Vegan No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cashew Cake
I’ve partnered with Sprouts Farmers Market to bring y’all this Vegan No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cashew Cake. As always, all opinions are my own ~ thanks so much for supporting the brands that keep this blog spinning!
Topped with a crown of strawberries, blueberries, apricots, cherries, and nondairy whipped topping, this creamy, dreamy, cheesecake-like Vegan No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cake makes a delicious, cool treat that both vegan and non-vegan family and friends are sure to enjoy.
Hmmm…
She had to add that last bit in there for a backhanded compliment eh?
Well, if celebrating all month long means eating cake all month long, I am down! No matter how old I am! So, today I have this plant-based, better-for-me, Vegan No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cashew Cake to share.
This is quite a simple cake and plays off the No Bake Strawberry Blueberry Cake I shared on here a few years ago. The same elements of soaked cashews blended with coconut milk, brown sugar and strawberries go into this one as well.
By the way, if you are trying to figure out
How To Soak Cashews Quickly,
I tried out a few different methods I found on the interwebs and settled on this easy, 3-step, 35 minute one:
1) Add the raw cashews into a pan with the water. Make sure the water covers the cashews.
2) Squeeze the juice from half the lemon into pan.
3) Place pan on stove over a medium flame and bring to a boil. Then, cover and turn the stove off. Keep covered for 30 minutes.
But, there’s also a little extra ingredient that adds a subtle yet delightfully sweet-spicy-smoky flavor to this strawberry cake, and that is star anise. I use star anise in small quantities as, like cardamom, a little goes a long way. While I use star anise in fish curries from time to time, I love it’s subtle exotic flavoring in sweet treats like this marionberry ice cream and today’s No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cashew Cake.
I also made a no bake base for this cake with vegan graham crackers, cardamom, coconut oil and brown sugar. I stopped at Sprouts Farmers Market to pick up all my ingredients for this No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cashew Cake. With their bulk bins, it was easy for me to pick up exactly the correct amount of cashews I needed, along with fresh fruits and a variety of coconut products.
Instead of a frosting or icing, I opted to pile this No Bake Strawberry Cashew Cake high with a layer of non-dairy whipped topping and a boatload of fresh seasonal fruits!
If you are fortunate enough to have a Sprouts near by, or, are in the range for delivery, please do check out their seasonal products. With labor day and fall fun and feastivities around the corner, Sprouts carries a wide range of fresh produce and seasonal products that will help you whip up a quick, easy, delicious and nutritious dish!
If you happen to fancy this recipe, let me know what you think by leaving a comment and rating below. If you make this recipe, please post a pic on INSTAGRAM -tagging @savoryspin so I can see! For more recipes and ramblings, like us on FACEBOOK and follow along on PINTEREST!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 1 sleeve 9 vegan graham crackers (no honey)
- 3 TBSP coconut oil
- 3 TBSP brown sugar
- ¼ tsp cardamom
For the Vegan No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cake
- 1 ¾ cups raw cashews Sprouts Bulk Bins
- 3-4 cups water
- ½ lemon
- ¼ cup unsweetened Sprouts Coconut Milk
- ¼ cup + 3 TBSP unsweetened Sprouts Coconut Cream
- 1 lb strawberries
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 star anise
For the Topping:
- 2/3 cup nondairy topping
- Strawberries cut
- blueberries
- cherries
- apricots cut up
- 3 TBSP Sprouts strawberry jam
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Crumble up the vegan graham crackers – either in a food processor or by placing in a plastic bag and smashing them with a rolling pin or similar.
- Then place the crumbled graham crackers in a bowl and mix with the coconut oil, brown sugar and cardamom.
- Pour mixture into an 8-inch baking tray and, using your hands, smush the mixture down well to line the entire bottom. Then, set aside in the fridge.
For the Vegan No Bake Star Anise Strawberry Cake
- Add the raw cashews into a pan with the water. Make sure the water covers the cashews.
- Squeeze the juice from half the lemon into pan.
- Place pan on stove over a medium flame and bring to a boil. Then, cover and turn the stove off. Keep covered for 30 minutes. Then drain well and place cashews into a blender.
- To the blender, add in the Sprouts Coconut Milk and all the unsweetened Sprouts Coconut Cream and blend well. It will probably take a few tries of blending, turning off your blender to scrape the sides down and blending again before the cashews and coconut milk/cream mixture becomes creamy.
- Grind the star anise using a plastic bag and rolling pin and add those as well as the strawberries to the blender with the creamed cashew mixture and blend well.
- Add in the coconut oil and brown sugar and blend again. Make sure to taste it at this point to see if the sweetness is what you like. If it’s not sweet enough for you, then add another TBSP or 2 of sugar.
- 10. Then, pour star anise strawberry cashew coconut mixture onto the chilled base of graham crackers and place it in the freezer for at 2 hours or more until frozen through.
To Assemble:
- About 30-45 minutes before serving, take the frozen Star Anise Strawberry Cake out of the freezer and top with nondairy whipped topping.
- Place the strawberry jam in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 15-20 seconds or until a bit runny. Then toss the strawberries into it and toss them until they are well coated. Then, spoon strawberry jam coated strawberries on top of the nondairy topping.
- Pile on the blueberries, apricots and cherries according to your liking and enjoy!
Nutrition
Star anise and cardamom sweetened with all that fruit sounds heavenly. And it sure looks beautiful!
This looks wonderful. Do the cashews serve as a thickener or are they just for flavour? We can’t do nut products in our house.
Hi Ron – thanks so much! Yes, the cashews + coconut cream + coconut oil together as as a thickener for this no=bake cake kind of like cream cheese would in other no bake cakes. While I haven’t yet made a no bake cake without cashews, I stumbled on this recipe> https://www.exceedinglyvegan.com/vegan-recipes/baking-desserts/easy-vegan-strawberry-cheese-cake-no-bake – seeing y’all don’t do nut products maybe the filling (not base) this would be better suited?
Thanks for the link. I might give that one a try using a digestive cracker and honey base.
Happy Birthday girlfriend!!! I hope your birthday was as wonderful as you are. I know you celebrated in style with this gorgeous fruity cake. I love all the colors and flavors. What a fantastic celebration of YOU! Wishing you a year filled with joy and blessing – hope it’s your best year ever. (from one old lady to another LOL LOL!!!)
This cake sounds (and looks) delicious, Shashi! But what’s up with Lil Shashi and the birthday month!? I think she’s just trying to encourage you to keep tasty treats like this one around for an entire month…and I can’t blame her one bit! All of the fresh fruit piled on top of this cake looks amazing. Oh, and before I forget, happy (belated?) birthday, my friend! I hope you had an extra slice of cake…you deserve it!
Thanks for the link. I might give that one a try using a digestive cracker and honey base.
This looks wonderful. Do the cashews serve as a thickener or are they just for flavour? We can’t do nut products in our house.
Star anise and cardamom sweetened with all that fruit sounds heavenly. And it sure looks beautiful!