Soak the cashews in (boiling) hot water. 

Into a stainless steel pan over low heat, add olive oil. Let it warm up for a minute or two. Then, add the onions. 

Add the salt, pepper and thyme. Stir well. 

Cook the onions for an hour over low heat. You don't want them to brown too fast. Stir every 7-10 minutes. 

In the meantime, make the cashew cheese: mince one clove of garlic.

To a high-speed blender, add the garlic and all the other ingredients for the cashew cheese. Blend until smooth (this make take a few minutes depending on your blender).

Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F), to toast the bread.

Slice the bread, sprinkle with some olive oil and put on a baking tray into the oven for a few minutes. 

When the onions are done cooking, add the wine and balsamic vinegar. Cook for two more minutes. Add some more salt, pepper and thyme to taste.

Spread some cashew cheese over your freshly toasted bread, and top with a good amount of caramelized onions. Garnish with some fresh thyme leaves. 

If you're like me and have too much time on your hands during the covid-19 pandemic, a great way to pass the time is to cook some onions for an hour while sipping wine. The balsamic vinegar and white wine give this recipe an amazing sharpness. These crostini are divine, so have them at a chill night or maybe serve them for brunch. They're easy to make ahead as well. 

Vegan caramelized onion and cashew cheese crostini

Into a big bowl, combine all the ingredients for the dough (except for the flour) and stir well. 

Now add the flour and mix well with a spatula for 2-3 minutes, until the dough is smooth and sticky. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 1 hour at room temperature. If it's cold where you live putting it near the heater might help to make it rise more.

Make the filling: finely chop the roasted nuts, then combine them with the sugar and cinnamon.

After 1 hour, the dough should've doubled in size. Mix the dough again with your spatula to remove the air bubbles. Cover again and let it rest for another 20 minutes. 

Cover your kitchen countertop with flour. Using a spatula, transfer the dough from the bowl to your countertop. Now, oil your hands with vegetable oil and split the dough in two using your fingers as "scissors". Then, split both parts in two again and repeat once more until you have 8 small balls of sticky dough. 

Making sure your hands are oily enough, put one of the balls into your hand palm. Flatten it a bit and spoon about 1 tablespoon of the filling in the middle. Then, gently fold over the left and right sides of the dough, and then fold over the top and bottom. Pinch the dough a little in the part where all the sides come together so the dough is totally sealed and put them back on your countertop (with flour), sealed side down. They should be as much in the shape of a ball as possible. Repeat for all the pancakes.

In a large non-stick pan over medium heat, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot, add two balls to the pan with the sealed side down. Leave them be for around a minute. Then, when the bottom is getting a nice brown color, flip them around and press down on them with your spatula until they are around 1 - 1.5 cm (=0.5 inch)thick. Cover with a lid and turn down the heat to low. Let them cook for about a minute. They might need a little more time after that, because we're trying to get the dough fully cooked. When these are done, transfer to a plate and cook the other pancakes the same way. 

Eat them while they're warm (but watch out for the hot sugar).

These pancakes (known as hotteok) are the ultimate treat! They are super fluffy and have a sweet filling. I used a traditional filling of sugar, nuts and cinnamon, but you can fill them with whatever you like. Eat them while they're warm!

In a big mixing bowl, add the soy yoghurt and the sugar. Mix them well, using a whisk. 

Now add the sunflower oil, soy milk and vanilla extract. Mix until it looks like a smooth, uniform batter. 

Into another big mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients: start by sifting the flour into the bowl. Then, add the baking powder. Add a sprinkle of salt. Mix well. 

Pour the wet batter into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Whisk until you get a smooth batter.

Cut 1.5 of the apples into small chunks. Add the chunks to the cake batter and mix. Slice the remaining half into half moons and keep apart for now. 

Line a cake tin with parchment paper. Then, pour in your batter and spread it evenly. You can arrange the rest of the apple on top of the batter now. When you're ready, put your cake in the oven and let it bake for around 50 minutes. 

Let your cake cool down before cutting it up. 

This vegan cake is super airy and soft. It's not overly sweet and has a nice touch of vanilla and apple.

https://lactosefree.nl/recepten/vegan/vegan-citroen-cake/

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