Homemade vegan cashew cheese

Cashews are good for replacing dairy because they deliver a creamy taste and good levels of fat and protein. Other nuts, for example almonds, can work too, but have a stronger flavour than the cashew - which can be good if you like that flavour!

There are a couple of interesting ingredients in this. First is the kappa carrageenan, which is a gelling agent derived from seaweed. It can be replaced with agar agar, which is also derived from seaweed, though the consistency of the final product will be less firm.

Lactic acid powder gives an extra sharpness which dairy cheese can have. If you don’t want to use it, just double the lemon juice / vinegar. 

Tapioca starch helps give the cashew cheese some stretch when melted. Corn starch can work, but won’t be quite as good.

Ingredients:

100g cashews
2 tbsp tapioca starch
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
2 tsp kappa carrageenan
1/2 teaspoon vegan lactic acid powder
1 tsp lemon juice / apple cider vinegar / rice vinegar
200ml water

Soak the cashews in boiling water for 30 minutes, or in cold water overnight. Drain and rinse well. Preheat the oven to 200C.

Prepare a couple of large ramekins (about 200ml each) by lining roughly with parchment - we want a rustic look.

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Transfer to a non-stick pan on medium-hot temperature and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or spatula, until it starts to thicken. 

Transfer to the ramekins and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until browned on top.

Now, two things you can do: either eat immediately with some crusty bread or allow to cool, wrap in fresh parchment, and eat cold. Either way is delish! The cold cashew cheese will also re-melt quite well.