We’ve been having real heat wave in Croatia this whole week with temperatures going up to 40 C (104 F) in many places. Not as high in Dubrovnik as in some other cities but I would say 35 C (95 F) with high humidity is more than hot if you ask me! I’ve been melting pretty much each day, all day and even started dreaming about Autumn haha, specially cozy rainy evenings spent curled up under the blanket with a hot cup of tea in my hands. I know, I’m weird! 😀 But the older I get the more I realize that I’m actually not a Summer person at all and that is so strange as I used to live for the Summers when I was younger. I mean, I still love, love, love the sea and the beach, swimming, our beautiful Adriatic sea and the coast, all the gorgeous Summer fruit and veggies, refreshing desserts and ice creams but definitely not the heat.
How do you handle the summer heat? Please tell me I’m not the only one who is wishing for cooler days because than I’ll think that I’m getting older and that simply cannot be the truth haha! 😉 Ok, enough about complaining, let’s just focus on all the good things that we can enjoy while it’s still hot, like swimming in the sea and eating all deliciously cold and refreshing food and treats! Like these cute little raw vegan ‘cheesecake’ tarts with frozen berries! It’s a kind of dessert I crave on hot days, these tarts are refreshing, light, slightly sweet, made with healthy wholesome ingredients but still creamy and absolutely delicious. What are your favourite Summer desserts?
I also love treats like these Chocolate granola, yogurt & blueberries parfaits (vegan, GF) , Cashew cherries cream dessert (vegan, GF) or this Apricot banana ice cream (vegan, GF) or Cherry banana ice cream (vegan, GF)…
Even before I changed the way I eat and stopped eating refined sugar, drastically reduced dairy, stopped consuming processed food etc, I was not a fan of heavy, overly sweet desserts and specially in Summer when our bodies are asking and craving lighter food. I am planning to prepare a special blog post on the way I eat, what healthy ingredients I introduced and which ones I stopped eating and how all that positively influenced my health. Would you be interested in finding out more about this subject?
- Base
- 1 cup almonds
- 1 cup dates (previously soaked for 1 hour in the water)
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tbsp water (if needed)
- Cream filling
- 1½ cup cashews (previously soaked overnight)
- ¼ cup maple or agave syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla powder
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup plant-based milk (I used oat or almond milk)
- For decoration
- berries of your choice (frozen or fresh)
- Note: 1 cup = 250 ml
- Prepare 6-cup muffin pan (silicone or lined with muffin liners).
- First make the base by putting all the base ingredients (almonds, dates, cinnamon, salt and a little bit of water if needed) into your food processor and process until you get a sticky compact mixture.
- Press the mixture into muffin cups using your fingers and put them in the freezer to set until you make the filling.
- To make the cream filling put all the filling ingredients into your food processor or blender and blend until you get thick creamy mixture. If needed, you can add another 1-2 tbsp of plant-based milk so it blends easier.
- Pour the filling over prepared base crust and put them in the freezer for at least 3 hours until it sets.
- After that you can keep them in the fridge (they will be softer) or in the freezer and thaw them about 30 min before serving (for a semi-frozen treat).
- Decorate them with berries of your choice, serve and enjoy!
- Note: if using agave syrup, filling will be brighter colour that when using maple syrup but both taste delicious.
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I’d love to hear more about your healthy eating journey, I love hearing people’s experiences of what works and what doesn’t work for them and how their eating has evolved. 40 degrees is crazy hot, it’s been pretty hot in vancouver lately but we can’t even see the sun because of the smoke that’s drifted into the city from province-wide forest fires. crazy stuff…you can actually see the thick smoke in the air. Anyways, these sound like an amazing way to cool off! thanks for sharing :)d
Thank you so much for your comment! I think quite a few people would be interested in reading about my healthy eating journey and possibly get some tips about changing their diets so that is a blog post that definitely goes on ‘to do’ list! 🙂 Yes, it’s been way too hot these few weeks in Croatia but I think from the next one we will start to have a bit more comfortable temperatures. Oh I’m so sorry to hear about the fires, hopefully they managed to put the down already!
These look incredible!!
Thank you Miriam, I’m so glad you like them! 🙂
Hey, LILI… In love with all photographs, you are really a versatile person. As I am a vegan – This CHEESECAKE’ TARTS WITH BERRIES is really yummy. I have tried this recipe of your’s at home. everyone loved it completely. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe with us. Looking forward to more recipes, Thanks for sharing this with us. Best wishes and Regards
Dear Supriya, thank you so much for your kind comment, it makes me happy that you like my work! Have a beautiful day! Lili <3
These look soooo beautiful and delicious!
I live in Greece so it gets even hotter here, but usually i like it. In the summer, though, I cannot eat warm lunches, otherwise I get really sleepy in the afternoon.
Thank you so much dear Nina! I’ve never visited Greece yet and I can’t wait as it’s such a beautiful country! I think there are many similarities in way of life in Croatia and Greece, specially on the coast by the sea.:-)
These look like little bites of heaven! I’m with you 100% on not being a summer person. You should come summer in San Francisco where it’s 65º F every day here, nice and foggy and cool (a.k.a. “fogust”). Looking forward to cozy fall things as well – my favorite season!
Thank you so much for your kind comment Alanna! Oh ‘foggy and cool’ sounds perfect now so I should be buying my ticket to San Francisco, we are melting here in Croatia! The heat has been unbearable!I’m so looking forward to Autumn! 🙂
They look amazing. Will have to give these a try.
Im the same with the heat btw.
Thank you so much, I’m happy you like these little treats! 🙂
Looks delicious! and not too difficult to make!
These are delicious and very easy to make! Thank you! 🙂
THIS RECIPE IS LOOKING DAMN YUMMY AND AMAZING. WILL GIVE IT A TRY FR SURE. Regards.
Thank you for your kind comment! 🙂