If you follow me on facebook you might have seen the announcement of my blog’s 1 year blogiversary! It seems summer is a popular time to start a blog as I’ve noticed a few others are celebrating, and many more years than my humble 1 at that! All the same, I hope I too will be celebrating two, three, four…years down the line.
To mark the occasion I decided I should make dessert! I’m sharing this recipe as a big thank YOU to all my lovely readers! If it wasn’t for you, your kind comments, feedback and support, I doubt I would still be blogging. You make it all worth it!
I thought these “Raw Lemon Tartlets with Strawberry-Nut Crust” were special enough for a celebration, even more so as I used a new-to-me ingredient- Raw strawberry powder! There’s no colouring, flavouring or additives in here, it’s just the whole fruit dehydrated at a low temperature and pulverized, giving a super concentrated fruity flavour. You can get other fruit powders like blueberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and açai, all of which would likely work well in this dessert.
My first experiment with the powder- Raw Strawberry Dusted Caramel White Chocolates
Raw Living provided me with a few goodies, including this powder. If you’re not familiar with them then now’s the time to get acquainted! They sell all the raw food products you could possibly wish for (and ship throughout Europe)! Your basic dried fruits and nuts (all amazing quality), raw snacks (who has time to make their own all the time?!), raw chocolate, a huge range of superfoods, fermented foods and even natural beauty products.
You don’t need a lot of fancy equipment to eat raw but a few tools can make it easier and more fun. You can get spiralizers, blenders, juicers, sprouters, etc. here as well.
But back to our dessert! Like most raw desserts, this one’s a snap to put together. Cashews, coconut and dates form the crust, along with a generous spoonful of strawberry powder for that yummy fruity taste. And the filling is a lemon custard/cream made with more cashews, banana (to cut the richness), coconut nectar and lots of lemon. Perfect with a few British strawberries!
Ingredients
- Strawberry-Nut Crust
- 1 C Cashews
- 1/2 C Shredded coconut
- 2-3 Tbsp Raw strawberry powder (or try another raw fruit powder)
- 1/3 C Pitted Medjool dates (approx 4)
- Zest of 1 lemon + 2 Tbsp Lemon juice
- Pinch of salt
- Lemon Custard/Cream
- 2/3 C Cashews (NOT soaked*)
- 1 Banana, sliced
- Zest of 2 lemons + 1/4 C Lemon juice
- 2-3 Tbsp Coconut nectar
- pinch of salt
- Fresh berries to serve
Instructions
- Make the crust first. Grind the cashews and coconut in a food processor until fine. Add the salt, strawberry powder and pulse to combine.
- Blend in the dates, lemon zest and juice until the mixture comes together.
- Divide mixture between 4 coconut oiiled tartlet tins and press firmly. Freeze for 1 hour.
- For the lemon filling, blend all ingredients in a high-powered blender until very smooth. Remove to a bowl/container and refrigerate for an hour to thicken up.
- Just before serving, remove the prepared crusts from the tartlet tins carefully. Divide the filling between the four tartlets, top with fresh berries and lemon zest
Notes
* I use unsoaked cashews as they absorb some of the liquid whilst in the fridge and help to thicken up the filling,
* Any extras can be frozen and either left to thaw or eaten straight from the freezer for a firmer texture.
If you’re new to Coconut and Berries, Please sign up for email updates and join me elsewhere: I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram (@coconutandberries), Google + andTwitter!
Follow Coconut and Berries with Bloglovin or Feedly.
[Disclosure: I am a Raw Living affiliate. This means that I receive a small commission on orders placed with Raw Living by readers directed from Coconut and Berries. Thank you for you support!]