SecretBlog: Mini pies with strawberry-chocolate (& tofu) ganache

Mini pies with strawberry-chocolate (& tofu) ganache

Would anyone care about a tartelette or mini pie with a tofu ganache? I do. Slim chance however that anyone else would taste that tofu.

Laurence Salomon runs a restaurant in Annecy at the foot of the Alps. Here’s a chef who proposes azuki beans for a Christmas meal. She’s my kind of pastry chef, because she minds about sugar.

This is a recipe from her booklet Chocolat bio: Saintes tentations (Eds. La Plage, 2009) (See posts with labels under her name).

Mini pies with strawberry-chocolate (& tofu) ganache

For the pastry:
100 g small spelt flour (*)
50 g T80 flour
1 teaspoon matcha tea (**)

(* small spelt or Einkorn is a difficult find; I used normal spelt)
(** I used ground star anise)

For the ganache:
250 g tofu
100 g dark chocolate
2 tablespoons spelt milk (or normal milk)
2 tablespoons strawberry jam

Decoration
Fresh strawberries
1 tablespoon matcha

Combine the ingredients for the pastry, form a ball, and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Preheat the oven at 160 °C.

Melt the chocolate ove rlow heat with the milk (I used a bit more milk than said quantity). Mix the tofu and the chocolate in a robot for a few seconds.

Roll out the dough in 4 small forms, or one 20 cm diameter pie dish. Make some holes with a fork, put this in the oven for 20 minutes. Check regularly, remove when the crust is baked. Make sure it does not bulge. Let the crust cool.

Put the jam on the bottom of the crusts, and put the chocolate-tofu ganache on top. Cover and place in the fridge for at least one hour. Decorate with fresh strawberries and matcha (green tea) powder right before serving. [I added 2 fresh strawberries to the ganache and did not use jam later]

Notes: I baked my crusts somewhat longer-25-30 minutes. Great ganache, no sugar: perfect peccadillo! Great crust for savory dishes.