Did anyone eat fruit pizza growing up?! Ah, it was always one of my favorite desserts. I even think it was one of the first desserts I made by myself. I started by rolling out some store-bought sugar cookie dough into a pizza shape and baking it in the oven. Then I used a food processor (maybe for the first time!) to blend together cream cheese, sour cream and sugar. Lastly I smeared the sweet cream on top of the sugar cookie pizza and took a stab and making a colorful fruit pattern on top.
I remember being nervous as I served it to people. Did I accidentally use salt instead of sugar? Will it be as good as when Mom makes it? Should I have baked the cookie base longer? You know, all the things new bakers/cooks worry about when we’re serving people something we’ve never tried making before.
But to be honest, I still get kind of nervous when I serve people food I create on my own. I’ve mentioned in a past post that I have a tendency to experiment with new recipes when I’m hosting people. Ambitious? Stupid? Brave? I’m not quite sure, but I did it again with this Raw Fruit Pizza.
A few months ago I wrote down fruit pizza as something I wanted to “veganize” and “healthify”…two things I’m always trying to do to recipes. I wasn’t too confident that I could make a fruit pizza that I would consider healthy, that would remind me of the fruit pizza I ate growing up, and that others would consider delicious. But I wanted to try.
And guess what?
I did!!
Get excited people. This Raw Fruit Pizza is sweet, creamy and tart and is chock full of healthy fats. It’s mostly sweetened with dates and has just a hint of maple syrup in the cashew frosting. I couldn’t stop licking this frosting, which I loosely adapted from Rawtarian’s Raw Cream Cheese Icing. And lucky for me, I had some frosting leftover! I’ve been spreading it on my Whole Wheat Banana Granola Muffins, turning them into healthy cupcakes. Oh man, oh man. Finger-lickin’ good!
One of the most amazing things about this recipe is that, apart from the fruit on top, it only requires 7 ingredients!! And if you’re anything like me, you probably have some fruit already in your fridge that you can use to make this pizza a beautiful creation.
I really hope one of you reading this post tries out this recipe. You won’t regret it!
Raw Fruit Pizza
Get excited people! This Raw Fruit Pizza is sweet, creamy and tart and is chock full of healthy fats. It's mostly sweetened with dates and has just a hint of maple syrup in the cashew frosting. Oh man, oh man. Finger-lickin' good!
Ingredients
CASHEW FROSTING:
- 1 1/2 cups cashews
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
CRUST:
- 2 cups almonds*
- 8-12 pitted Medjool dates
TOPPINGS:
- Assorted Fruit
Instructions
- Start by making the cashew Frosting. Place all of the frosting ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Scoop the frosting into a bowl and store it in the fridge to harden for about 45 minutes while you prepare the crust.
- Line the bottom of a tart pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a food processor, process the almonds until they're a course meal. While your food processor is running drop in the pitted Medjool dates one at a time until your crust forms. Depending on the size of your dates and their stickiness, you might not need 12 dates. You'll know that the crust is done when you can squeeze some of the dough between your fingers and it sticks together. I would start checking the dough after dropping in 8-9 dates to make sure you don't use too many. - When the dough is ready, pour it into your tart pan and use your hands to firmly press the dough down, forming a single layer of crust. Once you've gotten your crust fairly even, lay another piece of parchment paper over the crust and use the bottom of something flat to press the dough down even further until the crust is solid. Place your crust in the fridge to sit for about 20 minutes.
- To assemble the pizza, spread a generous layer of cashew frosting on top of the almond crust. Then decorate the pizza with your favorite fruit. I love kiwis and berries!
Notes
*You can use a mixture of walnuts and almonds or even all walnuts. Whatever you like!
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Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1 sliceAmount Per Serving Calories 430Total Fat 35gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 25gCholesterol 0mgSodium 339mgCarbohydrates 22gNet Carbohydrates 0gFiber 5gSugar 8gSugar Alcohols 0gProtein 11g
Nutrition information is a rough estimate provided by Nutrionix and should be used for informational purposes only.
Lindsay says
Hi! I really want to try this recipe but I’m wondering…did you soak the cashews first before using them in the frosting? Thanks!
Faith says
Hey Lindsay! I’m excited you’re going to try this recipe, because it’s delicious! If you have a high speed blender, it’s not necessary to soak the cashews, but either way, soaking them for a couple hours would probably help. I hope it works for you!
Lindsay says
Thank you! I made it today and it was so delicious! I did end up soaking the cashews just for a couple hours to ensure they came out creamy. My whole family loved it, even my non-dessert eating husband!
Faith says
That’s music to my ears Lindsay!! I have been wanting to make this recipe again for a while but I’ve yet to buy a food processor since we moved to China. I hope I can make it happen though! Thanks so much for letting me know how it went!
Anita says
Made this for a party and everyone loved it. I am the only one with dietary restrictions and it was well received by all
Faith says
Anita that’s so good to hear! This is such an old blog recipe, but I’ve randomly been thinking about re-making it and posting better photos of it because it really is delicious. I’m so glad you found it in the depths of my recipe archives and enjoyed it! Thanks so much for sharing!
Diana says
It looks sooo good!! Can I substitute the syrup for honey?
Faith says
Thanks Diana! This is one of my favorite recipes! And yes, definitely honey would work!
Diana says
Great thank you! I almost forgot, did you use roasted almonds and cashews or raw?
Faith says
You’re welcome Diana! And I just used raw nuts, but I’m sure roasted would work too, although they may give more of a nutty/earthy flavor. Hope that helps!
Amy @ Parsley In My Teeth says
This is so beautiful! What a great dessert to impress everyone!
Faith says
Thanks Amy! I’m so happy with how it turned out:)
Barb VanderMolen says
This looks awesome, can’t wait to try it!
Faith says
Ooo, let me know if you do! It didn’t last long here:)
Leigha @ The Yooper Girl says
Ahhhhh this looks so good!! Fruit pizza is one of my all time faves. That frosting looks amazing!
Faith says
I’m glad to know it’s someone else’s favorite too! The frosting really makes it in my opinion:)
Alessandra says
I’ve never heard of a fruit pizza but it looks delicious! Yum!
Faith says
Yeah, not everyone has, but I grew up eating it for dessert:) It’s really good. And especially good when it’s made with wholesome ingredients!
Cailee @ http://hellohealthyeating.com says
Wow!!! This is so beautiful!! …seriously, it looks so good! Btw, I LOVE your blog! It is so pretty and nutritious! Can’t wait to read more!! 🙂
Faith says
Thanks Cailee! I hope you try it. I was so happy with how it turned out! And thanks so much for reading my blog! I’m glad you like it. I’d love to hear from you again:)