This gluten-free and mostly vegan Coconut Berry Ice Box Cake a coconut-lovers dream!
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I get recipe inspiration from all around me. Eating in restaurants, looking at magazines, listening to people talk about food, scrolling through my Facebook and Instagram feed. Food inspiration is everywhere. Most of the time, though, my actual recipe creation ideas come straight from my pantry.
It all has to do with ingredients I have and need to use. Sometimes I feel like a contestant on Chopped. I’ll have all these random ingredients, and I challenge myself to find a way to use them to create something delicious. That’s how this Coconut Berry Ice Box Cake was born.
Costco had large containers of organic strawberries and blueberries. Even though I already had some berries at home, how could I resist those Costco prices? I had half a box of crisped brown rice cereal from some recipe testing I’d been doing. Combine those with the ever-present-in-my-pantry coconut products and I had an idea for a red-white-and-blue, patriot-looking dessert that you don’t even need to turn on your oven to make!
I’ve always been intrigued by the idea of Ice Box Cakes, but I’d never actually made one. The idea is that you use some sort of cracker or cookie to create a “cake” layer, followed by a wet layer, often pudding, followed by another cracker-acting-as-cake layer. You put the whole thing in the freezer and the wet layer softens the cracker/cookie layer enough to make it seem cake-like. Cool, right?
I mixed together unsweetened flaked coconut, the brown rice cereal, some coconut oil, and honey to make the cookie layer. The wet layer is the berries cooked down into a mixture like pie filling. I topped the whole thing with some coconut whipped cream and fresh berries and more flaked coconut. The result was beautiful and intensely coconut. Coconut lovers, this one is for you.
This dessert is perfect for summer! It comes together quickly and the colors are perfect for your Independence Day celebrations. I hope you love it!
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Coconut Berry Ice Box Cake
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
This is a fun twist on the Ice Box Cake made with a triple dose of coconut and fresh berries. It’s gluten free, mostly vegan, and a perfect summer treat.
Ingredients
- 4 cups brown rice cereal
- 4 1/4 cups unsweetened flaked coconut, divided
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 1/2 cup strawberry chunks, divided
- 1 1/2 cup blueberries, divided
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, divided
- 1 tablespoon corn starch + 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 (15 ounce) can coconut milk, refrigerated overnight
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the first four ingredients (minus 1/4 cup of the flaked coconut) to a large food processor and process until everything is combined and totally broken down. If your food processor is smaller, this can be done in two batches.
- In a small saucepan, heat 1 cup of the strawberry chunks and 1 cup of the blueberries over medium low heat.
- Stir frequently, using the back of a spoon to break down the berries, and cook for about 7 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Add it and 1 tablespoon maple syrup and 1 tablespoon lemon juice to the berry mixtures. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a 8X8 inch pan lined with parchment paper or foil, press half of the coconut/rice cereal mixture into the bottom of the pan.
- Add the berry mixture and use a spatula to spread it evenly on top of the bottom layer.
- Add the remaining dry mixture to the top of the berries and use your hands to gently press it down.
- Cover and place in the freezer for at least 3 hours or overnight.
- Meanwhile, take your refrigerated coconut milk from the fridge. Open the can and separate the water from the cream. Reserve the water for smoothies or another use.
- Beat the coconut cream on high until it is smooth and creamy. Add the maple syrup and vanilla and beat until combined. Note: the maple syrup and vanilla make the coconut whipped cream slightly less white. If you’d prefer a more pure white whipped cream, omit those and use 1-2 tablespoons powdered sugar.
- Add the coconut whipped cream to the top layer of the cake and then add the remaining 1/2 cup strawberries, 1/2 cup blueberries, and 1/4 flaked coconut. Cut into 12 pieces and serve. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Category: dessert
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 381
- Sugar: 14.8g
- Sodium: 17.2mg
- Fat: 31.7g
- Saturated Fat: 27.9g
- Carbohydrates: 26.6g
- Fiber: 5.8g
- Protein: 3.4g
Looking for another healthy dessert for your 4th of July celebrations? Try this Healthy Fruit Dessert Pizza!
I would love to make this for my daughter’s first birthday but I’m still a little nervous about giving her honey. Is there another ingredient(s) I could use as a sweet binder in the the cereal/coconut mix?? Do you think doing some maple syrup and a flax egg could work? Would that be sticky enough to bind it?
What about brown rice syrup?
I’ll try that. I’ve never used brown rice syrup. I’ll let you know how it turns out, though it will still be a couple of weeks. Do you think I would use the same amount of the syrup as honey? TIA
Yes I think so.
One more question: Would it be fine to make the jam a couple of days ahead? Thinking I would make jam Thursday, make the rest Friday. Serve Saturday
Yes, I do think that would work!
Hi Maryea,
While searching for clean 4th of July desserts, I came across your recipe for Coconut Berry Ice Box Cake. Would you be interested in letting us use one of your images from this post in a slideshow on Prevention.com, with a link back to your site for the recipe itself?
If so, please confirm that you are granting to our publisher (Rodale Inc.) the right to use it in any of Rodale’s websites, social media pages and other online publications and their promotion/in-context syndication worldwide, without time limits and without charge. Please also confirm that you have the legal right to agree to this, and that you have gotten any necessary permissions from any 3rd parties to grant these rights. Rodale will link back to your blog each time we use the images. To be clear, we will not use the images as a stand-alone product.
I look forward to your reply!
Best,
Jen
Hi Jen,
Yes, you may use an image with a link back to my blog. Thank you!
Hi Jen, Yes you may use an image with a link back to my recipe. Thank you! Maryea
Unsweetened or original coconut milk?
Canned coconut milk, unsweetened.