Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Strawberry Hearts with Macadamia Cream and Mint Leaves
Since we've gone dairy-free, I've been missing creamy sweet things. Many of the vegan recipes I've found use tofu to substitute for dairy, but since we're also allergic to soy, that isn't an option for us. I've been seeing cashew cream recipes around a lot, but -- you guessed it -- we're allergic to cashews too. Imagine my delight when I saw a sidenote on one blog off-handedly mentioning that cashew creams could also be made with macadamia nuts! What?!
First chance I got, I was off to the store in search of raw macadamias. I have a beautiful teatime cookbook (The Tea Table) that features a recipe for strawberries with mascarpone, and I knew that I could make something completely delicious from this inspiration.
And here we are! Sliced strawberries (that look heart-shaped) with a bit of maple-sugar-sweetened macadamia cream, sprinkled with a tiny bit of ground pecans, topped with a fresh mint leaf. C'est magnifique! I'm ready for tea :)
You may want to sweeten your cream a bit more than I have here. I was afraid of going too far in the sweet direction, and tried to be moderate with my maple sugar. As I sit here typing, munching on my the strawberry creations that I saved from the mosquitoes outside, I'm thinking a little more sweetening would be just right. Happy teatime!
Strawberry Hearts with Macadamia Cream and Mint Leaves
1 pound fresh strawberries
1 1/2 cups raw, unsalted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup rice milk
2 - 3 Tbsp maple sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup ground pecans
fresh mint leaves (the smaller, the better)
For the cream, add nuts, milk, sugar and vanilla to a blender and blend on high until creamy (about a minute). Slice strawberries from top to bottom and lay on a plate. Remove green leaves if desired, or leave for color. Top each slice with macadamia cream. Sprinkle on pecans, then place one mint leaf at the tip of each berry, where the original leaves were.
Shared with Tea Party Tuesday at Sweetology and Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist and Monday Dessert Party at Joy of Desserts and the Hearth and Soul Hop with Premeditated Leftovers and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday at Simply Sugar and Gluten Free and A Return to Loveliness at A Delightsome Life and Tuesday Tea for Two at the Plumed Pen and Tuesday Confessional at Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom and Crazy Sweet Tuesday at Crazy for Crust and Fat Tuesday at Real Food Forager and the Tuesday Talent Show at Chef in Training and Tasty Tuesday at Naptime Creations and Gluten Free Wednesday at the Gluten Free Homemaker and Real Food Wednesday at Kelly the Kitchen Kop and What's Cooking Wednesday at The King's Court IV and These Chicks Cooked at This Chick Cooks and Whatever You Want Wednesday at Free Pretty Things for You and Good Life Wednesday at A Beach Cottage and Success U at The Stuff of Success and Cast Party Wednesday at Lady Behind the Curtain and Simple Lives Thursday at GNOWFGLINS and Show Off Your Stuff at Fireflies and Jellybeans and Pennywise Platter Thursday at the Nourishing Gourmet and Weekend Bloggy Reading at Serenity Now and Wellness Weekend at Diet Dessert and Dogs and Freaky Friday at Real Food Freaks and Sweet Tooth Friday at Alli 'n Son and Whatcha Got Weekend at Lolly Jane Boutique and Inspiration Friday at At The Picket Fence and Any Linky Goes at Bacon Time with the Hungry Hypo and Sundae Scoop at I Heart Naptime and Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative and Nifty Thrifty Sunday at Nifty Thrifty Things and Sweet Indulgences Sunday at A Well-Seasoned Life and Crafting and Cooking from the Heart at Bacon Time.
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Your strawberry heart creations look absolutely delightful! Macadaemia nut cream has a much nicer flavour than cashew cream - you're not missing anything.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on discovering a good substitute for dairy cream!
I love learning new ways to make cream! Thanks for the tip. Thanks for sharing on Crazy Sweet Tuesday!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds absolutely amazing! What a great solution! Thank you for sharing with A Return to Loveliness,
ReplyDeleteGod Bless,
Kathy
These sound lovely, and they look so pretty too! Thank you for sharing your strawberry hearts with the Hearth and Soul blog hop.
ReplyDeleteThose look both attractive and tasty!
ReplyDeleteJust liked you on facebook. These sound delicious. I would love for you to share at my weekly linky fri-mon
ReplyDeletehttp://bacontimewiththehungryhypo.blogspot.com/2011/09/any-linky-goes-17.html
Come strut your stuff.
Wow - these look so tasty. Thanks for linking to Success U @ TheStuffOfSuccess.com
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to trying macadamia nut cream! Your strawberries look scrumptious! Thank you for sharing your discoveries with the Hearth and Soul Hop.
ReplyDeleteyum! This sounds delicious! Thanks so much for linking up to Tuesday Talent Show! I would love to have you stop by and link up again tomorrow with more great projects!
ReplyDelete-Nikki
http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/
Now this is a great combo in many ways. Sorry I am tardy this week in making the rounds but this is quite a great offering so had to stop by! Thx for your support and for linking! Take care.
ReplyDeleteThese are not only adorable, they sound great! Thanks for sharing with the Hearth and Soul.
ReplyDeleteMacadamia nut cream sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteI love that plate. Your pic is beautiful. Thanks for linking up at Bacon Time. Good luck!
ReplyDelete