I’m continuing with the berry season creating lots of new recipes for you that are perfect for the summer. Today I’ve got a cute little Pistachio and Strawberry Raw Cake recipe to share with you.
Strawberries are now in season in the UK and they are popping up at local Farmer’s markets so we can all enjoy this gorgeous summer fruit. In this cake I’ve teamed up the strawberries with coconut, lemon and pistachios to make a special healthy summer treat.
This is a small 6″ cake, just perfect for a little celebration. The yummy crust is a mix of pistachios, desiccated coconut and medjool dates. The creamy strawberry layer is a mix of fresh strawberries, lemon zest and coconut butter. It’s a quick cake to make and doesn’t take too long to set in the freezer. What took me the longest was shelling the pistachios, but the crust is so worth it.
A lot of you keep asking about coconut butter and creamed coconut. They are the same thing, coconut butter usually comes in a jar and creamed coconut comes in a form of a solid block. When I make cakes I tend to use creamed coconut, because it comes in a handy 200g block that’s perfect for my recipes. I haven’t tried yet, but you can also make your own coconut butter and there are many recipes online. Enjoy the recipe:) x
- Pistachio crust:
- 80g shelled pistachios (1/2 cup)
- 50g desiccated coconut (1/2 cup)
- 6 medjool dates
- 1tbsp coconut oil
- pinch of sea salt
- Strawberry layer:
- 250g strawberries (2 cups)
- 200g coconut butter or creamed coconut (1 cup)
- 2tbsp coconut oil
- 2tbsp maple syrup
- ½ lemon, zest
- 1tbsp lemon juice
- Topping:
- fresh strawberries
- chopped pistachios
- Prepare 6" round cake tin, no need to grease it.
- Place pistachios into a food processor and blend until coarsely ground. Add desiccated coconut, pitted medjool dates, coconut oil and sea salt and blend until the mixture comes together. Spoon the mix into the tin, spread evenly onto the base and press tightly down. Place into a fridge.
- Place strawberries into high speed blender or use hand blender and blend until you have smooth puree. Set aside.
- In a double boiler gently melt coconut butter with coconut oil. Stir in 2tbsp maple syrup, strawberry puree, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well together.
- Spoon onto the crust layer and smooth out the top.
- Place into a freezer for about 1 hour to set.
- Once set carefully remove from the tin.
- Place onto a cake stand and decorate with fresh strawberries and chopped pistachios.
- Store in a fridge or freezer.
- Enjoy!
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
May 25, 2016 at 11:50 amI can’t get enough of the fresh sweet summer strawberries right now either! They are so perfect and I even enjoyed some just this morning <3
Hana says
May 25, 2016 at 1:14 pmYes to strawberries and summer! Now it’s the time to make the most of them before they are gone! x
Michelle @ The Last Food Blog says
May 25, 2016 at 3:49 pmThis looks gorgeous Hana! I really could do with a slice of that right now! Lovely photos too X
Hana says
May 25, 2016 at 4:45 pmThank you so much Michelle! I’ve still got plenty left over:) x
Sasha @ Eat Love Eat says
May 26, 2016 at 8:23 pmThis looks amazing! You are a creative wholefood-cake-making genius! It looks so creamy. The in-season strawberries we have right now are so sweet and this looks like the perfect celebration of them :)
Hana says
May 26, 2016 at 8:48 pmThank you so much Sasha! What a compliment, I love it! Yes the in-season strawberries are quite different to the ones we get all year round:) x
Autumn says
May 27, 2016 at 7:47 amWhat does this taste like? Is it like ice cream kind of? I’m looking for a great birthday cake to make for a health conscious friend! Can you taste the coconut? What flavors stand out most?
Hana says
May 27, 2016 at 9:07 amHi Autumn, the strawberry layer tastes creamy and the flavours that come through most for me are the strawberries and lemon with a hint of pistachios. You will get some coconut coming through, but it’s not very strong. Hope this helps:) H
Jurga says
June 8, 2016 at 7:41 pmCan I use cacao butter instead coconut butter and oil ? Because sometimes coconut oil in cake taste like soap.
Hana says
June 8, 2016 at 9:50 pmHi Jurga, I think you could use a mix of cacao butter and coconut butter. You can definitely leave the coconut oil out, but I’m not entirely sure if only cacao butter would work. Hope this helps.
Susan says
June 9, 2016 at 12:15 amThis looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it. What do you mean by “prepare pan”? Do you use coconut oil for that as well?
Hana says
June 9, 2016 at 9:26 amHi Susan, thank you! Sorry, it might be a bit misleading, I just mean have it ready, no need to grease it.
Keith says
June 10, 2016 at 5:13 pmI don’t know how stringent you are in using the descriptor of “raw”. Is it the cake or the sum of all its ingredients? Maple syrup is never a raw product. I used to tap maple trees for the sap to produce syrup, and the production requires gently boiling for a very long time.
Hana says
June 10, 2016 at 5:32 pmHey Keith, I’m referring to the cake as raw, to make it clear for my readers that it’s not a baked cake. I think it’s fairly acceptable to include technically not raw sweeteners in raw cake recipes, at least I see it in many. I’m sorry if you find my description misleading.
