I seem to work in progressions or themes in my cooking. No sooner did I taste the Chubby Hubby Tofu Mousse, did I realize I wanted to test out tofu in its ice cream making abilities.
The chocolate peanut butter mousse, Chubby Hubby Goodness, is a variation on a ubiquitous tofu mousse recipe that is a staple in vegan pastry making. The use of specialty chocolate chips (Tropical Source is one brand) and maple syrup make this simple recipe vegan. However, chocolate syrup, sugar, and traditional chocolate chips can be used for a non-vegan tofu based dessert that hides its soy base.
I make my tofu mousse in the blender, so it is very easy to adapt the recipe to ice cream making by simply adding a good glug of soy milk and a touch more sweetener. The chocolate peanut butter variation won over my ice cream taste buds immediately! The tofu remains silky smooth in its chocolate embrace, and continues the illusion of a heavy cream base. I look forward to testing this ice cream recipe with hazelnut butter and cashew, as well as nut free variations. Chocolate cherry and chocolate mint can’t be too far off… oh, and chocolate banana, chocolate orange, maybe even sneaking a white chocolate pistachio in there too! Oh Joy!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Tofu Ice Cream
In a double boiler or in the microwave melt one cup of chocolate chips. Let the mixture cool slightly (while preparing your other ingredients).
In a blender combine:
- one 12oz package of silken tofu
- one cup of peanut butter
- 3/4 cup of maple syrup*
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups of soy milk, enough to get it to the consistency of a milk shake
*If you don’t have maple syrup, substitute 6 Tbs chocolate syrup or 4 Tbs agave nectar as the liquid sweetner.
Add the melted chocolate and blend until combined.
Chill your tofu concotion thoroughly in the refrigerator before adding to your ice cream machine. Process in your ice cream maker (or freeze in ice cube trays and whirl in the blender) and return to the freezer to harden into a scoopable ice cream.
Enjoy!
16 Comments
I must say that I am suprised that this worked out so beautifully – I wouldn’t have thought that tofu would take so well to ice cream!
- I’m familiar with Toffuti Cuties, so I knew it was possible, though I was still surprised that it worked out so well. Silken tofu seems to be such a different creature from “normal” tofu (I have know idea what to call the regular straight up refrigerated tofu- someone want to enlighten me?). The tofu base stayed creamy smooth while frozen and after thawing from a frozen state (Makes good “milk” shakes!).
–McAuliflower
I’ve got a great recipe for chocolate-peanut butter tofu pie, but I’ll have to give this a try next time around…it sounds great!
This looks and sounds amazing – I have been on a bit of an ice cream making spree lately but never thought about using tofu. What does it taste like? I have had some tofu-based ice creams that have a bit of a chalky aftertaste…I assume this one doesn’t have that?
- No chalky aftertaste. I don’t have any sitting in front of me right now, but I do remember that it does have a very slight tofu flavor at the end. I presume that is because this recipe uses half the chocolate that the straight up chocolate mouuse recipe uses.
–McAuliflower
Ohhh—it looks so delicious! I have cooked lots of vegan meals for my clients and have learned to LOVE IT! Thanks for the recipe 
You’re thinking of Chinese-style tofu, the refrigerated kind. (I’m still trying to teach my kids they don’t have to refrigerate the Japanese-style tofu.)
I made a pie with similar ingredients the other day (posted it Wednesday on my blog) but I never thought of making ice cream!
Thanks for the suggestion.
[...] an ice “cream” fiend, and this recipe totally satisfies my cravings, for way cheaper. here I used the agave nectar option, and added little chocolate sprinkles during the last five minutes [...]
this is incredible! I went for the agave nectar option, and it is the tastiest thing ever. thanks for this recipe!
ps: your “in case of fries” tees are cracking me up.
Wow! This looks amazing. I can’t wait to try it. I just got an ice cream maker and am so ready to start rocking out the vegan frozen treats.
Glad you found the recipe! It’s a perfect example of a salty sweet treat. Just thinking about it makes me feel all poetic towards chocolate and peanut butter together…
–McAuliflower
Can you use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of melted chocolate chips?
Hrmmm- yes, but unsweetened cocoa and chocolate chips are completely different beasts. You can perform the substitution and get a similar flavor, but I doubt the texture would be the same. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder to hot water and sugar (or syrup) and mix thoroughly into a sauce to add.
–McAuliflower
I just made a batch of ice cream in my new ice cream maker and it was yummy.
1C fat free half and half
1/2 C usweetened cocoa powder (Herseys)
1/3 C dark agave (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 16 oz package Nasoya silken tofu
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend at medium speed until incorporated, scraping down sides as necessary.
1)Pour into frozen canister and process for abour 25 min
It will have a soft serve texture.
2)I transfered it to a quart container and froze for two hours. The consistency was creamy and the taste was rich. The touch of cinnamon made it taste like Mexican chocolate.
Excellent! The Mexican Chocolate is a nice variation.
Thanks for sharing that here Iris.–McAuliflower
[...] my tastebuds have been overly spoiled with my own frozen creations and the ones of others, but I found this bar to be so-so at best when it comes to flavor, texture, and chocolate [...]
Did you ever figure out how to make this chocolate mint? Is the peanut butter necessary to the texture? This sounds amazing, and I’d like to try my hand at those variations, too…
Definitely! Make up a batch of the chocolate tofu mousse, add 2 drops of peppermint essential oil to it, and also add more soy milk to get it thinner for the ice cream maker. Have someone who hasn’t been smelling the mint come in and test the mint level before you freeze the batter. Add more essential oil as necessary.
–McAuliflower
[...] pint cost me $2.99 [not on sale]. more expensive than making a favorite frozen dessert myself? I’m not even sure. let’s break it [...]
Thanks for the recipe. It’s the best I found on my search on google. (Or at least it has the best picture next to it.) I just made my first batch of a slightly modified recipe. It’s not fully frozen yet, but I’ve been tasting it along the way and it’s yummy. I used the agave nectar rather than syrup. And rather than peanut butter I used 1 Tbs of Coffee Extract. I like the coffee and chocolate flavors playing against each other. I also didn’t melt the chocolate fully, so the chocolate is a bit gritty. I like that textured feel. I threw in some whole chocolate chips as well. I enjoyed playing with this recipe. Big thanks
Chad
[...] if you really want to go wild.. Brownie Points » Chocolate Peanut Butter Tofu Ice Cream [...]
