Vegan Tiramisu: Decadent Non-Dairy Dessert

Lately, my go-to for vegan ground meat has been tofu thats been frozen and thawed. Home-freezers are notoriously bad at freezing food because they chill things very slowly. This leads to the formation of ice crystals, which rupture cells in plant and animal matter, making them weep liquid when defrosted.

In the case of tofu, the crystals form small veins of water in the tofu. When defrosted the water thats left behind when the ice melts can be squeezed out, leaving a sponge-like mesh of soy protein thats a bit like cake in texture. When crumbled it makes for a pretty good ground meat substitute, but the texture got me thinking about how I might use it in a dessert.

Thoroughly washing the frozen and thawed tofu removes some of the soy flavor, and the spongy texture is perfect for absorbing flavors. Since tofu has almost no flavor on its own, I decided it would be best to infuse it with something quite potent, like an espresso simple syrup.

Realizing I had half the makings of a tiramisu, I started to think about what I could substitute for the Marscarpone. Pureed silken tofu is usually my go-to for vegan frosting, but I figured this might be soy over-kill. Thats when I remembered using raw cashew nuts in my Horchata. When soaked in water overnight and blended, the neutral flavored nuts create a rich creamy milk.

I figured that by decreasing the amount of water, it might be possible to make a thicker, richer cream. To get a truly smooth texture you'll need a high-speed blender like Vitamix, but if you can't afford a $400 blender, a $60 Ninja does a pretty good job.

With a touch of lemon juice and salt, you end up with something about as close to real Marscarpone as possible Add some vanilla beans and sugar and youll have a hard time resisting the urge to eat it out of the blender with a spoon.

I wont lie to you, this isnt going to be a perfect replica of a dairy and egg-based tiramisu. But with crumbly tofu lady-fingers soaked in sweet espresso, and a rich cashew cream layered in between, its a decadent vegan dessert that everyone can enjoy.