Go to the Recipe: Perfect (Vegan) Vanilla Pudding
Can I sub non-vegan butter? Would that work?
I absolutely love these recipes where you use your knowledge about science & cooking to veganize things. More please!
Sure will. How ever this vanilla pudding does not have butter. I'm assuming that question is for the butterscotch.
How well does reusing a blender to smooth out once chilled (shear custard step 3)? Difficult to get smooth without it warming or some other issue?
You can use it no problem. I would make sure to use the plunger that is included with your blender and yes just blend until it is just smooth.
Why are the cashews necessary? Is there another way to make the custard?
Raw cashews thicken when they are cooked, they help replicate the custard texture with out eggs, and the gellan stabilizes it so the liquids do not weep. There are plenty of other ways to make a custard, but for this method the cashews are pretty key for the end texture.
Is there another hydrocolloid I could use? I would love to recreate the texture of Danette but it is quite difficult.
You can try agar agar, but it is very similar to gellan. Same ratios and same method.
Can I omit the gel for decent results? I live in a place where these ingredients are hard to come by.
Yes, it will be a little looser, but still great. You might experiment with adding another 25–50g of cashews.
Any chance you can figure out a vegan queso dip recipe? I just had a cashew-based queso recipe at a friend’s wedding in Austin, TX and it was phenomenal!
https://www.heb.com/product-detail/credo-original-medium-cashew-queso/3238554
Ingredient list: Water, Tomatoes, Green Chile Peppers (Water, Sea Salt, Citric Acid), Coconut Milk, Great Northern Beans, Cashews, Carrots, Onions, Pepperoncini Peppers (Vinegar, Sea Salt, Acetic Acid, Citric Acid, Spices), Lemon Juice, Nutritional Yeast, Himalayan Pink Sea Salt, Jalapeno Pepper, Vinegar, Garlic, Onion Powder, Chipotle Chile, Cayenne Pepper, Spices
