I love raw desserts. They are fun to make, and feel good in my body. I used to make a lot of raw cheesecakes in a springform pan, but then I thought how fun it would be to turn those into bars. So I give you my Raw Strawberry Shortcake Bars! They’re creamy, sweet, and beautiful with the bright red strawberries arranged on top. I recommend making these during strawberry season (April through October) so that the berries are sweet and luscious. And if you love the bars, don’t miss my raw vanilla cheesecake and raw chocolate birthday cake!
Make 16 bars
What you need:
For the crust:
- 2 cups raw walnuts
- 10 Medjool dates
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
For the filling:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1½ cups unsweetened shredded coconut
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 12 strawberries, halved
What you do:
- Line an 8 x 8-inch pan with parchment paper. For the crust, into a high-speed blender, add walnuts, dates, and salt. Blend until a crumbly mixture forms. Press into prepared pan, and set aside.
- For the filling, wipe inside of blender clean. Add cashews, coconut, water, maple syrup, lemon juice, vanilla bean powder, and salt. Blend until smooth and creamy. Pour mixture on top of crust.
- Arrange strawberries on top of filling, gently pressing into pan. Place in freezer for 4 hours, or until set.
- Once set, remove from freezer and let soften for about 10 minutes. Slice into 16 bars and serve.
Healthy hints:
- >> If you don’t have a high-speed blender, I recommend soaking the cashews in water overnight so they’re easier to blend. Alternatively, you can boil a large pot of water, remove from heat, add cashews, and let sit for 2 hours.
- >> I love making this recipe into bars, but you can always transform them into a cake using a springform pan, or into mini bites using a cupcake tin with liners.
- >> Strawberries are my favorite fruit for this recipe because the flavors work perfectly (and they're so beautiful!), but you can always experiment with different fruit. Raspberries and blackberries also work well.