Tasty Tofu

In the past two years, my kitchen has seen a lot of strange things as I've attempted to cook for Matthew's allergies. After all that time, I've found some pretty good recipes and tricks and have become pretty confident in my ability to produce tasty things that are allergen free. I often get looks of skepticism when I take treats to a party or ward function and tell people it is completely dairy, egg, and nut free. Then there are looks of surprise when they discover it actually tastes good. But one thing I had never worked up the courage to try was Toffutti Better Than Cream Cheese, a tofu based cream cheese substitute. I mean, cream cheese is a little bit of heaven right on earth. Almost everything is tastier and richer with a bit of cream cheese. A good smear on a bagel is a perky way to start the day. And cheesecake. Need I say more? Nothing made out of beans has even half a chance of being even remotely as luscious. So naturally I was reluctant.

Then my mother-in-law bought me a new cookbook entitled The Food Allergy Mama's Baking Book. It was written by a mom who cooks for a child with the exact same allergies as Matthew and it is all about sweet treats. In the past few months we have tried a number of these treats and not one of them has been a disappointment. At last I have found an egg-free cake recipe that will hold up to being molded into fancy birthday cakes! And the ingredient that makes this wonder of a confection possible? Silken tofu. I kid you not. On Daniel's birthday, my siblings were skeptical when I told them I was feeding them tofu cake, but the platter was completely empty when it was time to go home.

So with the success (and tastiness) of all the other recipes I had tried, I finally decided to break down and try the dairy free cheesecake. I made it as my birthday cake thinking that I needed a lot of people to share it with so that 1) if it ended up nasty I wouldn't feel guilty about throwing an entire faux cheesecake away and 2) if it turned out tasty I wouldn't be tempted to eat the entire thing myself. And I must admit that I was leaning more in the direction of needing to chuck the thing in the nearest trash bin. The appearance of the not-cream cheese did nothing to convince me otherwise. It was kind of gray and nasty looking. I was not hopeful. I was so convinced it didn't have a chance of being yummy that I swirled in raspberries in an attempt to cover up any nastiness that might occur. I figured at least that way people could pick out the berries before discreetly scraping their portions into the garbage disposal.

But apparently miracles do happen because not only was the tofu cheesecake palatable, it was actually pretty darn good. The texture was closer to a gelatin based cheesecake rather than a baked one, but I can forgive it that due to the fact that it did in fact taste good. No lie. Now, I'm not going to be slapping that gray bean substance on a bagel anytime soon, but it does feel good to know that my son will not live out his entire life never knowing the wonder that is cheesecake.