Happy Summer! Not only is today the first day of summer, but it also happens to be my birthday! As of today, I am officially 24 years old (or 24 years young?) This past year was definitely an eventful one for me and had its fair share of ups and downs. To be honest, I didn’t know if I would make it to see my 24th birthday, but here I am now, and that’s a pretty good reason to celebrate, right?
Summer months are my favorite for so many reasons: warm weather, spending lots of time outside, cooking food on the grill, fresh produce, baseball, and my birthday, to name a few. Plus, everyone just seems to be in a better mood when summer rolls around! (Maybe it’s the vitamin D from the sun?) I could go on and on about the things I do love about summer, but here’s one thing I do not like: using my oven.
In the summer, I try to avoid using my oven as much as I can, otherwise my whole kitchen (and eventually my whole house) will just heat up like crazy and make it unbearable. Luckily, this dessert here doesn’t require the use of your oven, making it a perfect and refreshing dessert for those hot summer days!
Anyways, back to this cake, which is a variation of those “Icebox Cakes” or “Eclair Cakes” that I’m sure you’ve seen floating around Pinterest or some other site on the Internet. I’ll be completely honest and tell you that I was skeptical the first time I made an icebox cake for myself, however after seeing how well it turned out, I’ve since made several of them in all sorts of flavors: chocolate, chocolate peanut butter, banana cream pie, etc. Not only are they so easy to throw together, but like I mentioned before, they’re the perfect summer dessert to cool you down after a long day in the hot sun.
Every year, my mom and I have a tradition where we go strawberry picking, and then we make tons of canned jams, strawberry pies, and other yummy dishes featuring our delicious strawberries. This week happened to be the week we went, so now we have tons and tons of fresh strawberries just waiting to be eaten. (Not that I haven’t eaten a ton already…) While we’re definitely going to make strawberry pies like we normally do, it’s just way too hot right now to turn on the oven, so until then, I figured I’d use the strawberries to make a delicious no-bake strawberry icebox cake that would also serve as my birthday cake for my 24th birthday!
One year ago, I was not in a good place. I was so thin and so unhealthy that I wasn’t even sure if I was going to make it to my next birthday. But here I am today (my 24th birthday), healthier, heavier, and a whole lot happier than I was one year ago. And I don’t even have the words to express how grateful I am for that.
Now I know I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I feel like it’s really important, so I’m going to mention it again. Part of being healthy means finding balance in everything you do, including eating. Yes, I love to eat veggies, lean proteins, and healthy fats, and yes, I love experimenting with “healthified” baked goods featuring applesauce, coconut flour, or chia seeds. But at the same time, I still enjoy indulging in regular desserts that haven’t been “healthified”. Why? Because they taste great, and food is meant to be enjoyed. Eating one slice of cake isn’t going to ruin all progress you’ve made or suddenly make you unhealthy again, just like eating carrots for one day isn’t going to make you healthy.
I could go on and on about this, but I’ll try to wrap it up and keep things short and simple. In summary, what I’m trying to say is that being healthy means realizing that eating desserts is okay. Or that skipping a day of workouts is okay. Or enjoying that food you really want to eat is okay. Life is all about balance, so don’t you dare ever feel guilty about eating (or enjoying) desserts, like this one here. Especially if it’s your birthday!
Now with that being said, this icebox cake certainly doesn’t win an award for being the healthiest or containing the most nutrients, but that doesn’t mean you can’t eat it! And guess what?
- The strawberries are filled with important vitamins and antioxidants.
- The cream cheese and milk contain dairy, calcium, and other minerals to keep your bones strong.
- The chocolate on top is filled with healthy fats and antioxidants.
- It tastes great!
If that doesn’t help you realize that it’s okay to make (and eat) this cake, well…. then I don’t know what will! Just remember: life is too short to miss out on foods and the memories associated with them. I’ve been there and done that (for six whole years), and I can honestly say that NOTHING good came from me doing that. In the end, it only made me miserable and made me miss out on great memories shared with people around great foods. I would never wish that upon anyone else, so please just take my word and realize that eating desserts is 1000% okay!
Okay, side rant over. Back to the cake. This recipe is just like your typical ice-box cake that I’m sure you’ve seen (or even made!) before. However, I added one secret ingredient to give it some added creaminess and flavor – Melanie’s Medley’s Strawberry Cream Cheese. And oh boy, was that an incredibly smart decision on my part! I don’t know why I’ve never thought to use cream cheese before, but from now on, it’s an ingredient that will be making an appearance in all of my icebox cakes!
