...My very first ever batch of homemade silken tofu...

...y'all have seen me make tofu before...but I've always made firm...pressed tofu...which is an entirely different thing from silken tofu...not really that different...they use exactly the same ingredients...it's just a different method...

...I started off with some homemade soy milk...I had soaked the beans overnight and then blended them in the Vitamix and strained the milk through a nutmilk bag...and cooked the fresh soymilk...

...here's where things get different...normally I would mix some epsom salt with water and stir that directly into the hot soymilk...and immediately the milk would separate much like cow's milk separates into curds and whey...and then you strain these solid tofu flakes and press them into a cake of firm tofu...

...but for silken tofu...you rapidly chill the hot soymilk...here I made an ice bath in the sink and set the pot into that...until the soymilk was well chilled...you could of course put it in the fridge...but I didn't want to wait...

...then I transferred the cold soymilk into a pitcher for a couple of reasons...first to make it easier to stir in the epsom salt/water mixture without a lot of sloshing...because what you don't want to happen here is the separation part...and second...just to make it easier to pour it into the molds directly from the pitcher...the trick is to mix the coagulant well without getting any separation...

...so when I poured it into my ramekins...it pretty much still just looked like soymilk...and I set the steamer basket in a large pot of water...and brought it to the boil...and left it to simmer for a few minutes...

...I saved the okara...the leftover soybean paste...it has a really strong soy flavor...so cook it before you add it to anything...but I often add a spoonful or two to cookies and cakes...

...after about 15 minutes of steaming the silken tofu was done...it's swimming in just a little bit of water that separated out...

...but you can see it has the texture of a nice custard...which is exactly what I was going for...

...it's perfect...

...it popped right out of the mold...just like it's supposed to...

...and I'm absolutely tickled to death with it...

...the texture will be perfect for VEGAN CRÈME PLOMBIÈRES...

...you can store it in water...just like the tofu that you buy...

...have you ever made silken tofu?...

~Have a lovely day!