mexican chocolate crème brûlèe (vegan)
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
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Makes: 6 5-oz ramekins.
Ingredients
  • 1 pound silken tofu
  • ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips
  • ½ cup coconut sugar (we use Nutiva)
  • ¼ cup unsweetened soy milk
  • 2 T tapioca flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • ½ tsp mexican vanilla
  • ½ tsp espresso powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • coconut oil spray or nonstick cooking spray
  • ¼ cup demerara or white sugar for topping (see note)
  • berries or other fresh fruit for serving
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray ramekins with coconut oil or nonstick cooking spray.
  2. Combine tofu through salt in a high-powered blender and blend until completely smooth and frothy, about a minute or so. Mixture will be quite liquidy.
  3. Pour custard into prepared ramekins. Arrange ramekins in a deep-sided roasting pan and pour in enough hot tap water to come about halfway up the sides of the dishes. (Tip: place the roasting pan ON the baking rack before adding the water to minimize the risk of water sloshing into your crème during transfer.)
  4. Bake for 40 mins or until crème begins to pull away from ramekin edges and a knife inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, then chill completely in the refrigerator, at least an hour or up to overnight. (If chilling for more than an hour, cover tightly with plastic wrap.)
  5. Immediately before serving, sprinkle ¼ cup sugar (total) over ramekins, tilting and tapping each dish slightly to encourage even distribution. Using a kitchen torch or very hot oven broiler, brûlée the sugar until it's completely melted and visibly browned in places. Top with berries or other fresh fruit. Enjoy!
Notes
I know it seems contradictory to use coconut sugar in the custard and conventional sugar on top, but I couldn't for the life of me get the coconut sugar to produce a truly crackable topping worthy of the brûlée name. (If you can manage, have at it!) I used a combo of demerara and white sugar here, mostly because I find the white sugar brûlées quickly and helps the demerara along while the demerara provides the color and crunch I most enjoy, but use what you've got! And while I know a torch is one of those single-use items that seems silly to have, it's my method of choice (and a small but worthy splurge if you intent to brulee things at least once or twice a year).
Recipe by the pig & quill at https://thepigandquill.com/mexican-chocolate-creme-brulee-vegan/