Desserts

White Chocolate Pudding

White Chocolate Pudding

A block of silken tofu and a bar of white chocolate, and what comes out of the food processor is a pale, thick, spoonable pudding — closer to a chilled pot of custard than to anything you have to fold air into, and loose enough that it still slumps gently back when the spoon comes out. The tofu brings the body that cream and eggs usually have to be whipped or tempered into, so there is nothing to fold, nothing to set and nothing that can split; the cocoa butter in the white chocolate does the rest as it chills. Two minutes of melting, a minute of blending, and it is in the ramekin. Nobody guesses. Dark or milk chocolate goes through the identical two steps; white is simply what makes this one so pale and so sweet.

Makes 4 small ramekins · Prep 5 mins · Cook 2 mins · 4 ingredients · 5 steps

Ingredients

  • 300g silken tofu (drained)
  • 150g white chocolate (broken into pieces)
  • 1 tbsp honey (optional, to taste)
  • 1 pinch salt (optional)

Method

  1. Melt the chocolate. Break the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl and microwave it in bursts of fifteen seconds, stirring well between each one, until it is glossy and only just molten. White chocolate has more milk solids and less cocoa in it than dark, which means it catches and turns grainy at a lower temperature and sooner than you expect, so stop while a few pieces are still holding their shape and let the stirring finish the job.
  2. Blend it smooth. Tip the silken tofu into a food processor with the melted chocolate, the honey if you are using it and the pinch of salt. Blend for a minute or two, scraping down the sides once or twice, until it is completely smooth and glossy with no grain left in it at all.
  3. Fill the ramekins. Divide between four small ramekins or jars and level the tops.
  4. Chill until it sets. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Straight from the processor it is a pourable cream; the cocoa butter firms as it cools, and an hour is what turns it into the thick, spoonable pudding it is meant to be.
  5. Top and serve. Finish each pot with white chocolate curls, a drizzle of the melted chocolate or a little grated over the top, and eat cold.

Good to know

  • Silken tofu is the whole trick, and firm tofu is not a substitute — it will never blend past a grainy paste, however long the machine runs. Look for it in a shelf-stable carton rather than a water-packed tub, and drain it rather than press it; the softness is the point.
  • Work quickly once the chocolate is melted. Cold tofu straight from the fridge sets warm chocolate on contact, which leaves flecks through the pudding, so let the tofu sit out while the chocolate goes round the microwave.
  • White chocolate has already done nearly all the sweetening, so the honey is there to be tasted for rather than measured in — one tablespoon at most, and often none at all. Milk chocolate wants about one, and 70% dark about three.
  • The pinch of salt matters more here than it would with dark chocolate. It does not make the pudding salty; it stops the sweetness sitting flat and lets the vanilla and milk in the white chocolate come through.
  • It is sweeter and paler than the same pudding made with dark chocolate, and a touch firmer once cold — white chocolate carries more cocoa butter, and cocoa butter is what sets as it chills. Dark chocolate gives a looser, darker, more bitter pot from the identical method.
  • White chocolate is made with milk solids, so this version is vegetarian rather than vegan. Maple syrup or agave in place of the honey, and a dark or dairy-free white chocolate in place of the bar, makes it vegan — the tofu already is.
  • A high-powered blender or a stick blender in a tall jug both work as well as the food processor. Whatever you use, scrape the sides down at least once: the tofu likes to climb the walls and sit out the blending.
  • Toppings are wide open. White chocolate curls are the obvious one, but raspberries, passion fruit, crushed biscuits, a spoonful of Biscoff, chopped toasted hazelnuts or a few flakes of sea salt all belong on it — anything sharp is welcome against this much sweetness.
  • Covered in the fridge it keeps for up to 3 days, and firms up a little more each day.