Everyone loves a creamy texture, whether in soups, sauces, risottos or in dessert. The problem is that cream is not particularly healthy and doesn’t have a long shelf life. Cashew nuts are the answer – they are full of healthy nutrients and can be easily transformed into a rich and decadent cream. Useful in sweet and savoury dishes, cashew cream can be flavoured with anything you like. You can freeze it too. Read on to find out how easily you can have a ready supply of healthy cream at your fingertips to use in any dishes, hot or cold.
For sweet and savoury dishes
Want to make a pasta dish, soup, dip, sauce or risotto creamy? Want to make a sweet cream topping for carrot cake or add a healthier dollop of thick cream to dessert?
Well, you don’t need to buy single cream, double cream or cream cheese – you just need homemade cashew cream.
Why make cashew cream?
- It’s healthy and easy – all you need are cashew nuts, water and a blender.
- You can make your cream as thick or as thin as you like.
- It’s a plant-based, vegan alternative to dairy cream.
It lasts a long time
Make a batch of thick cashew cream and freeze it for months. No need to rush to the shops when you find you have run out of fresh dairy cream.
Cashew cream recipe
What you need:
- Cashew nuts (any amount), soaked in water overnight
- Water
- Blender or food processor
Method:
Step 1
After soaking the cashew nuts in water overnight, drain them and put the nuts in a high-powered blender or food processor.
Step 2
Add a little water as you blitz the cashew nuts, and keep adding a little more water until the cream is smooth and has reached the consistency you require. (If you want to freeze the cashew cream, make sure the cream is fairly thick)
Step 3 (if you are freezing the cream)
Spoon the cream onto a large baking tray in separate dollops. Place in the freezer. When frozen, the creamy dollops can easily be removed from the tray and placed into a freezer bag. You can add these to hot dishes whilst still frozen, leave them to defrost at room temperature or melt them in a microwave.
Optional flavourings
Savoury – add herbs, spices, garlic, seasoning.
Sweet – add sugar, syrup, orange/lemon zest/juice, cinnamon, etc, etc.