Like I mentioned, this recipe is super quick and easy to throw together! Start by mixing up the filling, and then get to work assembling the cake:
First, place a layer of graham crackers on the bottom of your 9×13″ glass baking dish. You can use mostly full sheets, however you might have to break some crackers in half to make sure the whole bottom is covered.
After that, spread half of your filling over the graham cracker sheets and make sure it’s spread out evenly.
Next, spread some sliced strawberries on top. And no need to get fancy or anything – just scatter them wherever you want and use as many as you want! I’m personally a big fan of berries (especially when they’re freshly-picked), so I used a lot. But you do what works for you!
Next up, repeat the whole process! Start by placing a layer of graham crackers on top of the strawberries. Again, you may need to break some of the crackers in half to make them all fit, and that’s perfectly fine!
After that, pour the rest of the filling on top, spread it out, and top with more strawberries! Or, if you’re not a huge fan of berries, leave them off and just have the pudding/whipped cream filling as your final layer.
Looks pretty good so far, huh? Well guess what? It’s not done yet! Not until you add a layer of chocolate! (Because no dessert is complete without some chocolate, right?) For this layer, you could easily make a chocolate ganache or just melt some chocolate chips and do a chocolate drizzle on top. However, I was feeling like I wanted a bit extra, so I took it one step further and drizzled my cake with some Chocolate Tahini.
Chocolate Tahini? What? Yes… that’s right! If you’ve never had chocolate tahini spread, you are seriously missing out. It’s just cocoa powder and ground sesame seeds, so it has a bit of a nutty flavor while still being perfectly chocolatey and sweet. I like to think of it as Nutella, but 10 times better. (And better for you, as well!) So where do you find it, you may ask? That’s a great question! Soom, one of my favorite companies, sells it directly on their website, and also on Amazon. Definitely check it out if you haven’t before!
It’s also important to note that I used strawberry cream cheese in my filling layer, which gave it an extra dose of strawberry flavor. However, if you don’t have strawberry cream cheese on hand and only have plain cream cheese, that will also work just as well. But if you want some serious flavor, I highly recommend using strawberry cream cheese! Especially from Melanie’s Medleys, because their cream cheese is so light and fluffy and loaded with lots of chunks of strawberries. Talk about yum!
After it has chilled in the fridge for a few hours, all that’s left to do is cut yourself a big slice and dig right in!
As you can see, it doesn’t look like a traditional slice of cake… at all. It was actually quite messy to cut into slices, but those are the best types of desserts in my opinion!
And honestly, who cares what the dessert looks like? All that matters to me is if something tastes good, and this certainly tastes great! It was definitely the perfect dessert to celebrate the first day of summer! Oh, and my birthday 😉
- 2 sleeves graham crackers (about 20 full cracker sheets)
- 1 (8-ounce) tub Cool Whip, thawed
- 2 (3.4-ounce each) boxes instant pudding (vanilla or cheesecake flavor)
- 3 cups almond milk (or milk of choice)
- 8 ounces strawberry (or plain) cream cheese, softened
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 cups strawberries, sliced
- Chocolate or hot fudge sauce for drizzling (optional)
- In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the pudding and milk. Mix for about 2-3 minutes, or until it starts to thicken.
- Add the cream cheese and powdered sugar and continue to mix until well-combined.
- Use a spatula to fold in the Cool Whip gently. Mix until just combined.
- Place a layer of graham cracker sheets on the bottom of a 9x13" baking dish. Make sure there are enough crackers to coat the bottom of the dish (you may need to break some crackers in half).
- Pour half of the pudding/cream cheese mixture on top of the crackers and spread it out evenly.
- Place a layer of sliced strawberries on top of the pudding mixture. Use as many or as little berries as you would like.
- Repeat the process: place a layer of graham crackers on top of the berries, top with the remaining filling, and then top with more berries, if desired.
- Optional: drizzle with melted chocolate. Place about ⅔ - ¾ cup chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a little bit of butter or coconut oil, and then microwave in 20-second increments until smooth and creamy. Drizzle over the strawberries. (Alternately: top with hot fudge sauce).
- Place in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours to set before slicing.
