Red, White & Blueberry Raw "Cheesecake"

It seems like lately I’ve been on a total raw cake bender — I made one for my event with Sweetgreen and one for my event with Girls’ Night In last week, so I was feeling up for the challenge of making something fun and a little more time-intensive than more normal recipes. Don’t get me wrong, I still think raw cakes are WAY easier than any other type of baking out there (all you do is blend and wait for it to freeze!), but since this cake has 3 layers, it just takes a bit more time than normal.

We’re heading to the beach this weekend for the 4th of July and I wanted something fun to bring to my friend’s house for dessert when we head there one evening. I had an idea for a patriotic cake back before Memorial Day but just never got around to making it, and with a few extra cups of cashews leftover from last week, I figured the time was now. Unfortunately, this cake is more like “pink, white and purple” rather than “red, white and blue” but I am 100% against food dyes so this is good enough for me!

The best part about this cake is that it is frozen and basically tastes like an ice cream cake, so it’s perfect for these hot summer days spent outside!

Crust Ingredients

1 cup shredded coconut
6 pitted dates
pinch of sea salt

Filling Ingredients

5 cups raw cashew pieces (soaked in water overnight or for at least 4 hours)
4 cups coconut cream (I use these)
1 cup raw honey or maple syrup
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract or vanilla powder

for red/pink layer: 3 cups frozen strawberries
for blue/purple layer: 3 cups frozen blueberries

Directions

1. soak all raw cashews in water overnight or a minimum of 4 hours
2. for crust, place all crust ingredients in a food processor and blend until it forms a sticky consistency
3. press sticky crust in a round, springform pan (I use this one and typically line with parchment paper)
4. in a blender, blend all other ingredients (except the strawberries + blueberries) to form the white base layer of the frozen cake
5. divide the white base layer into 3 even portions (I just pour them into cups)
6. blend 1 portion of the white cake “batter” with the frozen strawberries and then spread evenly as the base layer for the cake
7. place in refrigerator and wait 1-2 hours for base to solidify
8. once pink base is hardened, pour another portion of the white “batter” for the second layer
9. while white layer hardens, blend the blue layer with remaining white base to form top layer
10. once white layer is hard, pour remaining blueberry layer on top and freeze!

When you’re ready to serve the cake, decorate it with whatever you’d like (strawberries, blueberries more coconut flakes, etc.). Enjoy!