Name: Vegan Strawberry Cashew Cream Dessert Cups
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4 cups
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 cup raw walnuts; 8 Medjool dates (pitted); 1 tbsp cocoa powder; 1 pinch sea salt; 1.5 cups raw cashews (soaked 4 hours or overnight, drained); 3 tbsp maple syrup; 2 tbsp coconut oil (melted); 1 tsp vanilla extract; 3 tbsp full-fat coconut milk (plus more if needed); 1 tbsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed); 2 cups fresh strawberries (hulled and diced); 1 tbsp maple syrup; 1 tsp lemon juice

Jump to Recipe

My daughter asked for something that looked fancy but did not require the oven, and these were the answer.

The cashew cream is the reason to make this twice. It whips thicker than you expect and holds its shape in the cup for hours without weeping.

Vegan Strawberry Cashew Cream Dessert Cups

Layered strawberry dessert cups with a date-nut base and whipped cashew cream that sets up silky and cold.

4.6 (167 reviews)

VeganGluten-freeDairy-freePlant-based

Prep20 min

Chill time2 hr

Total2 hr 20 min

Serves4 cups

Ingredients

Date-Nut Base

1 cup raw walnuts
8 Medjool dates , pitted
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 pinch sea salt

Cashew Cream

1.5 cups raw cashews , soaked 4 hours or overnight, drained
3 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut oil , melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp full-fat coconut milk , plus more if needed
1 tbsp lemon juice , freshly squeezed

Strawberry Layer

2 cups fresh strawberries , hulled and diced
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

Date-Nut Base

Add the walnuts, pitted dates, cocoa powder, and sea salt to a food processor. Pulse 10 to 15 times until the mixture looks like coarse wet sand and smells like brownies. It should clump when you press it between two fingers but not feel greasy.

Divide the base evenly among 4 small glasses or jars, pressing it firmly into the bottom with the back of a spoon. You want a layer about 1.5 cm thick that holds together and does not shift when you tilt the cup. Set in the refrigerator while you work on the cream.

Cashew Cream

Drain the soaked cashews and add them to a high-speed blender with the maple syrup, melted coconut oil, vanilla, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Blend on high for 60 to 90 seconds. Stop and scrape the sides at the 45-second mark. The cream is ready when it looks completely smooth and glossy, with no visible cashew grain, and smells faintly sweet and nutty.

If the blender stalls, add coconut milk one teaspoon at a time, not more, or the cream will not set firm. Taste now. It should be lightly sweet with a clean finish. Adjust maple syrup if needed.

Strawberry Layer and Assembly

Combine the diced strawberries, maple syrup, and lemon juice in a bowl. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes. The berries will release juice and smell intensely of ripe fruit. The syrup pooling at the bottom of the bowl is what keeps the layer from tasting flat.

Spoon half the cashew cream over the chilled bases, spreading it level. Add a generous layer of macerated strawberries with their juice. Spoon the remaining cashew cream on top and smooth it flat.

Cover each cup loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 120 minutes. The cream will firm from pourable to spoonable and the layers will hold distinct lines when you dig in. Finish with a few fresh strawberry slices directly before serving.

Tips & Notes

If you forgot to soak the cashews, cover them with just-boiled water for 30 minutes. The cream will still blend smooth but may need an extra tablespoon of coconut milk.
Glass jars with straight sides show the layers the clearest. Wide-mouth mason jars work perfectly.
The date-nut base can be pressed in and refrigerated up to 24 hours ahead so assembly takes under 10 minutes on the day you serve them.
Do not skip the lemon juice in the cream. It cuts the fat and keeps the flavor bright rather than heavy.

Storage: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. The cream firms further overnight, which many people prefer. Do not freeze, the cream separates when thawed.

Nutrition per serving · estimated

418 Cal

28g Fat

38g Carbs

9g Protein

4g Fiber

22g Sugar

65mg Sodium

Vegan Strawberry Cashew Cream Dessert Cups step-by-step

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Why the Soak Time on the Cashews Actually Matters

Four hours of soaking is not fussy, it is functional. Dry cashews blend into a cream that is slightly grainy and takes twice as long to smooth out, and even then a high-speed blender sometimes cannot fully close the gap.

Soaked cashews break down in 60 to 90 seconds flat, and the texture you get is genuinely closer to whipped cream than anything else in the plant-based world. Set them in water before you go to bed and the next day the hardest part of this recipe is already done.

Getting the Layers to Actually Stay Separate

The two things that cause the layers to bleed together are warm cream and impatient assembly. If your kitchen is above 75 degrees, put the cashew cream in the freezer for 10 minutes before you spoon it in. It thickens just enough to sit on top of the strawberries without sinking.

The macerated strawberry juice is worth keeping, not draining. Spoon it in with the fruit. It soaks into the date-nut base slightly and makes the bottom layer taste like a no-bake tart crust rather than a dry handful of nuts and dates.

Vegan Strawberry Cashew Cream Dessert Cups