My husband’s birthday is in the middle of March and although he’s not much of a dessert person, I still bake some type of cake or dessert to celebrate. He’s always been one to eat healthy, even during our college years he was impressive with making grilled chicken breast meals, eggs and protein snacks. The photo below is from his 20th birthday we celebrated while at WVU; it was a vanilla layered cake with vanilla-lemon frosting and shredded coconut on top. I remember baking it for him at my house while two of my roommates observed and just kept cracking up laughing, tears falling from their eyes. This lead me to occasionally burst out with uncontrollable laughter just the same. It was probably the most fun I’ve ever had making a cake, but for whatever reason it was so freaking funny, I’m not sure. It was college and there was some contributing factors to those giggles. The cake did turn out good! It even survived the walk from Grant St where I lived, to the Hockey House where he lived, on Beechurst, down the very steep hill (one of many in Morgantown, WV) that is at perhaps a 45 degree incline. There was A LOT of laughing during that walk. We all thought for sure the cake was going to fall. If you don’t know, WVU is a very beautiful but very hilly campus! 
So because he’s become even more of a healthy eater since our college days, I’ve made attempts with Paleo desserts. Many of my attempts have been #fails. So the laughs just keep coming! This year, I made three Paleo desserts! And all three turned out great! Only took about two decades. I’m sharing this recipe first because it became my favorite! It’s a dairy-free gluten-free Paleo Key Lime Pie made with… avocados! 
I found it at barerootgirl.com and copied it while making a few alterations. Although I’ve never had Key Lime Pie and we don’t like cheesecake, we both do love avocado as well as nuts. I love Coconut oil and its incredible healing powers and health benefits, and we love lemon and lime. So I gave it a go! http://barerootgirl.com/nourish/2015/07/09/avocado-key-lime-cheesecake/ At first when it was finished, I was so confused while eating it… is this a dessert? Is it supposed to be sweeter? Is this better as a guacamole? Did I just make my own guacamole; the ingredients are almost similar… I’m confused, what it is about this I can’t quite grasp. I just didn’t know how I felt about it during the first few bites. So I began cracking up laughing. 
But… I eventually LOVED it! I’ll go through the recipe and ingredients. What made a difference was after having it in the refrigerator for about a day, all the ingredients blended and mixed very well to make a very flavorful dessert! It was so good, it became my favorite! I added a few extra’s to the recipe found on bare root girl and made my own here! For the crust, it’s simply pecans, pitted dates, almonds and coconut oil (and a bit of sea salt). 
Everything here is great to eat thanks to the fantastic health benefits. Dates are good for hangovers, so I could’ve used this dessert back at WVU!! They’re also nutrient dense being rich in dietary fiber, antioxidants, minerals, potassium and magnesium! They’re naturally sweet so they add a nice sweetness to anything you include them in, good for desserts! They do have high carb content but it comes with some great benefits working for your body!
I love how pecans also have that natural sweetness to them and pecans pack a nutrient dense addition to any recipe as well!
Almonds are considered one of the healthiest of nuts, almost a superfood, packing nutrients to promote heart health, fight diseases and even prevent weight gain! They’re rich in vitamin E, dietary fibers, omega 3 fatty acids as well as protein. What’s amazing is this recipe calls for the pecans and almonds to be soaked, and it turns out soaking them may even be healthier! Not sure how much of a difference it actually makes though. 
The best ingredient is coconut oil. It’s in the crust AND the filling! Coconut oil helped my body bounce back from feeling so awful. It was this oil that helped me rid the sugar overload thanks to the Lauric Acid, Caprylic Acid and Capric Acid content in coconut oil. Strong antifungal and antiviral properties that kill candida cells and help restore stomach acidity to normal levels. It breaks down the bad stuff in your body, it even fights infections AND it fights viruses. You think there’s nothing that can fight off viruses but having coconut oil in your diet possibly can. Along with so much more. I eventually will write a post dedicated to my love for coconut oil! 
So after grinding all ingredients together in a blender/food processor, I poured it into a 9″pan and flattened it. You can see the coconut oil became liquefied at room temperature so it appears “wet” because it is. 
I placed the nut-crust in the refrigerator and began making the avocado filling. I used 6 avocados, I didn’t have any key limes which I know do have a different taste than just regular limes. So I searched for substitutions and found that a combination of lime and lemon will work. I think it’s best to use fresh lime juice whenever a recipe calls for it, allowing for a fresher more intense flavor and you know what’s going into your food. No extra sugar or added preservatives. Obviously the dates are plenty sweet, no need for any additional sugars.
We all are probably aware that Avocados are healthy. It is actually a fruit, not a vegetable and compared to other fruits, it is much higher in fat but that’s good monounsaturated fats such as Omega 3’s and Omega 6’s! It’s a unique nutritionally packed food because it contains a good amount of fiber as well as vitamins and minerals, potassium, and copper and depending on the size, it can range from 3 to about 7 grams of protein with essential amino acids making it high-quality plant protein. And how about the juice of lemons and limes…
I mixed six (6) avocados with the juice of six (6) limes and juice from four (4) lemons. This with a half (1/2) cup of coconut oil, about two (2) tsp vanilla and about one (1) tbsp of honey. I don’t like honey much so I cut it down from the original recipe’s half cup. Maple syrup could probably be used as a substitute. 
It was chunky and I liked it that way so I spread it over the crust and sprinkled shredded coconut on top. Then placed it in the refrigerator. 
When it was time to celebrate, I gave it a try while the kids did too, but they didn’t care for it much. They had cupcakes made by Dan’s mom instead. It was good, but it just felt like something was missing. 
The next day I remembered my favorite combination of mangoes and avocado. It’s a favorite post-run meal of mine! Mangoes have more potassium than a banana to prevent muscle cramping and the juicy sweet flavor is just good after a workout!
Easy post-workout meal. Even the grocery knows they pair well together! 
So I sliced some up and added them to my Avocado Key Lime Pie… 
NOW we’re talking PALEO HEALTHY DESSERT DELICIOUSNESS! The nutty sweet crust, the avocado with coconut and lime filling and the mangoes, it all came together wonderfully!! If there were a competition for dessert cleverness this is the WINNER!!! If I ever give it a try again, hopefully it turns out just as good, if not better! 
Turn the music UP, put the lime in the coconut and let’s celebrate!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA9OqUuA6a0
| Prep Time | 20 minutes |
| Servings |
Slices
|
- 1 cup pecans soaked
- 1 cup almonds soaked
- 8 dates
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 6 Avocados
- 6 Limes juice squeezed
- 4 Lemons juice squeezed
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 2 tsp vanilla use a great vanilla as this is a raw recipe, you'll be able to taste a good flavorful madagascar vanilla
- 1 tbsp honey I used a raw honey I was given as a gift. I think a natural maple syrup might substitute well here.
- 1 tbsp shredded coconut to sprinkle on top
- fresh mangoes to add while serving/eating/enjoying
Ingredients
Nut Crust
Avocado Filling
|
|
- Combine ingredients in blender that will chop nuts well or food processor.
- Once blended and combined well, pour and spread into a 9" pie pan and place in refrigerator to harden.
- Combine all ingredients in blender. Mix until smooth consistency is reached. I liked it a bit lumpy.
- Sprinkle shredded coconut on top.
- Pour over crust and put back into refrigerator so everything cools together.
- I found after having it be cooled in the refrigerator for about 24 hours it had a better flavor to it! Serve with fresh mangoes and enjoy!
Using an original recipe from barerootgirl.com I made a few changes and added mangoes to the final product! Wonderfully nutrient-packed dessert that is dairy and gluten-free while also being Paleo!