Easy Vegan 'Camembert Cheese'
This creamy cashew ‘camembert’ is delicious served with warm crusty bread as a weekend treat or when you’re having friends over for ‘drinks and nibbles’. It’s also perfect for picnics, buffets and parties. Any leftovers make a great sandwich filling. We especially love it with slices of sun-dried tomato and chutney.
Ingredients
- 75 g / ½ cup cashews (If you don’t have a power blender, first soften the cashews by soaking them in freshly boiled water for 30 minutes, then drain)
- 150 ml / ⅔ cup water
- 2 TBSP tapioca flour (tapioca starch)
- 1 garlic clove peeled
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBSP nutritional yeast flakes with B12
- ½ tsp salt
For Garnish
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (highly recommended as it imparts a wonderful flavour to the cheese)
- freshly ground black pepper (omit if serving to children)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Line a small shallow dish with baking paper (the dish I use measures approx 11cm x 3cm).
- Add all the ingredients (except the rosemary and pepper) to a blender and whizz on high speed until smooth.
- Transfer to a saucepan and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until it is smooth and has started to thicken (about 2 minutes). Initially, as it warms up, it will go lumpy but don’t worry this is normal. Keep stirring and it will soon smoothen out. Taste test and add a touch more salt, if needed.
- Pour into the prepared dish and smooth the top. Garnish with rosemary needles (I push some of the needles in whole and finely chop a few to sprinkle). Add some freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese has formed a skin and is lightly browned round the edges. (You can also warm some bread in the oven at the same time, if you wish).
- Serve immediately or leave to cool before transferring to an airtight container. It will keep for up to five days in the fridge. Bring to room temperature or re-heat in the oven for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
This recipe has been adapted from the BOSH! Camembosh in BISH BASH BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, featured in Vegan Life magazine Issue 50 (The BOSH! guys credit Ellie from Kinda Co. for the original recipe).