Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake

This creamy, no-bake Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake is a welcome dessert for hot and humid days when it's best to leave the oven off.

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The best way to survive those sticky, terribly hot days is with desserts that need no cooking or baking. Your kitchen stays cool and so do you.

One of the best hot weather desserts to make is an icebox cake, like this Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake. It's a cool, creamy treat with layers of sweetened cream, fresh strawberries, and graham crackers. Best of all, this no-bake strawberry cake is a cinch to make!

What's an icebox?

Why, it's your fridge, of course! I like that name though—icebox, because I'm a sucker for anything vintagey or retro.

Starting in the late 1920s, more and more households were buying the coolest new appliance on the market (literally)—the electric refrigerator.

Before that, families had to make do with iceboxes: tall, metal-lined, wooden cabinets that held large blocks of ice to keep everything stored inside the icebox cold.

And because iceboxes needed ice, there was a whole business around ice deliveries. Blocks were delivered by horses pulling the enormous pieces of ice on carriages. Delivery men would grab the ice blocks with huge metal tongs, then haul them into homes.

Despite the upgrade in the '20s to electric refrigerators, for many decades folks still referred to their fridges as iceboxes. Remember in 1984's "Ghostbusters" when Dr. Venkman tells Dana Barrett about the evil deity named Gozer? (He was very big in Sumeria.) "Well, what's he doing in my icebox??" she asks. Dana's talking about her fridge!

So, what's an icebox cake?

Icebox cakes are old-fashioned, no-bake desserts made by layering ingredients into pie plates or baking pans. They're refrigerated (or iceboxed) overnight where they set up into firm, sliceable treats.

Reading through my vintage cookbooks I found many different recipes for these cool fridge cakes. Though there are numerous variations, in general, icebox cakes are made with layers of:

1. Something already baked (like leftover cake, cookies, or crackers)
2. Something sweet and creamy (pudding, custard, mousse, whipped cream)
3. Layers of sweet mix-ins like fruit (such as berries, mango, and peaches) or candies (such as chocolate chunks, toffee bits, candy bars, ganache, caramel sauce)

The overnight stay in the fridge melds the layers together, forming a firm, chilled dessert that's easy to slice and serve!

This Apple Cider Donut Icebox Cake is another favorite of mine.

Why you'll love this recipe

My Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake recipe has a favorite flavor combination of fresh strawberries and a cheesecake-like filling made with a cream cheese mixture and sweetened, homemade whipped cream. Graham crackers are the pre-baked layer between the fruit and cream.

Strawberry and cream cheese cake is fruity, creamy, and sweet without being overly sweet. It's perfect for a midday or late-evening treat.

This strawberry, graham cracker-layered dessert is entirely make-ahead, which is great because when dessert time rolls around this cool treat is waiting and ready to slice in your fridge.

Here are a few other no-bake treats to try!

🔪 How to make a Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake

Ingredients:

• Whipping cream: Look for cartons in the dairy case; this is what you'll whip up into whipped cream
• Confectioners' sugar: The fine texture blends smoothly into the whipped cream and filling
• Strawberries: They're the star of this dessert so use the freshest, most flavorful ones you can find
• Graham crackers: Remember when I said that icebox cakes are made with a baked element? In this icebox cake, it's graham crackers!
• Cream cheese: It does double duty of giving the cake a lovely flavor and also a sturdy texture that sets up well after chilling
• Vanilla extract: Use a good quality, pure extract, like Nielsen-Massey brand
• Cream of tartar: Just a little helps the whipped cream hold its shape

Step 1: Make the cream

Whip the heavy cream and sugar to make whipped cream. Set some aside in the fridge.

Step 2: Slice the strawberries

Hull and slice the fresh strawberries, and save out a few whole berries for the finished cake.

Step 3: Make the filling

Blend cream cheese and sugar, then fold in some of that whipped cream.

Step 3: Assemble the cake

Create layers in the dish of sliced strawberries, cream cheese mixture, and graham crackers, repeating the layers until the pan is full.

Step 4: Chill the cake overnight in the icebox (I mean fridge!)

Wrap the dish and refrigerate the cake ideally overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Step 5: Finish the cake and serve

Unmold the icebox cake, then spread whipped cream over the outside. Add a few whole strawberries to the top, then cut the strawberry icebox cake into slices and serve.

FAQs:

Tips:

• Chilling the mixing bowl and whisk attachment before making the whipped cream helps ensure that the cream sets up correctly. Cream of tartar in the mixture helps make the whipped cream more stable in the finished icebox cake.
• The cream cheese must be given time to warm up to room temperature—it should be really soft, so that it blends up smoothly. Otherwise, the mixture will look lumpy.

This is the best strawberry icebox cake with cream cheese ever! I hope you love this cool treat as much as my family and I do! It's an especially nice way to celebrate strawberry season when those sweet, local strawberries are ready for picking.

The Strawberry Cream Cheese Icebox Cake recipe is below! For more dessert ideas, take a look at these:

💬 Have you tried this no-bake strawberry cream cheese dessert? Leave a comment below!

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