australian desserts: No-Bake Strawberry Ice Box Cake

It's strawberry season in my neck of the woods! And I'm very excited about it. I absolutely love fresh strawberries, straight from the field. I'm so fortunate that my husband passes by a local farm stand every day on his way home from work. So what did I do with my first delivery from my sweet hubby this past week? Whipped up this delicious No-Bake Strawberry Ice Box Cake from 6 Sisters' Stuff.

As soon as I found this dessert on the Sisters' blog, I knew it was right up my alley. Creamy. Fresh strawberries. A touch of chocolate. Yes, please!

I'm happy to report it was a great choice for my first strawberries of the season.

The method to make this is very similar to the No-Bake Chocolate Eclair Dessert I posted a little bit back. Except, this no-bake cake uses real whipped cream laced with a touch of almond extract (soooooo good!) instead of Cool Whip between the graham cracker layers. I love Cool Whip, don't get me wrong ... but I really need to whip up the real stuff more often. Real whipped cream is such a little bite of heaven!

So, whip up some whipped cream. Then layer it with graham crackers and sliced fresh strawberries.

Make a really simple ganache with dark chocolate and a little bit of warmed whipping cream ...

... and drizzle it over the top.

Refrigerate over night, and then cut yourself a big piece. No ... cut yourself a huge piece. (You'll be glad you did.)

Now, a note to my blogging friends. If you make this and want to photograph it, remember to save a couple of your most gorgeous strawberries to garnish your photo shoot plates.

If, by chance, you happen to forget to save any strawberries and decide to stop at a vacant lot on your drive home from work to 'borrow' a few flowers ... you know, so you'll have something red for the side of your photo shoot plate .... make sure not to stand in a fire ant hill while picking said flowers. Especially while wearing flip-flops.

If, by chance, you happen to accidentally stand in a fire ant hill while 'borrowing' flowers and wearing flip-flops, try to refrain from eating all three pieces of this you cut for the photo shoot to help drown out the fire ant 'fire' burning in your swollen toes.

Then, if by chance, you happen to decide to place a bag of frozen vegetables on your burning swollen toes as an ice bag to help soothe the fire ant 'fire,' make sure the bag doesn't have a hole in it. Because if the bag does have a hole in it, as the vegetables inside thaw you'll end with green asparagus-water seeping out onto your carpet leaving a lovely pea-greenish stain. Which you'll end up spending some time the next day steam-cleaning out.

You know, not that any of this happened or anything.

I'm just sayin' ... be sure to save out a couple of your most gorgeous strawberries for your plates.

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No-Bake Strawberry Ice Box Cake

Source: Adapted from 6 Sisters' Stuff

Ingredients
2 lbs. fresh strawberries, washed and sliced into thin slices

3 1/2 c. whipping cream, divided

1/3 c. confectioners' sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 box graham crackers (about 24 to 28 whole graham crackers)

4 oz. dark chocolate, finely chopped

Directions
1. With an electric mixer, whip 3 cups of the whipping cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Add confectioners' sugar, vanilla, and almond extract and whip to combine.

2. Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream in the bottom of a 9x13" dish. Place down a layer of graham crackers. Spread on a thin layer of the whipped cream over the graham crackers, and then top with a single layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat with two more layers of graham crackers, whipped cream, and strawberries; then top with the last of the whipped cream.

3. To make the ganache, heat the remaining 1/2 cup whipping cream until bubbles just begin to form around the edges in the pan. Immediately pour over the chopped dark chocolate. Let stand for a couple of minutes, and then whisk until combined and smooth. Drizzle over the top of the layered cake.

4. Refrigerate over night.

Notes:

- This recipe can easily be halved and prepared in an 8x8" pan, which is what I did.

- The almond extract is optional, but it makes the whipped cream so delicious! I highly recommend including it.

- I used Dove dark chocolate.

- This is best eaten the day after it is made. While it was still good on the second day, the strawberries do start to 'wilt' and lose some of their 'perkiness.'

I can't really speak for the 3rd day. :-)

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