Cheater Tiramisu

Happy Monday! My apologies for a week of no blogging; how lame of me! But I'm back in action and I've got a homemade recipe to share to make up for my absence :)

My mom's birthday was recently, and I wanted to make up an original recipe for dessert rather than a lame normal cake, you know? So I thought of my love of tiramisu and how doubtful I was that it was anywhere close to "good" for you, and decided to take on the challenge of creating a new recipe for it! I did a trial run, tweeked it only slightly, and was pleasantly surprised with how well it came out for being so much different than real tiramisu! It doesn't taste exactly like the real tiramisu, but I think its pretty darn close and it doesn't have any raw eggs, hooray! Plus its pretty simple to make, and it is pretty low in sugar and even has some protein from the tofu. Don't be freaked out by the tofu if you've never used it, its super easy to use! Be warned: I channeled my inner six-year-old and this recipe uses animal crackers. Seriously.

Here's my first trial version-in a baby pan!

Cheater Tiramisu

Makes 1 8-inch round pan

~ 35 animal crackers
espresso, or very strong brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature
3" block of silken Tofu (from 11.5 oz box), drained on a paper towel (I used Trader Joe's version; soft will work best but I got firm silken to work also)
1 tablespoon confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon mocha coffee creamer
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
~1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
~1 square dark chocolate

Brew your coffee/espresso and let it cool. Dip each animal cracker in the espresso for a second or two then lay on the bottom of your pan until it is covered with animal crackers! In a large bowl, whisk silken tofu, sugar, creamer and vanilla together until creamy. Spread a layer over the animal crackers. Repeat animal cracker layer, then tofu layer. Put in fridge overnight for best results (or for an hour at least if you totes want to just eat it ASAP). When ready to serve, dust with cocoa powder and shave some dark chocolate on the top. YUM!

nutrition (1 slice; whole pan cut into 9 slices): 55 calories, 1.5 g fat, 3.4 g sugar, 2.4 g protein

As a back-up, I made angel food cupcakes, and good thing I did! Everyone else loved the tiramisu, but my mom was all about the cupcakes. At least I was prepared, right? ;)

Not the prettiest picture, but I didn't take a pre-eating picture and I had to snag one before it was all gone!

One more thing; have you seen the new Starbucks commercial? That business sure knows how to make the process of making coffee drinks a work of art. ;) Even the music is perfect! Here is the video if you haven't watched it yet!

Have an amazing Monday, will you??

--KQ