Mixed berry-almond gratin

I've been dying to bake all summer long. Maybe it was all of the delicious bread and pastries I ate in Sydney. Or maybe I was just missing all of my good kitchen gadgets while away from home. Despite the fact that it was 102 degrees outside yesterday, I could not resist the urge to turn on my oven to make this mixed berry-almond gratin from an old issue of Eating Well Magazine.


Although mine did not turn out as beautiful-looking as the magazine photo, it was perfectly tasty and very easy to make. It is much like a cobbler, in that the base layer is composed of three cups of mixed berries. The topping, however, sounds a bit strange when you first see the recipe. To make the cream, you combine toasted almonds, sugar, a little flour, an egg, almond extract, butter, and silken tofu! I imagine this is significantly better for you than heavy cream, and I think with a small amount of tinkering this could easily be made vegan.


The end result was very good. The creamy topping has a loose cake-like consistency, with a nice almond flavor and flecks of ground almonds throughout. The tofu is completely indiscernible in both flavor and texture. I've heard about people using silken tofu to make chocolate mousse--perhaps I'll try that next! [Recipe]