“You can make this wonderfully fluffy and beautifully decorated almond cheese almost overnight.”

A few years ago, only a few milk-free cheese alternatives were available here in Switzerland. That was reason enough to experiment with the production of vegan cheese.

Bettina @bettinas_kitchen inspired me on a summer vacation in France. It was the most wonderful and creative week in Rita Serano’s vacation home where we spent our #summerfoodiesinfrance vacation together with Sara from @shisodelicous and Olivia @adelasterfoodtextures. Of course, we cooked a lot, ate, and photographed everything beforehand.
We had kind of mini-workshops every day. One sunny day, Bettina introduced us to the „Art of vegan cheese“. She explained every step on our outdoor kitchen table. Her version was an advance one where you use bacteria and a dehydrator, the result was very similar to aged cheese. We enjoyed the most incredible cashew cheeses to the fullest.

Back to this almond cheese. It is a very simple variation that is wonderfully fluffy and does not require any knowledge of bacteria and the aging processes.
This nicely decorated slice of cheese is best compared to cream cheese. I like it very much with freshly baked bread or crispy crackers and veggies. The mini version which is created with tea strainers is also very appealing. A small feast for the eyes for an aperitif with friends. You can use the flowers or herbs as you wish for the decoration.

Step by Step how to make your own Almond Cheese

Fluffy homemade Almond Cheese without fermenting

Course: Recipes, Savory

Servings

4

Prep time

30

minutes

Resting

24

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds

• ½ cup water -2 tbsp

• ½ lemon the juice

• 3 tbs olive oil

• ¾ tsp sea salt *

• Fresh herbs, edible blossoms

Directions

• Soak almonds for 15 hours or overnight covered with the double amount of water on your countertop
• Rinse and cover it with hot but not boiling water and place back into a bowl
• Peel off the skins of the almonds
• Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth about 2 min
• Slightly damp a cheesecloth
• Place herbs and edible blossoms carefully on the cheesecloth
• Place the almond cream on the cheesecloth making a knot or twist the ends of the cloth
• Carefully place a cheesecloth with the cheese in a sieve on top of a bowl, this will help to remove all the liquid from the cheese
• Place in the fridge at least overnight, weigh the cheese down with a plate to get a flat bottom
• 10. Unwrap & enjoy!

Notes

• Instead of one piece, you may use 4 tea sieves and decorate every item with different toppings. Follow the same steps as above.
• *This cheeze is not on the salty side, you may add more salt or even spices and nutritional yeast to your liking. Check the flavor after blending and adjusting.