Cashew Nut Cream 

This cream is so easy to make you'll wonder why you never made it before!

You can swap the cashews for any other type of nut or seed - it's up to you.
I quite like using hulled/shelled hemp seed as an alternative. And if you are following a low histamine diet then hemp seeds are ok, whereas cashews are not. 

I often like to use this luscious plant-based cream to top a cake. Have a look at my recipe here for Nutmeg & Lemon Cake. 

Makes roughly 200mls, you can freeze any you don’t need.  

Takes: 5 minutes to make once the nuts or seeds have been soaking overnight, or for cashews, about 3 hours soaking is enough

½ cup unsalted raw cashew nuts (about 75g) or other nut or seed
1 soft pitted date OR 1-2 teaspoons honey

Optional add-ins:
½ teaspoon vanilla extract/seeds
or finely grated zest from ½ unwaxed orange  

Soak the nuts or seeds in plenty of water overnight or if using cashew nuts 3 hours is usually enough time; Important to leave them to soak in the fridge, otherwise they can develop some mould depending on the temperature of where you soak them.
Soak the nuts or seeds so they are covered with about 3 cm water over the top.

The next day, drain away the water and put the soaked cashew nuts or other nut/seed into a blender. You’ll need a powerful blender to get the cream really smooth. A high speed smoothie-maker-type blender is best.

Add the date, and perhaps some vanilla or orange zest, and some water or orange juice from the zested orange.
The amount of water depends on how runny or thick you want your cream, begin with about 100 mls water and then keep adding more to end up with the thickness you want.
You may need to scrape down the sides of your blender to mix in any half blended bits of nuts.

Store the cream in a lidded jar/container in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze.