I am struggling to decide where I begin telling you about this cashew, chia, coconut cream as I am so taken with everything about it.
To start with it is amazing because it tastes soooo delicious, and isn’t that where we should always begin – “healthy” or not!
Then it is also amazing in its versatility. You can keep it as thick as when first made and it is spoonable enough that you could use it as a cream filling in a cake. Or you can thin it with a little of, your choice of milk, coconut water or and a little lemon juice and you have a great yoghurt substitute.
As a totally dairy free alternative it offers all the richness, mouthfeel and satisfaction of its dairy alternatives such as cream, greek yoghurt, marscapone cheese, cream cheese etc… I love dairy products and happily include them in my diet, but it seems to me that more and more people are telling me they are intolerant to lactose or dairy. As someone who wants to feed everyone and enjoy the widest variety of foods, I am very excited when I find delicious alternatives. Especially alternatives that aren’t a lesser product and that taste amazing in their own right. Anything that expands the variety of foods we eat, offers new options in how we cook and prepare our meals has to be a good thing.
Lastly (I am definitely being hasty saying lastly, but for now lastly!), it is so simple to make and keeps in the fridge up to 4 days.
I have definitely been inspired to day-dream about uses for this cream and the list that follows is just the beginning.
- Layered into a delicious breakfast bowl or jar to eat on the run.
- A spoonful in your green smoothie. (or any smoothie for that matter)
- Folded through chia jam or stewed fruit for breakfast or like an old fashioned fruit fool for desert.
- Layered up like a trifle with fruit, biscuits and maybe a little brandy or an appropriate liqueur or juice.
- In a desert pie with a date and nut base.
- Melted chocolate folded through as a mousse.
- With coffee, chocolate and biscuits like a Tiramisu
- Thin it down to make it more like yogurt
- Add a dollop to your coffee or chai tea
RECIPE FOR CASHEW, COCONUT, CHIA CREAM
For smoothest results you will need some sort of high powered blender (but you will get a delicious, if not as creamy result in your food processor)
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashew pieces soaked 2 hours – overnight, rinsed and well drained.
- 1 x 400 gm can coconut cream
- 2 tbsp white chia seeds. (black will work fine its just a colour thing)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tbsp sweetener such as coconut nectar, rice syrup or one medjool date.
- Pinch sea salt.
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 cup of water
Place all of the above ingredients into your blender and blend on high speed until smooth and creamy.
Pour into a jar and put in your fridge and let the chia seeds do their work and thicken your cream.
Once it is thickened it is yours to eat as you like. The first time I made it I admit to waking in the middle of the night and eating it straight from the jar. I would like to say it also makes you sleep better but that might be stretching my imagination a little too far!
In the photos for a breakfast jar I have layered it with fresh and frozen fruit, a squirt of lemon juice and my seed and nut mix https://freshkitchen.co.nz/everyday-nut-and-seed-mix-and-a-clever-quick-biscuit/ . You can make up your jar or bowl the night before and be ready to start the day on a high note. Use my mix or your favourite bircher muesli/ muesli ingredients and have it ready to throw in your bag for breakfast on the run the next day.
And to finish the day, chocolate cake with coffee cashew cream and praline. Life is good.
I have slightly adapted this recipe from one I found on https://begoodorganics.com , a plant based whole-foods blog which has with a lot of inspiring ideas.
