Want something that looks and tastes super duper fancy but is so easy to make? This is the recipe! I made these amazing creations for my Rouxbe plant-based cooking course as part of my final assessment. Not only are the beautiful-but they are off the hook amazing!!!! Melt in your mouth, I can’t stop eating these, amazing. Forget traditional dessert-this is the bombdiddly! The are great as an appetizer and perfect for a crowd.
What’s better is that both parts of the recipe can be made ahead of time, the dates can go for about 2 weeks in the marinade, the cashew cream a few days before. Each part of this is awesome on their own, but when combined, gives you that rich sweet creaminess that is almost sinful. Perfect to share with that special someone!
Any added oils? Sugars? Preservatives? No, no, and no! Dates are very sweet on their own, and cashews have a natural sweetness too. The acidic component in both the cream and the dates brings out that sweetness, and helps to balance the flavors of the added herbs as well. Both dates and cashews are great sources of copper, magnesium, and other nutrients. While providing natural sugars, they are both low glycemic, meaning they won’t cause a big spike in blood sugar, like non-whole food sweeteners. Unlike commercially prepared cream cheese, there are no stabilizers or gums to avoid separation. Use the left over marinade, as a dressing, or to use for roasting portobello mushrooms (pictured below are mushrooms topped with Pomegranate Pistachio Quinoa) or other veggies. I just can’t get enough, I just can’t get enough!
Portobello Roasted in Balsamic Date Marinade and Topped With Pomegranate Quinoa
To make the cashew cream cheese you need to use raw cashews and soak them. This helps in the digestion of the nut, as well as making a much creamier product. You can see the difference between soaked and raw below. If you used roasted cashews, the cashews won’t get as creamy, and will also, obviously, not be raw. The cream will also take on a darker color, and could be more bitter and not as sweet as raw cashews are.
Cashews Soaked vs Unsoaked Raw Cashews
The cashew cream cheese does make more than you will need to fill the dates. Choices: 1) make more dates if you’re having a lot of people 2) Use the leftovers as a topping for baked dishes like pasta or enchiladas in place of a traditional dairy cheese. You can also use it as a spread for crackers, wraps, or on top of a piece of toast. I don’t recommend making less, as your blender will have a harder time with the small quantity of ingredients. You can try it though, and reduce the recipe for the cream cheese by half. Shown below are my Black Bean Enchiladas-recipe coming soon!
Adding Chived Cashew Cream Cheese To Black Bean Enchiladas
Ingredients:
For Dates:
- 3 cups of dates (this equals about 28 dates), pits removed (do this by making a small slice into the date, being careful not to crush it)
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 1 1/2 cups of balsamic vinegar
For Cashew Chive Cream Cheese:
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4-8 hours
- 2 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- just enough water to get the blender to cream the cashews into thick paste, about 1/4 cup
- freshly chopped chives, about 2-3 tbsp depending on texture preference
Cashew Sour Cream vs. Cashew Cream Cheese: By Adding More Water, You’ll Get A Thinner Product, More Like Sour Cream
Instructions:
- Dates: place dates, vinegar, rosemary into a pan, bring to a simmer, and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Place into fridge to cool. Can be stored in vinegar for 2-3 weeks (but they won’t last that long because you will eat them all!). Save vinegar to be used as a roasting liquid or dressing for salads.
- “Cream Cheese”: Place soaked and drained cashews into a powerful blender like a Vitamix. Add salt, lemon juice, and begin the blender, adding in just enough water to get the blender to turn the cashews into a thick paste.
- To Assemble: Slice the date through the center, being careful not to cut all the way into 2 pieces. Place cashew cream cheese into a ziploc or piping bag. If using a ziploc bag, cut a small piece off 1 corner of the bag. Use this to pipe cheese into dates. Top with additional chives if desired.
- You will have left over cream cheese: use the cheese as a cracker spread, as a topping for baked pasta or enchiladas (or just eat with a spoon because it’s so yummy!!!).
Nutritional Benefits:
- A dessert/special appetizer with natural sugars
- Dairy, oil, gluten free: reduces inflammation in the body
- While the cashew cheese is high in fat, it’s a healthy form of fat almost completely mono-unsaturated. This fat helps to increase HDL and decrease LDL (lousy) cholesterol. Cashews provide great sources of copper and magnesium, both of which play a role in bone and heart health. Cashews have been shown to help diabetic and heart patients, low glycemic. To read more: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=98
- Dates: are actually a low glycemic food, and while they contain natural sugars, they don’t create a spice in blood sugar. They are high in many minerals like copper and magnesium, and calcium, as well as being good sources of Vitamin C, A, and K. http://www.livestrong.com/article/507760-what-are-the-benefits-of-eating-dates/
- For Dates:
- 3 cups of dates (this equals about 28 dates), pits removed (do this by making a small slice into the date, being careful not to crush it)
- 1 sprig of fresh rosemary
- 1½ cups of balsamic vinegar
- For Cashew Chive Cream Cheese:
- 2 cups raw cashews, soaked for 4-8 hours
- 2½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- just enough water to get the blender to cream the cashews into thick paste, about ¼ cup
- freshly chopped chives, about 2-3 tbsp depending on texture preference
- Cashew Sour Cream vs. Cashew Cream Cheese: By Adding More Water, You'll Get A Thinner Product, More Like Sour Cream
- Dates: place dates, vinegar, rosemary into a pan, bring to a simmer, and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Place into fridge to cool. Can be stored in vinegar for 2-3 weeks (but they won't last that long because you will eat them all!). Save vinegar to be used as a roasting liquid or dressing for salads.
- "Cream Cheese": Place soaked and drained cashews into a powerful blender like a
- Vitamix
- Add salt, lemon juice, and begin the blender, adding in just enough water to get the blender to turn the cashews into a thick paste.
- To Assemble: Slice the date through the center, being careful not to cut all the way into 2 pieces. Place cashew cream cheese into a ziploc or piping bag. If using a ziploc bag, cut a small piece off 1 corner of the bag. Use this to pipe cheese into dates. Top with additional chives if desired.
- You will have left over cream cheese: use the cheese as a cracker spread, as a topping for baked pasta or enchiladas (or just eat with a spoon because it's so yummy!!!).
