One of the things I love most about food is that it has the ability to transport us back to a particular time in our lives. These memories could have taken place ten or fifteen years ago, but one bite into a meal, and you feel that rush of emotion and it’s almost like it was yesterday.
For me, this apple cinnamon dish is one of those meals. All throughout high school, my mom would often take a little extra time on the weekends to make a breakfast for our family that was more involved than opening a box of cereal. Sometimes it was scones, other times it was eggs and soy bacon, but more often than not, it was this slightly sweet, cinnamon, custard-like dish with pieces of baked apples throughout.
When I first started cooking for myself in the latter half of college, this was one of the first recipes I asked my mom to send me. At the time, I remember feeling so “adult” picking up the ingredients, buying a glass casserole dish at Target, and cooking my roommates something other than instant oatmeal. Tofu is definitely mainstream now, but I can remember friends being hesitant to try it back then. That’s part of the magic of tofu though – it takes on whatever flavors you pair it with, and silken tofu, in particular, has a really nice, smooth texture. I think this dish, along with my mom’s tofu lasagna, convinced a lot of my friends to get over their tofu phobias.
Somewhere between moving all over the country, I lost the recipe and then randomly found it tucked into a dusty cookbook this past weekend. It’s much more simple than I remember, but I suppose that if instant oatmeal and spaghetti are as complicated as it gets in college, anything that requires turning on your oven and baking would seem that way. I made a few modifications to the original ingredients, trading regular sugar for homemade date paste (there’s a simple tutorial on Choosing Raw), gluten-free flour instead of regular white flour, coconut oil in place of canola, and a combination of ground flax and hemp seeds instead of wheat germ.
My version is more in line with my current style of eating, but it still retains the same flavors and familiar custard-like texture of my mom’s recipe. It’s warm and comforting, and perfect for those crisp mornings that are becoming more and more frequent as we transition into fall.
I bet a pumpkin version of this would be awesome too, but I’m holding off on that obsession just a little bit longer before I open those floodgates…
- 1 Block Silken Tofu with Water (do NOT drain)
- ⅔ C. Date Paste (or other sweetener)
- ½ C. Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour (or Wheat Flour)
- 2 Tbs. Melted Coconut Oil, plus additional for greasing the pan
- 1½ Tsp. Baking Powder
- 2 C. Chopped Apple (you can peel the apple if you like)
- ¼ C. Ground Flaxseeds (or Wheat Germ)
- ¼ C. Hemp Seeds (or use additional Ground Flaxseeds or Wheat Germ)
- Cinnamon for Sprinkling
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease a 10 inch pie pan or casserole dish and set aside.
- In a blender, add the tofu with water, date paste, flour, melted coconut oil, and baking powder and blend until smooth.
- Transfer the tofu mixture to a large bowl and stir in the chopped apple, ground flaxseeds, and hemp seeds.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and generously sprinkle the top with cinnamon.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top has browned and it feels mostly firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool and set for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve warm and enjoy!
This recipe has been submitted to Healthy Vegan Fridays.
{ 49 comments… read them below or add one }
This looks SO good! I feel like I can taste it already without ever having tried this before, looking forward to trying it!
Oh my this sounds like heaven….. and will be made once I’m back in MD in my own kitchen.
But for reals…I’m like drooling right now…nom nom nom
Thanks, Kait! I think you’ll like it – it’s so easy. You can study while it’s baking.
I <3 easy…this recipe is also special because its really the first fall-ish one I've seen on the blogs yet. Pumpkin and apple season…here we come!
I can’t decide if I love or hate you right now…I ate half of it by myself….
haha Let’s go with love.
It’s oddly addictive, right? I can easily eat half by myself.
Love it is! When people ask how my weekend was it’ll go something like this, “Friday I hung out by a campfire and sang songs and ate nutella s’mores. Saturday I made a ton of money. Sunday I wrote my paper, watched OUAT…and ate half a pie…er breakfast bake…” bahaha GREAT way to end a weekend.
Wow this looks so yummy. This recipe makes me think of the comfort of my couch on this rainy day in New Jersey as well as Thanksgiving.
Apples and cinnamon is such a great combination. Definitely perfect for a rainy day.
I’ve never thought to use tofu in a sweet dish! I love this idea.
It’s a nice change from the more typical tofu breakfast scrambles.
This looks like the perfect weekend breakfast! In college I would have been hesitant to try tofu too, but now? Bring it on!
Wow! I’ve been eating baked oatmeal most of the summer with an occasional smoothie, homemade waffle or scrambled tofu recipe thrown in for good measure. But this. Wow. Must get me some more silken tofu and apples.
It’s a nice change of pace from oatmeal and smoothies.
Agreed. That said, I also really love oatmeal, especially how I make it. In part because it’s great for a weekday morning. I use small, individual ovenable dishes, so it takes no time and I can do other things to get ready for work at the same time.
I am going to have to try this! It sounds really good–nice and custardy and comforting. I have one question: when you say silken tofu do you mean the kind that is refrigerated or the shelf-stable, aseptic-packaged kind? I know it usually doesn’t matter, but sometimes they are different sizes and weights.
I mean the refrigerated block of silken tofu that comes packed in water. The package I used was 19 oz (it’s the standard size). Good question!
Thank you! That helps a lot.
So comforting – this is absolutely knocking my socks off right now! I will be making this ASAP.
I hope you like it!
Oh yum- it looks so fluffy and custard-y! I’m going to attempt a single-serving version of this asap!
Is your mom vegan? Or does she just like cooking with tofu?
