No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Cake (with Tofu Ganache!)

No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Cake (with Tofu Ganache!)

Sometime this week, amidst running to the supermarket between lectures, stuffing my face with butternut squash, hunting for pinhead oats and writing my first lab report, I made cake.

I say cake with an air-quotey undertone because it was this fridge cake.

No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Cake (with Tofu Ganache!)-5

Fridge cake, a.k.a. tiffin isn’t really cakey, just sliceably soft. In normal fridge cake recipes, digestive biscuits are crumbled and bathed in a rich mixture of melted chocolate, butter and occasionally nuts or dried fruits. You then leave it in the fridge to set, hence the name. It’s the British interpretation of an ice-box cake (although not quite the same).

The thing is, I always find fridge cake waaaay too cloying. It’s pretty much like eating a massive chunk of chocolate truffle punctuated with stupid, chocolate-ruining raisinsSO what if we remove some of that intense fattiness by replacing the butter with tofu?? WIZARDRY IS WHAT. I wasn’t sure how it’d set-up, having only seen tofu used like this in various vegan chocolate ‘cream’ pies before where all the photos look like goo-central. BUT I used quite a high ratio of tofu: chocolate and it worked like a dream!

No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Cake (with Tofu Ganache!)-2

For my fridge cake, I stuck to using good old plain digestives (as McVities kindly sent me a pack of them along with some chocolate & nuts) but if you’re not eating dairy, any plain dairy-free cookie will do! Heck, even chocolate cookies would be buff as in this. I mean you can always add some raisins too if you must, just don’t tell me you did it.

Notes:

  • you may only need to add the golden syrup of you are using chocolate with a very high cocoa content. As I was using Green & Blacks 85%, I added the golden syrup. If you use a chocolate with a cocoa content of 60% or lower, you probably won’t need it.
  • To veganise: use vegan vanilla or chocolate cookies (store bought or homemade) in place of digestive biscuits.

No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Cake (with Tofu Ganache!)

5 from 1 vote
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Ingredients

  • 220 g (8 oz) firm silken tofu
  • 2 tbsp golden syrup or maple syrup , (see notes)
  • 200 g (7 oz) very dark chocolate (I used 85%), melted
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 to 4 tbsp of water
  • 10 to 15 digestive biscuits

To Decorate:

  • 20 g dark chocolate , , melted
  • handful of pistachios , , chopped

Instructions

  • Cut the tofu into 3 or 4 slabs. Place the slabs on a paper towel-lined plate or cutting board and cover with more paper towels. Place another plate or cutting board on top and then place something heavy (like a saucepan filled with water) on top of that. Leave the tofu to drain for 30 minutes.
  • Place the drained tofu into a blender with the golden syrup, chocolate, vanilla and salt. Add 2 tbsp of water and blend again. The mixture should have the consistency of a thick-yet-spreadable ganache - blend in the remaining water if the mixture seems too thick.
  • Line a small loaf tin or small round cake tin with cling film (plastic wrap). Spoon a few tablespoons of the tofu ganache into the base of the tin and spread it out into an even layer. Add a layer of digestive biscuits (I could fit 2 into the base), then layer with the ganache. Continue layering biscuits and ganache until you've used up all the ganache. (You may need to break biscuits in half to get them to fit into the pan!). Chill the cake for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
  • Unmould the cake and remove the cling film. If desired, use a hot palette knife (dip it into boiling water for a few seconds then wipe dry) to smooth the outside of the cake. Drizzle with the 20 g of melted chocolate and quickly sprinkle with the pistachios then leave to set. Finally, slice & serve! Store any leftovers in the fridge.
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it went! Mention @izyhossack or tag #topwithcinnamon!

23 thoughts on “No-Bake Chocolate Fridge Cake (with Tofu Ganache!)”

  1. Izy, this is genius and absolutely drool worthy! Goodbye homework and hello tufo chocolate cake. I’ve never used tofu in a cake before and now I realise it’s a must do. I CAN’T wait to try this!!! YUMMMMMMMM!!!! Wizardry at it’s finest!

  2. This reminds me of the go-to cake at every birthday party I have been to as a child – it’s actually called “Kalter Hund” (cold dog) in Germany – I don’t know why, maybe the name already scared me but I was never, never very fond of having a slice of pure sugar, butter and chocolate on my plate just to feel nauseous afterwards. But having tofu instead of butter? Sound genius and well worth a try to me – now I only have to hunt down some digestive cookies 😉

  3. I love a good old fridge cake but this is a brilliant version of it. Great idea to replace the butter with tofu! I just discovered your blog through your book! Just bought it last week as totally fell in love with the photography so naturally had to check out your blog. I didn’t realize you are 19, which makes it even more awesome!

  4. I have never had a fridge cake and this looks delicious. I love the flavor of chocolate and pistachios. Tofu is such an interesting twist.

  5. This looks quite delicious I had never heard of fridge cake before. What a great idea. The tofu addition is masterful. Thank you so much. D

  6. So pretty! This landed into my Bloglovin’ feed perfectly today! I’d just started a month of dairy free (I do it every Autumn) and I’ve been musing on what to make to make. I’ve got a carton of silken tofu and I’ve always been a bit iffy to baking with it (I’m addicted to butter – hence the need for a month’s break!) but this looks and sounds amazing! I know what you mean about the cloying trufflyness of other fridge cakes, they don’t really do it for me.
    The pistachios look so pretty ❤

  7. This looks delicious, I would never have thought of making fridge cake with tofu, well I never actually made one, but ate quite a few. I must try it.

  8. Wow, what a cake, looks so delicious! Also love your beautiful pictures, great colours and angles…
    Have a wonderful day, Franzi

  9. That looks amazing! I would have never imagine using tofu for something sweet, genius!
    I’ll need to try this soon.

    Jules.- thekiwidiaries.com

  10. I’m blown away by this recipe, Izy!! I can’t believe you made the ganache from tofu, that is such a genius idea. I love how creative you are!! 😀

  11. Hope you do read this. This is coming from a fellow food blogger who feels vulnerable and ashamed after she spots a typo on a post daaaays after it’s been posted. Fifth line of the instructions should be heavy, not heay. It’s probably not a big deal to you but thought I’d let you know.

    Keep up the great work girl!

  12. My wife is going to love this one. I always like your pictures and this one looks delicious. Who doesn’t like maple syrup and chocolate? But with pistachios, Gina is going to love this!

  13. 5 stars
    Its September 2020, I’ve been eating takeaways 3 or 4 times a week while isolating (Covid) and started putting on the pounds.

    I enjoyed cooking previously and restarted it once my weight hit … high numbers. I have really enjoyed cooking more healthy meals, and this was the first ‘sweet treat’ I have attempted.

    Really simple recipe (never tried Tofu before), but after mixing and chilling, it tasted superb. I used good quality dark chocolate with a little added honey (to take the edge off), and I ground the biscuits and added a little cinnamon to the crumb.

    Overall – Nice texture, right balance of sweet and bitter, and low cal healthy too. Going to recommend this to some of my freinds who are also on a health kick.

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