Agata says
June 12, 2016 at 6:23 amHello!
Im planning to make this cake for my sons’s birthday party. Would it be safe to double ingredients and make it bigger? Does it work like that?:-)
Thank you.
Hana says
June 12, 2016 at 8:49 amHi Agata, yes, you can double the ingredients and use a larger tin. It should work just fine. You could also use half almonds half pistachios for the crust if you like. Hope everyone loves it:)
Agata says
June 12, 2016 at 8:51 amGreat! Im just in the process :-). And you know what? I didnt have enough pistachios so I used exactly almonds:-).
Thank you, I hope it will come out good:-)
Hana says
June 12, 2016 at 8:54 amThat’s funny! Do let me know!
Agata says
June 13, 2016 at 7:31 pmIt came out very good :-) and tasty, will definately do it again. Even bigger:-). Everybody enjoyed! Thank you!
Hana says
June 13, 2016 at 8:02 pmHi Agatha, I’m so happy that everybody enjoyed the cake! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a comment:) x
Laura B says
June 16, 2016 at 4:13 pmI made this last night and it is as amazing as it looks! I only had a nine-inch spring form pan so I used that and followed the recipe x an additional 1/2. I noticed the ingredient list for the crust calls for shredded coconut, but when following the recipe it only mentions to add the coconut oil, not also the shredded coconut. I started pressing the crust into the pan and then realized I didn’t have the shredded coconut so I re-blended it all together and it was soooo good. Thanks for this recipe! A new favorite.
Hana says
June 16, 2016 at 4:27 pmHi Laura, thank you so much for your lovely comment and pointing out the mistake in the recipe! Totally my fault, I apologize! I’m really happy that you’ve enjoyed the cake:) xx
Célia says
June 30, 2016 at 12:02 pmI don’t see how this strawberry layer will sit. Once I did as well the mango mini cheesecake (it had a wonderful flavor, btw) but I had to freeze it completely. also this layer seem too “liquidy” – oil, butter, lemon juice, maple syrup … only the strawberry pure has some thickness.
What’s your secret to have it firm?
Hana says
June 30, 2016 at 1:53 pmHi Celia, the secret is the coconut butter, because it’s very solid. Once melted, mixed with the rest of the ingredients and cooled, it will solidify again and make this cake very firm. It’s good to freeze it first, it’s easier to remove it from the tin that way, but then you can actually keep it in the fridge and it will stay firm.
Ashley says
July 4, 2016 at 8:34 pmthis is beautiful, unique crust!
Hana says
July 5, 2016 at 8:18 amThank you Ashley! Happy you like it:)
helen says
July 6, 2016 at 8:18 pmcan you freeze raw cakes? i am the only one in my house who eats them .
Hana says
July 6, 2016 at 8:41 pmHi Helen, yes, you can. Slice the leftovers and freeze them in an airtight container. I freeze most of them too, because it’s the same in my house:)
Catherine says
July 25, 2016 at 12:37 pmThis cake is AMAZING! It’s like cheesecake, but so much better. I used creamed coconut because it was much cheaper than coconut butter. Thank you for the recipe.
Hana says
July 25, 2016 at 1:04 pmHi Catherine, thank you so much for your wonderful comment. I’m really happy that you love the cake. Oh yes, creamed coconut is so much cheaper than coconut butter, I always use it:)
Nicolina says
August 23, 2016 at 4:54 pmI made this cake last night with cream of the coconut (goya). I was confused because the cream of the coconut was already sweetened and decided to leave out the maple syrup because of it. Now I am worries (by tomorrow) that when I take it out of the freezer and thaw it that the strawberey layer will not keep its form. Have you ever tried making the cake this way? I was hoping the cream of the coconut would firm up more in a cooler environment (not in my 75 degree kitchen)
Hana says
August 23, 2016 at 6:18 pmHi Nicolina, I believe that the cream of the coconut is just coconut cream and that wouldn’t firm up enough to keep the cake solid. Creamed coconut that I’ve used in the recipe goes very solid in the fridge, so mixing it up with the strawberries makes the texture lighter, but still very firm. You might have to keep the cake semi-frozen and eat it that way or serve it as a dessert in a bowl if it’s too soft. I’m sure it’ll still taste lovely. Hope this helps. H
Amanda says
February 20, 2018 at 5:51 pmHi Hana,
I have got followed this recipe however the cake turns melty in room temperature very quickly. I wanted to make this as a birthday cake for my friend. Is there any way I can prevent it/ any suggestion in adjustment in ingredients to firm it up? Thanks! :)
Hana says
February 20, 2018 at 9:43 pmHi Amanda, the cake should keep well in the room temperature for some time, coconut butter tends to be very solid so mixed with the strawberries you should have the right creamy texture. If it hasn’t you could try to either reduce the strawberries or use extra coconut butter. Alternatively you could add 1 cup of soaked cashews or extra coconut oil. Hope this will work better for you :)