Making cheesecake with real(nut) cheese

[Miss Marie]

I have a 3cup batch of cashew cheese(cashews,water, probiotics) aging on my counter right now.

I was going to make another batch of onion garlic cheese(SO GOOD!! Tastes like sour cream onion dip or ranch dressing if you add water to thin)
but it just occured to me that I should try to make a cheesecake. The ripening of the cheese gives it the tart-ness that is needed(instead of using lemon juice).

I will probably have to add some coconut oil to firm it up - the cheese is firm, but might bee too gooey for cutting. I'm not sure, I'll have to see the consistancy after a few days(only been ripening this batch for 24 hours).

I was unsure about how long you can let cheese ripen, but Alissa says that her cheeses are ripened(aged) for 5 days.

I'm wondering if I should add any yeast at all to this cheese, if it will give it the wrong kind of "cheesy" flavor.

Experiments are fun!

[dread head vegan]

that does sound good :D do you have a recipe for the cheese?? thanks

[Miss Marie]

3 cups cashews(soaked)
2/3 cup water or rejuvalac
3 capsules of probiotics - the kind that you can open and pour out the powder - use the powder, not the gel outside ;)

put all in a blender and blend until smooth. Put the mixture in cheese cloth(double thickness) or in a nut bag and hang, or place in a collander to drain and culture for a few days(at least 24 hours) in a warm area of the house. I taste the cheese every day until it gets to desired sharpness and consistancy.

That is just the cheese base, you have to add things like salt, nutritional yeast and other things to make it taste "cheesy" :)

After that, you store it in the fridge.

[dread head vegan]

thanks so much.

[Miss Marie]

Here's the recipe for the garlic/onion cheese that tastes like dip and dressing.
I got it from The Sunny Raw Kitchen blog: http://thesunnyrawkitchen.blogspot.com/2008/04/not-cheeze-pleaze.html

1 cup Cashew Cheese
1/4 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp nutritional yeast, large flake
1/4 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

It tastes better every day Mmmm :)

[Miss Marie]

Can this be made with almonds or sunflower seeds? I am allergic to cashews :mad:


I'm sure you can experiment with any type of nut - it will probably have a slightly different taste, depending on the taste of the nut.

I would try almonds first, since sunflower seeds have more of a distinctive taste(to me anyway). :)


I was planning on experimenting on different nut cheese cultures to try out the tastes, just for the fact that no one can eat cashews forever, right? lol
Gotta branch out and try new things.:D

[Miss Marie]

Thank you for the recipe! I have never bought probiotics before - what do I look for? Is there a certain kind or are they all created equal?


I really have no idea, I've asked the question on this site before but I didn't get a clear answer.

You'll want to get a blend with multiple types of bacteria in it. You'll also want to get the ones in gel cap form, so that you can open them up and use the inside, because you don't want to put the gel casings in your cheese :)

Mine are a dry powder that looks like dirt(probably is some sort of dirt since the bacteria comes from soil lol )

I'm sure you can find them in any healthfood store.

[Miss Marie]

Pie's done!!

So, I let the cheese culture for 48 hours then I put together this recipe after looking at all the different raw cheesecake recipes - I mixed and matched.


3 cups cashew cheese
1/2 cup aguave(or other liquid sweetner of choice)
1/2 cup melted cocoa butter (1/2 cup grated, then melted, doesn't need to be packed down)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 vanilla bean(pod and seeds)
1/2 teaspoon salt

mix all ingredients except for vanilla bean (won't need a blender, just mix in a bowl)

Then take the vanilla bean and some cheesecake batter and(just enough to keep the blender moving) and place in the vitamix, blend until vanilla bean is nice and blended.

Add the vanilla mixture back into the batter and mix. Then take 1 or 2 pie pans and put in your favorite crust. Pour the cheese mixture into the crust and toss(place gently ;) ) into the freezer to set. Mine only took maybe 2 hours or so.

MMMMMMmmmm!

Tastes more like cheesecake than any of the lemon and coconut oil recipes (To me anyway)
Judging by the taste, you might even want to only let the cheese sit out for 36 hours, depending on how tangy you want it.

I used a pecan crust, but I think this would taste wonderful with some sort of chocolate crust. :)

[lsadeseyens]

Probiotics can be bought in a health food store. From what I have heard, it is best to buy the ones that are refrigerated. I know that Whole Foods sells them, but I think, also, that most health food stores sell them. Good luck

[carolg]

Thanks for the drooling experience tonight but glad you shared the recipe. Planning on bringing my springform small pan with me on plane when visiting daughter in TX. I'm tired of not having a food processor at her house so that's her Christmas present when I get to Costco there. She will be shocked how much time she can save if she uses it of course. Cuisinart 11 c. is my goal to buy her from Costco only.

carolg

[Dimond]

You want to make the probiotics are non-dairy, non-whey, etc. They don't have to be refrigerated to be good.

[ltcartwright]

I bought one from a Florida HFS, the brand is Udo's Choice Infant's Probiotic (I got it for my toddler), however, this doesn't come in capsule form, its loose and fridge storage was recommended.

My problem lies in that I don't know how much teaspoons are in 3 capsules. I'm trying to do an internet search, but I'm not getting anywhere. If anyone can open 3 capsules and measure it out to post their results, I'd be grateful!!:D

I'm going to make the Basic Cashew Cheeze and this is the only thing that I'm not sure of.

Thanks!!


Edit - Chad Sarno makes cheeze and uses probiotics from a bottle and not capsules. So here (http://www.rawchef.com/products-br-1.php) is the answer to my question. So for 3cups of cashews, it works out to be 1-1/4tsp. (Thanks to Carmella of thesunnyrawkitchen).

[Miss Marie]

1 capsule = 1/4 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon for every 1 cup of nut cheese/paste :)

[walnutty]

I use E3 Live Probiotics. They are shelf stable.

Can't wait to make nut cheese!

Thanks for the recipe! :)