Healthy Vegan Cardamom Custard Frosting Pudding Oil-Free Fruit Sweetened

This fruit sweetened nourishing vegan custard is delicately flavored with cardamom and a hint of orange. The creamy texture comes from shelf stable silken tofu along with a small amount of cashews. Whole dates and orange juice concentrate are the only sweetening ingredients and no added fats are used.

WHY I LOVE IT

As someone who strives to be as whole food plant-based (WFPB) compliant as possible, it can be hard to find sweet creamy dessert options that don’t rely on refined sweeteners and added fats. Commercially, these options almost don’t exist at all, and even most self-described whole food plant-based recipes rely on refined ingredients like maple syrup for sweetening. Then there’s the issue of my recalibrated tastebuds that now find most desserts too sweet. Thanks to the magic of my high speed blender, whole dates, shelf stable silken tofu and a handful of other widely available ingredients, I’ve been able to create a rich creamy custard that’s firm enough to double as cake frosting. It also works as a topping for fresh fruit. Although I realize that orange juice concentrate, an ingredient that also adds sweetness to this recipe, is a type of processed sweetener, I think that it is preferable to equal amounts of maple syrup due to its superior nutrient density while adding a lovely layer of warm citrus flavor.

SHELF STABLE SILKEN TOFU

The versatility of silken tofu for plant-based cooking can’t be overstated. It’s nice to have a shelf stable version ready to go on your pantry shelf, no refrigeration needed, and usually good for at lest one year. It can go in desserts, scrambles, dips, spreads, smoothies and more. I stock up whenever I’m at my favorite Asian grocery store, but you can also order online. I always get firm or extra firm. For this recipe, I recommend extra firm.

PREPPING AND MEASURING DATES

My favorite dates are pitted Deglet Noor because they are sweet, flavorful, widely available and usually soft and moist. You can also use medjool dates by prepping and measuring them in the same way as you would Deglet Noor. When I use dates in recipes I always begin by slicing them. I have found that dates that are supposedly pitted are, in fact, usually not all pitted. Pre-slicing my dates gives me the opportunity to remove any hidden pits and hard stems that may still be attached to the dates. In recipes like this one where the dates will be processed in a blender or food processor, slicing the dates allows them to be processed more quickly and effectively. Finally, slicing dates allows for greater consistency in volume measuring. Once the dates are sliced they can be pressed into measuring cups or spoons.

REMOVING EXCESS LIQUID FROM SILKEN TOFU

For this recipe, you’re going to have to remove as much moisture from your firm, or extra firm, silken tofu as possible. If you have a tofu press, trust me, you don’t want to try to use it for this. Silken tofu is way too soft for a tofu press. Instead, you will need cheesecloth or several absorbent lint-free cloths. First drain off the obvious liquid from your tofu as soon as it comes out of the box. After that, there are a couple of different ways to proceed with the moisture removal. One way is to wrap it with a couple of lint-free, absorbent, cloth napkins or dish towels, place it on a plate and put something heavy on it, like another plate, and leave it like that overnight or for up to 24 hours inside the fridge. This works if you have the time. But keeping in mind that for this recipe the tofu does not need to keep its shape, I prefer to use a cheesecloth, or similar type of fabric, over a mesh strainer to squeeze the liquid out of the tofu. I start by placing my mesh strainer over a bowl. Then I place the cheesecloth over the mesh strainer. The mixing bowl under the strainer is there to catch the excess liquid. I place the tofu over the cheese cloth and begin crumbling it using a spoon or my fingers. Part of the liquid is released right away. Then, to remove as much of the liquid as possible, I wrap the cheese cloth around the crumbled tofu and gently squeeze. When I feel like I’ve gotten most of the liquid out of the tofu, I carefully remove the tofu crumbles from the cheese cloth and place them in a small bowl while I gather my other ingredients. The liquid in the bowl under the strainer can be discarded.

SOAKING CASHEWS

Traditional cream cheese frosting recipes usually contain butter in order to achieve a smooth spreadable consistency and a silky, melt in your mouth texture. In some of my frosting recipes I use small amounts of soaked raw cashews to accomplish the same thing. But unlike butter, dairy or plant-based, cashews are a whole plant food. By using cashews even in small amounts I realize that I’m increasing the saturated fat content in this recipe. But not by much, and I think it’s worth it.

For best results your cashews need to be soaked. Soaking cashews makes frostings creamier and fluffier. If using a high speed blender you can technically get away with little to no soaking and just using a tiny bit more plant milk. The result will not be quite as good and you have to be patient and process for longer.

Ideal soaking time for cashews should be at least two hours if starting with cold water. If you start by pouring boiling water over your cashews you can get away with a shorter soaking time. Using cashew pieces also reduces the necessary soaking time. When I know I’ll be making frosting the following day, I soak my cashews overnight.

HIGH SPEED BLENDER RECOMMENDED

For best results, a high speed blender should be used for this recipe. However, a less powerful blender, or even a food processor, can do an adequate job so long as you’re patient. Modern appliances like high speed blenders allow us to quickly and easily harness the power of plant foods like dates, cashews and tofu, eliminating the need for ingredients like sugar, butter and dairy cream which are calorie dense and comparatively low in nutrients.

HOW AND WHAT TO FROST

To use this recipe as a frosting, it’s better to refrigerate for a couple of hours before using. More importantly, make sure that what’s being frosted has also completely cooled down.

If you love the oil-free, sugar-free, healthiness of this frosting you’ll probably also like some of my muffin and cake recipes. This is my go to frosting when I want to turn my Pineapple Carrot Breakfast Cake or Red Lentil Banana Muffins into desserts. It’s also the ideal frosting for my WFPB Peach Cake with Dates and Ginger and my Whole Food Vegan Cranberry Orange Cake.

related recipes you’ll love