Raw Berry Ice Cream Cake
This amazing cake is refined sugar-free, gluten-free and nut-free, and has the option of being dairy-free, too. It’s quite an incredible cake – it tastes like you’re eating sorbet, ice cream and cookie base in cake form!
Ingredients
Base
- ¾ cup desiccated or shredded coconut
- 7 medjool dates or 15-16 normal dried dates soaked in boiling hot water for 5 minutes
- ⅓ cup sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, fine rolled oats, almonds, hazelnuts or macadamias 1/3 cup
- ¼ cup melted butter or coconut oil (DF)
Filling
- 500 g frozen raspberries you could also use strawberries, boysenberries, blackberries or a mixture of berries for a different berry flavour and colour
- 3-4 tablespoons pure maple syrup liquid honey (not manuka as it has too strong a flavour) or agave syrup
- ¼ cup cream or coconut cream (DF)
- 2 egg whites
To garnish
- Sliced fresh strawberries or other berries
Instructions
- Grease and line the bottom and sides of a 20-21cm spring-form cake tin with baking paper.
- To make the base, place all base ingredients in a food processor and blitz until well combined and the mixture has formed a slightly sticky dough. Scrape down the sides of the food processor as necessary to ensure all the ingredients are incorporated. Press mixture into the base of prepared cake tin using the back of a spoon. Place in the freezer while you make the filling.
- To make the filling, place frozen berries in the food processor and blitz until crumbly. Add honey/maple syrup/agave and cream/coconut cream and continue blitzing until the mixture is the consistency of sorbet or ice-cream, scraping down the sides of the food processor as necessary. Add egg whites and continue blitzing for 1-2 more minutes – the mixture will become light, fluffy, smooth and ice-cream like, and a paler pink colour. Spoon filling on top of the base and roughly smooth out the top. Return to the freezer immediately. Leave for at least 6 hours (or overnight) until set.
- When ready to serve, remove from freezer and stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to slightly thaw. Garnish with sliced fresh strawberries. Use a large, sharp knife to cut slices of cake.
Notes
It’s also dead easy to make – all you need is a food processor, and in two steps, you’re done. The filling is made from frozen berries, which miraculously fluff up with the addition of egg white, giving a texture very similar to ice cream. For me, it’s the perfect summer dessert – and you don’t have to feel guilty about it, either! This recipe is from my column in The Sunday Star Times column.
If you like this recipe you’ll love my easy three ingredient berries and cream ice-cream and my healthy vanilla ‘ice-cream’ date caramel sundae!