Honey Cashew Cream

“Why make cream out of cashew nuts?”, I hear you ask.

A few reasons. In no particular order:

1. Some people can’t tolerate dairy. But they should not have to miss out on all the fun.

2. Some people don’t like regular (i.e., dairy) whipped cream.

3. Because you can (who knew? I didn’t, until this time last year).

4. Because cashews have a lovely buttery texture, which means that this recipe produces cream with a very similar consistency to dairy (but with the added benefits of B vitamins, zinc, iron and magnesium).

5. Because, when you’ve gone to the trouble of making an amazing raw dessert (like chocolate-caramel-fruit tart, which I took to a pot-luck dinner this weekend), it seems just plain wrong to serve it with regular cream.

6. Because this one tastes absolutely divine.

Honey Cashew Cream

1 cup raw cashew nuts (soaked 2 – 4 hours, drained and rinsed)

2 tablespoons honey

Juice of half a lemon

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod, scraped or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup water (approximately – add more for liquid cream or less for firmer cream)

Blend all ingredients until creamy. That’s it, end of story.

Except to say that if I’m making it for us at home, I use vanilla extract. But I use seeds from a vanilla pod if it’s a special occasion (like a dinner party or I’m taking a plant-based food demo or workshop). There is something about those tiny little black vanilla seed specks that screams “PARTY!” to me.

And sometimes I add orange juice instead of lemon. I’m crazy like that; I live on the edge.

And in summer, I sometimes leave out the honey, and use fresh fruit instead. Throw in a perfectly-ripe white-fleshed peach or two and you’ve got something pretty spectacular. Believe me.

It’s great having this in the fridge. If there’s cashew cream in the house, then dessert is no more than five minutes away. This is quite a comforting thought.

Sliced banana + some kind of sauce + chopped nuts + cashew cream = banana split.

Chopped apple + raw crumble topping + cashew cream = apple crumble.

My sister even has it on her breakfast cereal. Enjoy!