Healthy Vegan Cardamom Custard ~ Topping ~ Frosting ~ Pudding ~ Oil-Free ~ No Refined Sweeteners
This fruit sweetened nourishing vegan alternative to cream cheese frosting also works as dessert topping or stand-alone dessert custard. The creamy texture comes from 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.
Equipment
- High Speed Blender (a food processor or regular blender will work with some patience)
- Cheesecloth (or other thin absorbent lint-free fabric for squeezing tofu)
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup cashew pieces, raw unsalted
- ½ cup water
- 1 10.9 oz package shelf stable silken tofu, firm or extra firm
- ½ cup Deglet Noor dates, sliced then measured (remove any stems or pits and slice into 1/4 inch cross sections)
- 1 tablespoon frozen orange juice concentrate
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
- Soak cashew pieces in 1/2 cup of water for at least ten minutes or up to a day in advance. You can do this while you prepare your other ingredients. (Using whole cashews is also ok, but then you need to soak them longer, about an hour).
- It's important to remove as much excess water as possible from the silken tofu in order to maximize flavor and achieve the right level of firmness. 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 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 cheesecloth and begin crumbling it using a spoon or my fingers. Part of the liquid is released right away. Then, to remove as much 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 is discarded.
- After at least 10 minutes of soaking (1 hour for whole cashews), strain cashews discarding excess water.
- Place tofu with liquid removed, strained cashews and all other ingredients into the bowl of a high speed blender (you can use a food processor or regular blender for this step, but it will take longer and your results will not be as smooth). Process until a smooth custard forms. Be patient. You can't over blend and the smoother you get the better.*
- Remove mixture from blender and place in an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to a week. If you are using as a frosting, chill for at least two hours before spreading. It can be served immediately if using it as a stand-alone dessert, or as a creamy dessert topping.
- To use as frosting, it's better to refrigerate for a couple of hours before using and, more importantly, make sure that what's being frosted has also completely cooled down.
Notes
*Depending on the type of blender or processor you use, you may still see little brown specs from dates that can't be fully incorporated. This was the case for me before I got my high speed blender. Don't worry, it will still taste good though the aesthetic is a bit more rustic.
Tried this recipe? Let me know how it was!