No Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake With Chocolate Ganache Topping

I'm new at this whole icebox cake thing. I get the concept; whip cream or custard when refrigerated over cookies or crackers changes around the crispy elements into a soft, delicious moist cake-like dessert. Sort of like an eclair. Plus, you don't have to heat up your oven at all so your house can stay nice and cool while you make a lovely dessert in 93 degree weather. Yes, yes. I get it. Sounds good, lets check it out.

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed

3 1/4 cups whipping cream,

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla
4 sleeves (about 19 ounces, or 24 to 28 whole crackers) graham crackers
2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

(I halved this recipe. Normally it serves 8-10 people, but since I was only serving 4, I didn't need all that leftover temptation sitting around my refrigerator. So in my pictures, just imagine it looking twice as big. I only used 1 pound of strawberries, 1/6 cup confectioners sugar etc.)

Set aside a few of the best looking strawberries for garnish later, and then thinly slice the rest.

 With a hand mixer or stand up mixer, whip 3 cups of the cream until it hold stiff peaks. This takes a few minutes, try not to get bored.

Add in your confectioners sugar and vanilla, whip again until combined.

(If you don't have confectioners sugar, put regular granulated sugar in a food processor for a few seconds until it powders.)

Let your adorable baby girl lick the beaters. Nothing tastes as good as fresh whip cream!

Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan, or a similarly-sized dish. Lay down six graham crackers. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped cream, and then a single layer of strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers. Spread the last of the whipped cream over the top and add a few more strawberries.

(You should probably hand any left overs to your salivating child. )

To make the ganache, heat the cream until bubbles form around the edges, then pour over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a few minutes, then whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy. Drizzle this over the layered dessert with a spoon, or transfer to a squeeze bottle and use that to drizzle.

Since I made my icebox cake the night before dinner, I slid it right next to my bottle of vodka and frozen pizza over night, (don't judge my empty fridge. We JUST moved and haven't done a complete grocery shopping trip yet!) and then transferred it into the refrigerator about 4 hours before serving. If you're making this to eat the same day, just make sure it has at least 4 hours of refrigeration before being served so the graham crackers have time to soften.

Delicious! (recipe source: thekitchn.com)

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