Non-dairy products for vegans rock! Another blogger Kristo recently gave us a recipe for how to make your own rice-milk, so I thought I would share this one for cream from cashews. I made this the other day and it came out beautifully. I love cashew nuts, although I know some people are allergic to them. This is apparently due to their containing small amounts of the toxin urushiol, which is also found in poison ivy. This substance can however be destroyed by roasting the nuts well.

This is a raw-food recipe which is a godsend to vegans, in that it is a delicious and versatile non-dairy cream, made just from cashew nuts and water! You can use it in a lot of desserts and cook with it in various recipes. The cream has a natural sweetness to it, although you can also add some agave syrup, for example, to taste. You can make it as thick or as thin as you like, and it is very easy to make, it just requires some planning.

Use raw whole cashews for best results. You need to plan ahead at least a day to make this as cashews need to soak overnight. You can also put them in a pan, bring them to the boil, then let them soak for an hour, but then their natural sweetness will leach out, so the overnight method is better.

Ingredients (Makes about 2 1/4 cups thick cream or 3 1/2 cups regular cream)

2 cups of raw, whole cashews (not pieces, which are often dry)

Water to soak

Method

1) Rinse nuts well under cold water

2)Put cashews in a bowl with enough cold water to cover them. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3) Drain and rinse under cold water. Place in a blender with enough cold water to cover them by one inch. Blend on high for several minutes until very smooth.*

*If you don't have a Vita-Mix, like me, which, I gather, creates a very smooth blend, you may need to strain the result through a very fine sieve.

To make thick cashew cream, just reduce the amount of water in the blender, so that it just slightly covers them.

It can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge. Serve it wherever you would normally use cream, e.g. on pies, puddings, etc. I am currently eating it with spicy stewed fruit, yum!!!

Picture courtesy of www.seriouseats.com