A couple of weeks ago as the first undeniable portents of autumn began to settle upon us, our local grocery store had in a stock of magnificent late summer strawberries.
These days with the use of modern agricultural practices and the relative ease of shipping, strawberries are available even in the dead of winter when it’s blowing hurricane force winds. Loaded onto the North Boat they brave the perils of the North Sea for our mid-winter strawberry eating delight. These winter varieties however leave quite a bit to be desired to say the very least.
Somewhere in the dark of last winter I was taken in by some succulent looking strawberries beckoning me from suspiciously neat rows of plastic boxes lining the cooler at the shop. “Oooh, strawberries” thought I, “those would be delightful on this cold January night.” (or something along those lines). Unfortunately their beguiling lure had been a bit of a lie. The crushing disappointment of biting into berry after berry, each absolutely devoid of the faintest hint of any flavour, has remained with me to this day.
So when I came across these beautiful summery strawberries, undoubtedly among the last of the year, I leapt on the chance to stock up and freeze a load of them. There they have stayed, preserved in frozen splendor, waiting for a purpose. When I discovered the wonder of cashew cream last week, the perfect opportunity to use my frozen treasure presented its self. Have I jumped the gun a little bit as we are only about two weeks into fall? Perhaps, but it was worth it.
As you may have surmised from the creamy chocolate milkshake post, I love milkshakes… a lot…. I would probably go for the chocolate variety in most circumstances, but on occasion, a creamy strawberry milkshake is just the ticket. So what about a strawberry cashew cream milkshake? All I can say is oh yum. These were a frosty, thick, creamy delight. You would never guess that they’re healthy, vegan, and free of processed sugar!
Now that I have a taste for the sheer joy of this milkshake the question is will I be able to get my hands on some more of the good summer strawberries before it’s too late?
- 100g cashew cream
- 100g frozen strawberries
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp maple syrup
- 150mL almond milk, or milk of your choice
- Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth and creamy. Add more milk if you’d like it a bit runnier.
- Serve immediately.
- To make the cashew cream submerge 100g of raw cashews in cold water and leave to soak over night. The following day strain and rinse the cashews well. Put them in a blender with 150 mL fresh, cold water, and blitz until smooth. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.