Tofu is not solely the stuff of stir-fries. For example, I can almost guarantee you will be impressed by this dessert, a pudding that takes about as much time to make as hot chocolate. But there are a few qualifiers. Without chocolate, the flavor is unimpressive; it tastes like sweetened tofu. Add chocolate and a few Mexican spices, however, and you have a real winner. And certainly, no one I've fed it to had any inkling that it was dairy-free. The texture of the pudding, which must be made with silken tofu, is almost unbelievably good. The brand of chocolate you buy is of utmost importance. Without mentioning names, let me just suggest that you use the highest quality chocolate — semisweet or bittersweet, please — you can lay your hands on. After all, it's the flavor of the chocolate, not of the tofu, that will dominate.

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Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 10 minutes, plus time for chilling