If you choose to go vegan, that doesn’t mean you need to eat leaves and twigs for the rest of your life. There are plenty of amazing dishes available to you that will satisfy your taste buds! However, there is one important thing you need to master if you want to go vegan – you need to know all of the “secret” ingredient swaps.
Strawberry Chocolate Vegan Tiramisu
Chloe Coscarelli, a chef and author of four vegan cookbooks, has worked hard to prove that vegan isn’t boring! Thanks to Coscarelli, we have our hands on this insanely delicious creamy strawberry chocolate vegan tiramisu recipe. You can easily make this at home, or in your dorm room. Just make sure you have the secret ingredient, tofu.
Before you say gross, tofu is super healthy for you! While it is a well-known processed soybean product, tofu isn’t just for stir fry. The silken tofu in this recipe is quite different from the tofu you’re used to. Typically the tofu found in Asian cuisine is extra-firm or firm and has around 20 grams of protein per cup for 163 calories. However silken tofu can be used in baking, smoothies and chocolate mousse! Now that sounds like heaven. While it only has 11 grams of protein per cup, silken tofu does have heart-healthy fat alpha-linolenic acid with just 112 calories per cup. Vegans and vegetarians often use silken tofu instead of dairy, meat, or eggs.
Just know that this recipe requires the chocolate creaming to be chilled for three hours or overnight so make sure you have plenty of time to make this recipe. Oh, don’t even bother telling friends that the Strawberry Chocolate Vegan Tiramisu is, in fact, vegan. They probably won’t be able to taste it anyways!
Strawberry Chocolate Vegan Tiramisu
**Serving size of 6**
Vegan Tiramisu
Ingredients:
Vanilla Cake:
– 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour
– ¾ cup sugar
– ½ teaspoon baking soda
– ½ teaspoon baking powder
– ½ teaspoon sea salt
– ¾ cup water
– ½ cup vegetable oil
– 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
– 2 teaspoons pure almond extract
Chocolate Cream:
– ½ cup almond or coconut milk
– 1 ½ cups vegan chocolate chips
– 1 (1-pound) package Nasoya silken tofu
– 1 teaspoon almond extract
– Pinch of sea salt
Note: The Chocolate Cream will need to be chilled in the refrigerator for at least three hours or overnight.
Espresso Drizzle:
2/3 cup amaretto
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
Toppings:
– Sliced fresh strawberries
– ½ cup vegan chocolate chips, ground
Directions:
1. To make the chocolate cream: In a small pot, heat up the almond milk and chocolate chips over low heat. Stir until melted, for around five minutes. In a food processor, combine the tofu, melted chocolate, almond extract, and salt, blend until smooth. Let this chill in the refrigerator for at least three hours or overnight.
2. To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a one 9-inch round cake pan and line with parchment paper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the water, oil, vinegar, and almond extract. Add all of the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until fully combined. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Add the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or stick a toothpick in the center of the cake until it comes out clean. Halfway through the baking time, be sure to rotate the cake. Let the cake cool completely. Take the cake out of the pan and slice into bite-sized cubes.
5. To make the espresso drizzle: Stir the amaretto and espresso in a small bowl until it is dissolved.
6. To assemble the dessert: In small dessert dishes, lay a handful of cake cubes, espresso drizzle, chocolate cream, sliced strawberries, and ground chocolate. Repeat until you fill each dish to the top. Repeat this with remaining dishes. Store in the refrigerator for two hours.
