People love visiting high elevation mountain towns like Big Bear Lake, California and saying things like, “Ohhh, I just love the sound of the wind in the pines.”
That’s adorable.
News flash from those of us who actually live up here at 7,000+ feet:
we do not love the wind.
The wind means power outages.
The wind means fire danger.
The wind means watching the forest you grew up hiking in—your actual backyard—go up in flames.
That dreamy “pine-scented breeze” you hear on vacation? Yeah, to us, that’s the soundtrack of anxiety.
This morning, I sat in a line of forty cars at the one gas station still open, while a wildfire burned through parts of the San Bernardino National Forest just ten miles north of my idling SUV. Yes, I did have a brief internal monologue about how one illegal campfire—just one—can wreck thousands of acres of forest for hundreds of years that people like me deeply love and rely on. Yeah, that smoldering pine-filled forest behind me will never grow back to her glory in my lifetime.
Because here’s the thing:
This isn’t just a pretty weekend escape.
This is home.
This is where I hike, where I work, where my business lives, where my dog runs around like she owns the place. This forest isn’t a backdrop—it’s part of who we are.
So yeah… after a morning like that? I’m emotionally qualified to eat my weight in gluten-free no-bake ice cream cake.
After hiking up one of the steepest ski slopes in town (because apparently I process stress through cardio like a lunatic), I came home and did what any rational, slightly frazzled mountain human would do:
I made a gluten-free no-bake ice cream cake
But not just any ice cream cake— a gluten-free, no-bake, low-sugar situation that somehow still tastes like you made terrible life choices in the best way possible.
Because let’s be real—Summer in Big Bear Lake means boating, kayaking, hiking… or panic-buying gas before the sheriff starts telling you to evacuate now in your motorhome with your plethora of rescue pets.
No-Bake Desserts: Because We’re Not Heating the Cabin Like It’s 1850
June through September, the last thing anyone wants to do is turn on the oven and heat up the entire cabin like you’re reenacting a pioneer tragedy. So this dessert? Cold. Easy. No-bake. Emotionally supportive. Just the way we like it. Throw all these ingredients in your Kraftsman Stand Alone Mixer and Bing, Bang, boom, dessert is on its way!
This makes a fantastic July 4th easy dessert without even turning on the oven!
No-Bake Ice Cream Cake – For When It’s 85 Degrees and You Refuse to Cook Like a Pilgrim
1/4 cups of honey
3 tablespoons of coconut oil, at room temperature
1/2 a cup of cashew butter
2 teaspoons of brown sugar (You can also use coconut sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup good-quality chocolate chips
1 pint of your favorite ice cream. (I prefer vanilla for this recipe but you do you!)
So to begin this delicious gluten-free no-bake ice cream cake, in a mixing bowl, cream the honey, brown sugar, coconut oil and the cashew butter. Mix in the vanilla and then the almond flour. Mix in your chocolate chips. This is your “Cake.” In a freezer-safe pan, pack this down. Spread your slightly softened ice cream on top. Put plastic wrap over the top of your no-bake dessert. Freeze this for at least thirty minutes, until you are ready to serve.