I would be AMAZED if my mom ever used tofu in anything (and seriously impressed!). To her credit, she did recently stop buying much processed food, and now gets all of her meat, eggs and milk from a local organic farm.
That’s great about your mom! I’m sure buying less processed food will have a significant impact.
My mom is mostly vegan, although she hasn’t completely given up the occasional creamer in her coffee and small things like that. She became vegetarian when I was little and has followed a similar path as me in terms of transitioning away from eggs & dairy over the last couple of years. She also practices Baptiste yoga most mornings, runs, bikes, and teaches preschool all day, so it’s fair to say that she’s in ridiculous shape. Seriously – I aspire to have biceps like hers.
Yum! This looks like something that might get the Hubs riding on the tofu train (especially if I don’t tell him its in there until after he eats it!)
haha It’s worth a try! Silken tofu has a very mild flavor, so you can easily mask it with other ingredients.
i’ve never seen anything like this recipe! very original. and it sounds delicious. do you think it would be ok to use date syrup in place of the date paste? i have a jar of date syrup that i’m looking to use. thanks!
I haven’t used date syrup before, so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out. I would think you could try leaving out some of the water from the tofu to keep the mixture from being too watery though. The texture of the original recipe is similar to pancake batter pre-bake, just to give you an idea of the consistency you’re aiming for.
This is an amazing idea! I can’t wait to try this over the holidays so I can share with my non-veg parents. Thank you!
This is such a unique way to use tofu! I can’t wait to try it. Just the mention of pumpkin has possibilities racing through my brain!
Mine too! I’m so excited for pumpkin season!
The question is: When does pumpkin season “officially” begin?
I just wanted to stop back and let you know that I made this dish with a few modifications! I drained the tofu, used 1/2 cup honey instead of date paste, and added 1/2 cup natural applesauce. I also used all flax seed and whole wheat flour. I ate it both warm and chilled-I LOVED it chilled! It was such a comforting texture and not overly sweet. With a drizzle of caramel, it could double as dessert! Thanks for such great recipe. It’s the perfect platform for so many fun variations!
I’m so glad you liked it! Your modifications sound really good, and I too am a big fan of it chilled! Of course, I’m now going to have to make a vegan caramel sauce to try next time…
You are a beautiful writer! To be honest, this ist something that instantly appealed to me (despite my love of both tofu and apples) but the way you wrote about it so romantically sold me.
I love your blog!
Thank you so much, Monique! Your comment just made my day.
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I agree with Monique when she said at first the recipe didn’t appeal to her. It didn’t appeal to me either and I also luv tofu in any form. It was after reading the article that got my interest going.
Thank you so much for sharing.
Thanks for your comment.
I know what you mean – a tofu breakfast bake isn’t the most drool-worthy recipe name, but I promise it’s worth giving it a try.
My 7 year old daughter and I are enjoying a piece of this RIGHT NOW! And it is sooooooooo goooooood! It helps that I called it breakfast apple pie, I am sure. My house smiled like fall this morning (my favorite season), despite the temperature climbing to 32 degrees Celsius today……. Just wondering if you think I can assemble the whole thing the night before and bake it in the morning? Or would the baking powder turn it into a tofu volcano? Thanks again for a superb recipe!
I think you can probably assemble it the night before. It’s worth a try!
yippee…we’re going on a farmers market tour and I can’t wait to try this with fresh apples! Thank you so much for sharing it. I just discovered your blog and it’s spinningly spectacular…cheers!
It should turn out even better with fresh apples! I’m so excited for apple season.
I love how you made a sweet tofu bake…Ive only seen savory ones, but this looks so good! I am going to feature this post on tomorrow’s Healthy Vegan Fridays-I hope you join us again to link up more of your wonderful recipes!
Thanks, Shelby! I love the idea behind Healthy Vegan Fridays and I’m looking forward to your post!
So I went ahead and tried a pumpkin version…. just threw in 1 cup of pumpkin purée in the blender with the other ingredients, added a tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves, then sprinkled the whole thing with cinnamon and maple sugar (us French Canadians have a stash o hand at all times), and I dare say this will be part of our Thanksgiving feast next weekend. We pesky vegans are hosting, so I have to placate my parents and I laws with something at least semi traditional! Note: it wakes a little longer to cook, but I may even sneak in some pecans into it next week…….
That sounds SO good!!! I need to make your pumpkin version this week…and definitely add pecans!
I’ve been a veggie for 6 years but relied too much on the processed “meatless” stuff, and just recently began my path to being more wholesome. Just came across your site, and tried this recipe this morning (used Shana’s honey/applesauce/flax alternatives)…. WOW… would never guess it’s tofu! Tasted wonderful and of course the house smells of baked apple now
Will definitely be making this again!
I think relying on the precessed faux meat types of foods is something a lot of us have done at some point or another, but especially when we’re transitioning from eating meat. That’s great that you’re moving more towards whole foods! I know I personally feel my best when I’m staying away from the processed stuff, although I do enjoy things like Gardein every once in a while.
I’m so happy you enjoyed the breakfast bake! It’s one of my favorites, and it’s even good for dessert straight out of the fridge.
This is a been a saved recipe for a while. I FINALLY made it tonight. I had my doubts when I subbed chickpea flour. But, um, it was so good. Thank you for sharing!
Glad you liked it, and good to know chickpea flour worked well! It’s one of those recipes that sounds like it might not work, but it’s totally delicious after it bakes.
Sounds like an awesome weekend!! Well, maybe minus writing a paper, but I’ll assume it was something you wanted to write about.
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