Strawberry Shortcake Nice Cream Bars (v,gf, sf, raw)

strawberryshortcakepops

Strawberry season has sadly come to a close in our neck of the woods, but I have a fun strawberry recipe to share with you all as a little farewell. These (n)ice cream bars were inspired by one of my favorite childhood frozen treats, Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Dessert Bars. Does anyone else remember these?

I was always drawn to fruity, obnoxiously sweet treats as a child. These bars fit the bill. The epitome of “novelty,” there isn’t much about these bars that resemble actual food. Just out of curiosity, I took a looky-loo at the nutrition label for Good Humor Strawberry Dessert Bars. The ingredient list would make any plant-based, whole-food enthusiast shudder… milk, bleached flour, sugar, artificial colors, palm oil, corn syrup, mono and diglycerides (a.k.a. artificial fats), soybean oil, more artificial color, gums, artificial flavor… Yikes.

strawberryshortcakepopsicle

So I set out to give these Frankenstein bars a healthy, all-natural makeover. My Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars are vegan, gluten-free, and sugar-free. They are made with wholesome, real ingredients like cashews, almonds, shredded coconut, dates, and strawberries. Most importantly, they taste delicious! Rich vanilla cashew cream is layered with a sweet strawberry sorbet, then rolled into a buttery “shortcake” crumble topping. They have healthy fats, fiber, protein, vitamin C, calcium, and iron, and most importantly no refined sugar, oil, or animal products.

strawshortcakepopsicle

These are a fun treat for kids and adults alike. If you’re looking for a sweet, creamy, and strawberry-licious cold treat, then whip up these bars and enjoy a novelty frozen dessert, guilt-free 🙂

Strawberry Shortcake Nice Cream Bars v, gf, sf, raw

makes about 8 small ice cream bars

Ingredients:

Shortcake crumble:

  • 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 3/4 cup raw almonds
  • 1 large pitted medjool date
  • tiny pinch of salt
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Nice cream:

  • 1 cup raw cashews, soaked
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or water
  • 1 tsp of vanilla extract
  • 1-2 large dates
  • 2 cups strawberries (use fresh or thawed frozen berries)

Instructions:

1. To make the ice cream layers: Rinse and drain the cashews well. Add them to a blender, along with almond milk and date(s). Blend until very smooth. Scoop out most of the cream into a jar or glass container and set aside, leave about a 1/4-1/3 cup of the cashew cream in the blender (just eyeball it). Add the 2 cups of strawberries to the little bit of cashew cream, and blend on high, add a little more cream if needed. The cashew cream will keep the strawberry layer from becoming too icy.

2. Layer the vanilla cashew cream and strawberry blend in popsicle molds or small paper cups. You should be able to layer them up without freezing each layer separately. You can layer the vanilla and strawberry or scoop some of both in each and then swirl them together with a popsicle stick. When you’re finished, add popsicle sticks and place them in the freezer to harden. It should make about 8 small bars.

3. While the pops freeze, make the shortcake crumble. Process all crumble ingredients in a food process until a course crumb is formed. Spread out the crumbs on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and pop it in the freezer.

4. Remove the bars from the freezer and allow to thaw a bit, until the surface of the pops are soft. Take out your crumble and coat each bar. I sprinkled the crumb over one side at a time, then used a corner of the parchment paper (instead of my fingers) to press it onto the ice cream bar. It won’t be perfect, but it will still taste great!

17 thoughts on “Strawberry Shortcake Nice Cream Bars (v,gf, sf, raw)”

  7. Sina says:
    Reply

    These sound so good, Larice! I really gotta give them a try. It’s so hot in Germany right now, so this is just perfect. I love veganizing childhood food. So glad for you that you came up with such a healthy and tasty new version that is even much better than the original! 🙂

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    • Larice says:
      Reply

      Thanks Sina! I’m so glad other people have fond memories of these bars too! I hear it’s heating up in your part of the globe, it hasn’t been such a hot summer here in the Midwest u.s. Which is unusual, but it hasn’t stopped us from making Popsicles, nice cream and nice cream bars galore! Hope you give them a try, let me know how you like them!! 🙂

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