What I love most about this raw strawberry cake, beside the taste, is that doesn’t require any heat! It is a special strawberry treat on those hot summer day when you definitely don’t want to turn on the oven. Even better, because it’s minimal effort. You just need to wait a bit while each layer freezes.
I’m not sure that I should really be calling this a cake. Think more like a gigantic ice cream sandwich, but layered, and better. I guess that’s pretty much what ice cream cake is. This is ice cream cake.
I imagine you could substitute other berries or fruit – I haven’t tried yet, so if you do, let me know how it works out! Raspberries would be pretty phenomenal, and I think peaches might be nice too. I suggest serving this cake with strawberry slush to get that seasonal theme really going – and if you’re drowning in strawberries, I have plenty of healthy strawberry recipes for this time of year.
A combination of fruits, like a raspberry middle layer and a peach topping, would be pretty great. The base is an almond crumble, the centre tastes like tart frozen strawberry lemonade, and the topping is sweet and creamy strawberry goodness. The base is sweetened only with a few dates, and the other two layers use an (optional) tiny amount of honey or agave.
A spring form pan is pretty necessary for this cake. I have this weird push-up thing, and I had a very hard time indeed trying to get it out of the cake tin. It’s not huge, this one is eight inches, but you don’t need much.
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Raw Strawberry Layer Cake
Ingredients
Base layer:
- 2 cups almond pulp or 1 1/2 cups almond meal
- 8 soft medjool dates*
- ¼ cup coconut oil melted if necessary
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Centre layer:
- 1 ½ cups fresh or frozen strawberries
- Zest and juice of a lemon
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup optional*
Top layer:
- 1 can full-fat coconut milk cream only*
- 1 ½ cups strawberries fresh or frozen
- 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup optional*
Instructions
Base layer:
- Line the base of a small springform pan with a circle of parchment paper if you want to remove the cake completely from the cake tin.
- If you have a food processor, blitz the dates until they’re smooth, then add the other ingredients and pulse until combined. If you don’t have one, mash the dates with a fork until smooth and then mix the other ingredients in by hand. It should hold if you press some together between your fingers. If not, add a little water until it does. Press into the prepared cake tin and freeze for about half an hour, or until solid.
Centre layer:
- Mash everything together with a fork, or blend in a food processor/blender for thirty seconds. Pour onto the frozen base layer and freeze for another half hour, or until solid.
Top layer:
- Whip the coconut cream until fluffy (see here for more instructions). I didn’t chill my coconut milk
- for very long this time. Crush the strawberries and honey, if using, with a fork and gently mix into the coconut cream. Pour onto the frozen centre layer and freeze again for half an hour before eating. If it’s been in the freezer, let it thaw a bit in the fridge for 20-30 minutes before serving. Top with extra strawberries and mint for ultra prettiness.
Notes
2. The sweetener is optional, but I like adding it. Two tablespoons of honey in a whole recipe is nothing. Stick with agave if you want it to be the raw-est.
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