated fat, is the type that doesn’t appear to raise serum cholesterol.

Want a triple whammy? Serve with a cup of strong, flavonoid-rich darjeeling tea. The especially good news: This pie is so rich that it’s easy to be satisfied with a very small slice.

• 2 boxes of low-fat Mori-Nu silken tofu (12.3-ounces each, any firmness) [No substitutes (other tofus don’t get as smooth). Mori-Nu comes in a cardboard box and is not always in the refrigerated section—it might be on the regular shelf. - LG]
• 1 10-12 ounce package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 tsp. sugar [in Janet's recipe this was 1/3 tsp. - LG]
• 1/2 tsp. water
• chocolate-cookie no-bake pie shell [or no shell: serve as a pudding - LG]
• raspberries or strawberries (garnish) (see below)

Purée the tofu in a food processor—about 2 minutes—frequently scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure that all of the tofu is converted from a soft brick into a warm-pudding consistency. Add the water to the sugar, then mix both into the tofu.

Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler until the chips retain their shape but are soft as warm butter. Remove from heat and let stand a minute.

Add the softened chocolate to the tofu and stir until thoroughly mixed. If you want it as a pie, pour into a chocolate-cookie [or graham-cracker with butter - LG] pie shell and swirl the top to make soft peaks, like frosting a cake. Garnish with berries. Then chill to set. Ready in 1 hour.

Other possible toppings: orange marmalade, mandarin oranges in a glaze. And/or add chopped nuts (slivered almonds, walnuts, pecans, or black walnuts).

I add 1 tsp vanilla extract. The very small amount of sugar in the recipe—1/2 tsp—is just to give it a tiny bit of sweetness, according to Janet.

The Wife totally didn’t like this pie—tofu?!!—until she tasted it. She agreed with the description above: sinfully rich and smooth and delicious. Yummy beyond belief.