Raw Piña colada Berry Ice Cream Cake

I have been in an ice cream cake sort of mood lately.  I am always in an ice cream mood, but instead of making scoopable ice cream, sliceable ice cream has been more enticing to me. Plus cakes are more fun to make and prettier to look at. I had lots of pineapple last week, and lots of berries, so I thought they would be wonderful in a layered cake together.

Piña colada is one of my favorite summer flavors, so I made that the ice cream base for this entire cake.  It was heavenly when combined with the strawberries and blueberries I had on hand!  I even made a coconut crust to echo the flavor of the coconut in the ice cream and it was fabulous!

This is perfect on a hot sticky summer day!  Almost too pretty to eat, but then once you start you will forget about how pretty it is and be on cloud 9, because it is pure deliciousness!  As far as I am concerned this is my favorite way to cool off when it is uncomfortably hot outside.

Raw Piña Colada Berry Ice Cream Cake
Makes about 6 cups

Ice Cream:
1 cups coconut water
3 cups young coconut meat*
3 cups ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 cups ripe organic pineapple
3/4  cup raw date paste or another raw liquid sweetener if you prefer
seeds of one vanilla bean
1 1/2 tsp maple extract
1/4 tsp Himalayan salt
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp raw coconut butter, warmed to liquid

1/2 cup pineapple, cut into small pieces

1 cup organic strawberries, pureed

1 cup organic blueberries, pureed

fresh strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, and coconut to garnish the top of the cake

For the crust,  in a food processor, combine the dates, flaxseed, coconut, sea salt, and vanilla extract and process until fine crumbs.  Add the banana and process until starting to hold together.  Remove from the food processor and press into the bottom of a 6 inch round spring form pan lined with plastic wrap or parchment (for easy removal) and press out flat.
For the ice cream, add coconut water to a food processor, along with young coconut, bananas, pineapple, nectar, vanilla, and sea salt. Process until smooth, then with the processor running, add the coconut butter slowly and process until well incorporated, about a minute. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process according to directions. Remove from ice cream maker, and pour 1/3 of the ice cream over the crust.  Top with the pineapple pieces.  Divide the other 2/3 of the ice cream into 2 bowls.  Whisk the strawberry puree into one and the blueberry into the other.  Pour the blueberry puree over the pineapple layer, then the strawberry layer over that.  Place in the freezer for about 6 hours or overnight until firm (It is best if it sits out for about 20 minutes before serving if it has sat overnight in the fridge.
Garnish the top of the cake with the fruit and coconut and serve!

*If young coconut meat is unavailable, you can substitute the 3 cups fresh coconut with 3 cups finely shredded, dried coconut and 1 1/2 cups coconut water.  But, you MUST have a high speed blender to do this or it will never become smooth.  Blend the coconut first until it becomes butter, using the tamper to press it into the blades until it is liquidy, then add the coconut water and blend until combined. Add this to the ice cream base in place of the young coconut meat.