I used to make these chocolate puddings regularly about eight years ago, when this recipe was doing the rounds of a lot of food blogs. I have noticed similar versions of vegan chocolate tofu mousse have recently gone viral on Instagram. It is such simple recipe that it perfect for an Instagram reel. Basically you melt chocolate, make a sugar syrup and blend it all together with the tofu. The Mexican twist is the addition of chilli and cinnamon, but if you want to make a more traditional mousse flavour you can use vanilla essence instead.

 As a child of the seventies, chocolate mousse was considered the epitome of sophistication served at dinner parties across Australia. As a child, I rarely actually got to eat chocolate mousse because it was considered an adult desert and too good for kids. These chocolate puddings have an unbelievable silky texture which is more like the chocolate mousse of my childhood imagination than the dense, rich dessert of adult reality. Best of all, because of the lightness of the tofu, these puddings are great for a chocolate craving fix even in the heat and humidity of late summer in Sydney.

Notes on the recipe –

Use a good quality 70% dark chocolate – you want the chocolate to dominate not the tofu although the chilli does give a nice distraction from any underlying tofu taste.

Silken tofu usually comes in 300-350g tubs, so I adjust the ingredients accordingly but it is a forgiving recipe and you can add more or less chocolate and sugar syrup or substitute maple syrup for the sweetening. 

Silken tofu from the supermarket is fine but for my last couple of batches I’ve used silken pudding tofu from my local Korean tofu shop and it was so good!  

Mark Bittman’s Mexican chocolate tofu puddings

Adapted from the New York Times

• 450-500 grams ( 1 pound) of silken tofu (at room temperature preferably)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 230 grams (8 ounces) of  dark unsweetened chocolate
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder or to taste (optional)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

1. First make the the sugar syrup. Mix together sugar and 3/4 cup of water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, simmer until sugar is dissolved and allow to cool for a little while.
2. Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. (Allow to cool a little)
3. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Spoon chocolate pudding into 4 to 6 bowls. Chill for at least half an hour before serving.

*Serve with a scattering of berries. This is optional but blueberries are particularly good.