Today is my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday Momma!!! I won’t say how old she’s turning because, well, that would just be rude.
I will say she is very young at heart. I love how she is full of laughter and loves life. So this is my surprise birthday party for her, and you all are invited.
I know it is slightly cruel to make yummy desserts, and yell surprise! when it is this virtual venture, but Momma, it’s only until I can make it for you in person.
I love you, and I’ll miss celebrating your birthday with you. I do hope you have a wonderful celebration today.
Now that the surprise is over, back to the recipe. Growing up there were a few of us who preferred other desserts over cake and this was my mom’s favorite birthday dessert, Frosty Strawberry Squares.
I don’t know where the original recipe came from, but it was passed from my great aunt (my grandfather’s sister), to my grandmother, to my mother, and now to me.
It’s essentially a semi-freddo, which is what the Italians call this frozen egg white and cream concoction, because it is like it is half frozen.
There are endless possibilities for how this dessert can be flavored, but my family’s version uses strawberries and has a yummy nut and butter crumble.
This is all well and good, except for a couple of years now, my mom hasn’t been eating refined sugar, or wheat products.
So, I thought I’d remake this beloved recipe to accommodate her new food lifestyle, and might as well try it dairy-free too!
Before I go on, I should give a warning this recipe uses raw egg whites, if you’re pregnant or serving children under three, then you should only use pasteurized egg whites. You can purchase pasteurized egg whites, or I’ve pasteurized my own egg whites and it is fairly easy. If this is a concern for you, then please google it, and you’ll find lots of help. I will note, our family has been eating the non-pasturized version for years with no issues.
Okay, returning to the Strawberry Oreo Crunch Pound Cake recipe. Instead of using flour I decided to make my own oat flour.
This is a rustic dessert and doesn’t need finely milled versions of the exotic mixes. In fact, I decided to do a cup of my food processed oat flour and a half cup of regular oats to give a little more texture.
Read more: Carrot Cake Cheesecake
Strawberry Oreo Crunch Pound Cake Recipe
12-16 servings | 15-20 mins toasting time at 350˚F | 30-40 min Total Recipe Time, 3 Hours or Overnight Freezing Time | Weight Watchers PP 12 pieces 9 points, 16 pieces 7 points
Crust
- 1 cups oat flour (took whole oats and whirred away in food processor)
- ½ cup whole oats
- ¼ cup honey
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup pecan pieces
- ½ – ¾ teaspoon salt
Mix until crumbly, bake 15-20 minutes at 350˚ in 9×13 inch pan. After 10 minutes stir, then finish baking. Cool. Use ½ the crumbs for the bottom of the pan and save ½ for the top.
Filling
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 2 egg whites (2.5 ozs)
- ½ cup honey
- 12 oz frozen strawberries
- 2 tablespoons lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
In large bowl mix the refrigerated coconut cream until light and whipped. In a separate bowl, add the rest of the ingredients.
Beat until stiff peaks form, about 10 minutes. Fold in whipped coconut cream until well combined.
Carefully spread filling over crumbs, then sprinkle with remaining crumbs. Freeze several hours, or overnight.
Instructions For Strawberry Oreo Crunch Pound Cake Recipe
I also used coconut oil and honey, instead of butter and sugar. I up’d the amount of nuts to give great flavor and texture.
In case you’re wondering I used a whipped honey, but I’m sure a regular non-whipped would work too. (I’ll be posting soon the results of making my own whipped honey, so check back… super simple!)
I combined them all together with a spoon… until I couldn’t stand it and then my hands got involved and squished everything together nicely.
I then emptied the bowl to a rimmed baking pan and baked for 10 minutes, and stirred and then baked for another 10 minutes, which was too long… should have taken out after 5 minutes, but I’m sure you’ll watch your precious crumbs better than I did.
I thought I took a picture of the baked version, but apparently I was not happy about the results and forgot.
I went ahead and used my slightly too done version, as you can see in the first photo, because I thought it was still passable… it had a nice roasted caramelized quality… at least that is how I’m spinning it!
Now, if I were smart about this endeavor I would have just used one pan, but alas, I apparently like to wash dishes.
You on the other hand, will be smart and just bake your crumbs in a 9″x13″ pan you’ll use to make the frosty strawberry squares.
Another oddity about me is I don’t have a 9″x13″ pan, so I punted and used my 10″x10″… almost the same… plus I’m square, the frosty strawberry squares are square, and might as well run with the square theme.
And now, we can officially say, wayyy too much energy has been expended talking about a square pan… so moving on.
Oh, except I lined my pan with parchment because I knew I wanted to make a birthday frosty square stack, but really it’s not necessary.
Also, no need to oil the pan or parchment, which you really don’t need… didn’t I just say that? Unless of course you want to stack your frosty squares up sky high.
While I was cutting out the sugar, flour, and gluten, I thought why not try to cut the dairy too. Below is whipped coconut cream.
I refrigerated a box of coconut cream. (I know, I should have taken a picture, but it looked like authentic stuff, and had very little liquid, and it was in a box, I hadn’t seen boxed coconut cream before, but it was good.)
If you’re using a can of coconut cream, make sure it is cream, coconut milk won’t whip up like this and will make the squares too icy, and not the semi-frozen, creamy quality you get from the higher fat content.
Before I whipped the cream I poured the extra liquid off. (I saved mine for another use… smoothie, or stir fry?) The whipping didn’t add very much volume to the cream, but it looked liked whipped cream.
I set this aside while I washed and dried my mixer bowl again, and got it really clean to whip the egg white mixture.
Once again, I missed a shot of the rest of the ingredients. But I’ll get you caught up… I used a 12 oz. bag of organic whole strawberries with no sugar added.
Two egg whites, or 2.5 ounces of egg white if you’re like me and frequently have a container of egg whites.
At this point, I also added in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and honey. Start the mixer off slow.
The big frozen berries like to hop out of the bowl, but they begin to obey after a minute or so. I love watching this transform! Kind of soupy and full of color.
After a few minutes you can see the air is lightening the color and it is starting to get thicker.
Around 10 minutes you can see it has gotten almost white and has tripled it’s volume.
Isn’t that a lovely shade of pink… so pretty. Now fold in the coconut cream and carefully spread filling over the crumbs, top with the remaining crumbs, and freeze for several hours or overnight.