Happy Go Marni: No-Bake Cardamom Cashew Fudge Diamonds

You may have cooked with tofu before, but have you ever baked with it?

This is one of those really neat recipes where you can shock your guests when you tell them what's in it! Or don't tell them if they're not experimental or unconventional with their food. My dad, for example, would be better off not knowing what's in this! Hehe.

The method for the tofu is unusual and was developed by tofu genius Andrea Nguyen. You buy super-firm tofu and grate it on a box grater like you would a block of cheese. Stir it in with finely chopped cashews, heat that mixture on the stove with sweetened condensed milk, and add cardamom. Spread in a pan and top with chopped pistachios. Voila! Couldn't be easier. Trader Joe's actually sells a 16 oz. package of super-firm tofu that is perfect for this. Since that's double the quantity you need for this recipe, you could just double everything else and use all the tofu, and end up with a double batch. Or save the other half of the tofu for a stir fry or soup.

I made this recipe back in December for a holiday party, and it was everything I hoped it would be. Cardamom is one of my all-time favorite spices (Maybe my very favorite? I'm just afraid to commit to a favorite!). The texture of the fudge is chewy and a little sticky. It looks beautiful on a plate with the light green from the pistachios. And boy, oh boy, the aroma of the cardamom. I've been yearning for more ever since that delicious holiday event, so here I am, two months later, making the recipe again. Ask me in April and I will probably have made another batch. You can't keep me away. And now I'm going to turn you into an equally obsessed person. Good luck with that!

No-Bake Cardamom Cashew Fudge Diamonds
Adapted from a recipe in the "Genius Recipes" section of Food 52, originally from Andrea Nguyen's Asian Tofu cookbook (because Andrea is a genius!)

Makes approximately 36 small diamonds

8 ounces super-firm tofu (Trader Joe's sells this!)
3 1/2 ounces unsalted raw cashew pieces or whole nuts (Trader Joe's sells this!)
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped raw pistachios

Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper and leave enough on the sides to be able to lift it up out of the pan later. You can also use foil and lightly spray it. Set aside.

Take the tofu out of the packaging and dry it off with a paper towel. Using the smallest hole on a box grater or other cheese grater, grate the block of tofu into a bowl.

Pulse the cashews in a food processor until they resemble breadcrumbs. They should be very finely chopped, but not turn to dust. Add the cashews to the bowl of grated tofu and stir to combine.

In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the can of sweetened condensed milk with the tofu/cashew mixture. Cook on medium heat for approximately 15 minutes. Note that the mixture should never reach a boil. You can start out just stirring it occasionally, but as the mixture starts to thicken, you'll need to be stirring constantly because it will stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. Watch closely to make sure this doesn't happen! It will eventually resemble a really thick oatmeal. While you're stirring, if you notice that the mixture is pulling away from the sides of the pan or gliding around the bottom of the pan rather than scorching, it's ready.

Remove from the heat and stir in the cardamom.

Immediately spread into your prepared pan using an offset spatula to push the mixture toward the edges and corners of the pan. Smooth over the top so the surface is even. Sprinkle the chopped pistachios on top and gently press them down into the fudge so they stay put.

Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

Lift up the parchment and place on a cutting board. Using a very sharp chef's knife, cut rows at an angle in one direction, and then cut rows horizontally in the other direction, so that the end result is a piece of fudge that looks like a diamond. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days, or freeze for serving at a later time. As this fudge is sticky, do not stack the pieces directly on top of each other. Instead, place them along the bottom of a container and then place a piece of parchment paper or wax paper on top of each layer before stacking more pieces of fudge into the container.

PHOTO GALLERY: How to Remove and Cut the Fudge

Lift up on the parchment paper to pull the fudge out of the pan...