My recipe for a vegan, fermented cashew cream cheese has two outstanding features: it is easy to prepare and tastes great! Even if it takes a bit of time, spread out onto a few days, it is definitely worth the effort. The fermented cashew cream cheese is delicious, fine, and soft and is suitable as a spread or dip. With a few more ingredients like fresh herbs or spices, your cashew cream cheese will always taste different, but always as delicious!
Sometimes something easy also takes a bit of time.
Like my yummy recipe. It consists of just a few steps and is ideal for cooking beginners. But to get the perfect taste you are looking for, you need a little time for 2 to 3 days so that your cream cheese can ferment in peace.
A cheese starter set is perfect to get a fermented cashew cream cheese. You can use it again and again, hence it is well worth buying. I recommend the starter kit “Kein Käse” by Fairment. This set has all you need for your cheese production, from organic starter culture to the thermometer. And of course instructions and other recipes for an alternative, vegan cheese production.
The fermentation process starts with the starter culture. This process of vegan cheese making is central to the taste. It gives your fermented cashew cream cheese a creamy texture, rich flavors and is full of beneficial and digestion-friendly microorganisms.
Fairment is one of my affiliate partners, which is why you get 10% off all you shop at Fairment online shop. Simple order with my discount code “Rahel10”. When I shop at Fairment, I always have the very best yeast flakes in my shopping cart! These are the ones, which I also use in my cream cheese recipe.
Step by step to your tangy vegan cream cheese
My recipe card below gives you detailed picture instructions that show every step to your tasty cashew cream cheese. A hand blender, a mixer or a food processor will be needed on your route to your homemade vegan cream cheese. An option I highly commend is a
Hemp cashew cream cheese
During the resting time of the fermentation process, you have time to think about variations of the recipe. You could replace 1/3 to 1/4 of the cashews with hemp seeds. Doing this, you need to reduce the water content a bit. Your vegan hemp cashew cream cheese is very healthy and, thanks to regional production, a little more environmentally friendly.
Naturally, you can vary the taste of your wholesome cream cheese, again and again, using other nuts, adding species and herbs. It tastes particularly delicious with your homemade rye sourdough bread.
Aren’t discounts not always welcome? HERE are more discount codes and affiliate links. Sales through my affiliate links finance part of my work as a blogger. It goes without saying that I select my partners very carefully and they all offer high-quality products only.
Fermented Cashew Cream Cheese
Equipment
- From the Fairment starter set Kein Käse you need 1x large cheese mold, 1x cheese cloth, ¼ tsp bacterial culture.
Ingredients
- 150 g cashew nuts soaked over night
- 140 ml water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp yeast flakes
- ¼ tsp bacterial culture mesophilic
Herbs
- 1 Tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 Tbsp chopped chives or spring onions
- 1 Tbsp chopped rosemary
- 2 pinch rosemary salt
- 2 pinch black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare cashews: First, rinse the soaked cashew nuts and place them in a bowl. Then pour plenty of boiling hot water over it and leave it to stand for 1 minute. This kills unwanted microbes. Then drain the water and put the drained cashew nuts in a blender or mixer.
- Finely puree the cashew nuts with fresh water (140 ml), salt and yeast flakes until you get a creamy mass.
- Then pour the mass into a container that can be closed well. The mass will grow as it ferments, so make sure there is plenty of air under the rim. When pureeing with the mixer, the mass can warm up. When the temperature of the mass is below 45° C, add the bacterial culture and mix well.
- Fermentation: Seal the jar airtight and leave it in a warm place (e.g. next to a heater) for about 24 hours. You should now see air-filled bubbles in the cashew mass.
- After 1-2 days (depending on the desired taste), prepare the equipment for draining. Pour the boiling water over the cheesecloth, and gently wring it out with clean hands.
- Place the cheesecloth over the cheese mold and empty the cashew mass into the cloth. Cover the cashew mass completely with the cheesecloth. For about 24-48 hours (depending on the desired firmness and taste), place the cheese mold slightly elevated in a bowl so that the water can drain off.Tip: Depending on how tangy you want the cashew cream cheese to be, drain the cream cheese at room temperature or in the fridge. At room temperature, the vegan cheese will continue to ferment, making it more acidic. In the fridge, the fermentation process pauses.
- If the cashew cream cheese has the firmness and tanginess you like, put it in a bowl and mix it with freshly chopped herbs, pepper, and season with salt or rosemary salt.
