This easy summer dessert is a five-ingredient no-bake treat that your family will love.
The first time I tried an icebox cake recipe, it was anything but simple. The recipe had me make homemade chocolate pudding, homemade peanut butter pudding, homemade chocolate ganache, and homemade caramel sauce. And when I say homemade I mean from scratch- no semi-homemade shortcuts there. The only thing that wasn’t prepared with my blood, sweat, and tears were the graham crackers, which I am honestly surprised about. This recipe creator was obviously a glutton for punishment and had nary a small child running around.
Oh, I’m not even to the good part yet folks. As it turned out these recipes (one for each finicky component) weren’t even good. I think I ended up remaking each pudding three times, making emergency runs for more milk and cornstarch at 9:30 at night. The ganache and caramel took a second attempt each.
Needless to say, I never wanted to deal with another icebox cake again. Heck I probably wouldn’t have finished that one to completion if it had not been a project I was photographing for work.
But then I discovered this classic Strawberry Icebox Cake in a local grocery store’s magazine. Actually the recipe was for a Strawberry Rhubarb Icebox Cake but as soon as I saw the fussy steps to cook and sweeten the rhubarb I decided that very moment that I would cut that part right on out and just make this icebox cake the way it was intended: so easy a child could do it.
While I do have you making homemade whipped cream, which is just whipping cream and powdered sugar, you could make this recipe even easier and get yourself a nice tub of frozen whipped topping. Surely there is a variety using real ingredients these days. Right?!?
Anyway, you could absolutely jazz this up for Independence Day by adding fresh blueberries along with the strawberries. Really, you could swap out any of the ingredients for other flavor variations. You could flavor the whipped cream with extracts, use chocolate or cinnamon graham crackers, and of course experiment with other fruits. I’m thinking a Peach Icebox Cake with Cinnamon Graham Crackers next.
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This easy summer dessert is a five-ingredient no-bake treat that your family will love.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs fresh strawberries, washed and dried
- 3–1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 24–28 whole graham crackers
Instructions
- Find a few of the best looking berries and set aside for garnish. Thinly slice the remaining berries.
- Whip the heavy cream with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla and whip to combine.
- Dollop a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan or platter and spread into a thin layer. Lay down six graham crackers. Lightly cover the top of the crackers with whipped cream and then a single layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat this process three times until you have four layers of graham crackers.
- Spread the remaining whipped cream over the top and swirl decoratively. Garnish with reserved strawberries and refrigerate for at least four hours until the crackers have completely softened.
Keywords: Strawberry, Dessert, Whipped Cream, Graham Crackers, Icebox Cake
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5 Comments
fantastic recipe. Percent for summer. Yummy, easy, and doesn’t take long.
★★★★★
These look great, thanks for posting and sharing pictures of each step. Yum!
★★★★★
Used large tub of whip cream and topped with more crushed graham crackers just before serving. Very good.
★★★★★
What a great recipe. I love it. Thank you!
★★★★★
Yum! This was so easy in a pinch. As per another review I spread a little strawberry rhubarb jam on each cracker. As such, I reduced the sugar in the whipped cream. I tried the dessert after 5 hours, and after 22 hours. I found the softer texture more pleasing the longer it sat.
★★★★★