During a month-long vegan festival at Olive, I made this dessert as one of the courses. It is a perfect marriage of cashews (which are always in abundance), figs and vegan chocolate.

  • Serves

    6

  • Cook Time

    00 h 10 m

    Plus 8 hours to soak cashews

Ingredients

  • 5 ripe figs, cut into 4 pieces
  • 300 gm unsalted cashews
  • 50 gm agave syrup (or honey for non-vegan version)
  • 40 gm dry coconut, cut into fine slivers
  • 8 gm salt
  • A few drops of vanilla essence 

Preparation

  1. Soak cashews in water for at least 8 hours or overnight.
  2. Drain and transfer into a blender. Add salt, agave syrup and vanilla essence. Blend until you have a smooth paste.
  3. Place a couple of dollops of cashew cream in a bowl and top with sliced figs.
  4. In an oven, toast coconut slivers for about 8 minutes at 190°C and garnish.
Written by

Viraf Patel

Viraf Patel, one of India’s most exciting young chefs, is Scroll Food’s Chef of the Month for July. His culinary adventures, which began fairly early in life, have taken him from Zur Rossweid in Zurich to some of the finest dining establishments in India. Over a career spanning 20 years, he has worked at, or consulted with, Indigo, The Table, The Tasting Room, Salt Water Grill, among other places. He was the Chef-Partner at Café Zoe, before joining Olive Bar & Kitchen in Mumbai as the Executive Chef. His food philosophy is rooted in his belief in truly honest cooking. With a deep knowledge of ingredients and applications, he works to make recipes relevant to our age.

See more by Viraf Patel