Strawberry and Blue Cream Cheesecake Slices
Layers of pink strawberry cream, bright strawberry coulis, and sky-blue vanilla cream, all naturally colored with strawberries, beet powder, and blue spirulina, then finished with fresh strawberries and rose petals. No baking, no refined sugar, and dairy-free.
Yield: One 8x8 pan, 16 slices · Active: 40 min · Total: 6 hours, mostly freezing · Best in North America in late spring and summer, when strawberries peak (frozen strawberries work year-round) · Best eaten: afternoon
See my Instagram Post of these delicious treats
Ingredients
Crust
1 cup cashews
½ cup almonds
5 Medjool dates, pitted
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
¼ tsp Baja Gold sea salt
Strawberry cream layer
2 cups cashews, soaked at least 4 hours (or overnight), then drained
½ cup full-fat coconut milk
⅓ cup coconut oil, melted
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (or 1 tsp vanilla bean powder)
½ cup frozen strawberries (about 6)
1 tsp beet powder, for color
3 drops Medicine Flower strawberry extract (optional, for a more intense flavor)
4–5 fresh strawberries, crushed, for folding in
Strawberry coulis layer
10 frozen strawberries
A splash of coconut cream
1 tbsp maple syrup
Blue cream layer (optional, for a tall, three-layer slice)
2 cups cashews, soaked and drained
½ cup full-fat coconut milk
¼ cup coconut oil, melted (refined coconut oil, for no coconut flavor)
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp blue spirulina (Blue Majik) powder
Garnish: sliced fresh strawberries and organic rose petals
Method
Make the crust. Line an 8x8 pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on two sides. Process the crust ingredients until they stick together, then press them evenly into the pan.
Make the strawberry cream. Blend all the strawberry-layer ingredients, except the crushed strawberries, until completely silky. Fold in the crushed strawberries, pour it over the crust, and smooth the top.
Add the coulis. Blend the frozen strawberries, coconut cream, and maple syrup until smooth, then pour it evenly over the strawberry cream.
Add the blue cream (optional). Blend all the blue-layer ingredients until silky, and pour it evenly over the coulis. Or, for a marbled effect, alternate spoonfuls of blue cream and strawberry cream, like a zebra cake.
Freeze at least 4–6 hours, until firm.
Serve. Lift the slab out by the parchment, and slice it from frozen with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts. Garnish with sliced strawberries and rose petals, and let the slices sit 5–15 minutes before serving.
A note on "raw": Every cashew sold has been heat-treated to remove the caustic oil in its shell, and U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law, so "raw" here means no-bake.
Storage
Frozen up to 2 months. Slice from frozen, and let it sit at room temperature 5–15 minutes before serving. For a crowd of 24 or more, double the recipe in a 9x13 pan.
Nourishment Notes
Every color in this cheesecake is natural. Strawberries bring vitamin C, anthocyanins (their red pigment), folate, and manganese. Beet powder adds betalains, the vivid pigments behind beets' color, in just the right amount to deepen the strawberries' pink without any beet flavor. Blue spirulina (Blue Majik) is a concentrated extract of phycocyanin, the blue pigment in spirulina, and one of the only naturally vivid blue food colorings. Medicine Flower strawberry extract is an alcohol-free extract that intensifies the strawberry flavor without adding liquid.
Cashews and almonds — magnesium, copper, zinc, and vitamin E, with a silky richness that makes these taste like real cheesecake.
Coconut oil and coconut milk — lauric acid, a medium-chain fat, which also helps the cheesecake set firm when frozen.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber.
Maple syrup — manganese, zinc, and polyphenols.
Lemon — vitamin C and a bright tang.
As a circadian treat, these are lovely in the afternoon, with herbal tea or sparkling water. With their bright, fruity flavor and dramatic colors, they're summer celebration food at its best, perfect for bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, and spring and summer gatherings.
For your cycle: The strawberries' vitamin C and the nuts' magnesium make these a bright, refreshing treat in the follicular and ovulatory phases.
Sourcing
Cashews — organic (every cashew sold has been heat-treated, even "raw" ones)
Almonds — organic and unpasteurized, like Terrasoul's organic Spanish almonds
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump, like Joolies
Coconut oil — organic, virgin coconut oil, like Nutiva, or refined coconut oil for no coconut flavor
Coconut milk and cream — organic and full-fat, made with just coconut and water, with no guar gum (Native Forest Simple comes in BPA-free cans)
Strawberries — organic (strawberries are among the most heavily sprayed fruits when grown conventionally), fresh in season or frozen
Maple syrup — organic Grade A dark, like Coombs Family Farms
Beet powder — organic, with nothing added
Blue spirulina — Blue Majik by E3Live, or another pure phycocyanin powder, ideally tested for heavy metals
Strawberry extract (optional) — Medicine Flower
Vanilla — organic pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean powder
Rose petals — organic, food-grade, and pesticide-free (never from florists)
Lemons — organic (you're using the zest)
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall