Chill out with no-bake icebox cake for your July Fourth cookout | Rigsby

How better to celebrate the Fourth of July than with my old-fashioned Red, White, and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake! This easy layered 4th of July dessert is filled with heavenly whipped cream, graham crackers, fresh sweet strawberries, and delightfully juicy blueberries.

With only seven ingredients, this icebox cake is a dream to make and just as dreamy to eat. Red, White, and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake is the perfect dish to take to a neighborhood barbecue or cookout, and your family and friends will think you worked for hours to make this festive and easy patriotic dessert.

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Perfect for novice or beginner cooks, this berry icebox cake can be made ahead of the big day and doesn’t require any baking. It does take a little time to line up the strawberries and blueberries for the stars and stripes, but that’s the hardest part.

Sharon's tips:

• For the best results, ensure your heavy cream and whipping utensils are chilled before making the whipped cream. If the cream is at room temperature, it will not whip properly.

• When making the whipped cream, once it starts to firm up, stop and pull the beaters up every 30 seconds or so to check the consistency. You want to stop at the stiff peak stage. If you stop too early, it will not hold its shape and deflate quickly. If you continue whipping, however, it will turn into butter.

• Be sure your fruit is dry before adding it to the cake.

• This recipe makes enough for 12 three-by-four-inch servings as written, but it can be scaled up or down.

• Icebox cake should be served chilled and stored in the refrigerator.

• Instead of rinsing my fruit in a colander under running water, I like to use my salad spinner. I add the berries, fill the container up with water, swish them around a little, and then lift out the basket.

• Yes, I know the American flag has 50 stars and 13 stripes; this is just a dessert made to resemble the flag.

Red, White, and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake Recipe

Serves 12

Ingredients:

1-quart heavy cream

⅔ cup powdered sugar

2½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

3 sleeves of graham crackers or about 24 graham crackers

2 pints blueberries

2 pounds strawberries

Directions:

Place a large mixing bowl and a stand mixer whisk or electric mixer beaters in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill.

While the utensils are chilling, rinse the strawberries and blueberries, spread them out on paper towels, and let them dry. Remove the leaves and the core of the strawberries and slice them thinly. Set aside.

Add the cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to the chilled bowl. Beat on low for three minutes, then switch to high speed. Beat for a few more minutes or until the cream is whipped and holds stiff peaks that stand straight up when the beaters are lifted. There should be no bend or curl at the top of the peak.

Place a spoonful of the whipped cream in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and spread it out evenly. This holds the graham crackers in place.

Add a layer of graham crackers. You may have to break some crackers to cover the bottom evenly.

Use an offset spatula to spread one-third of the whipped cream evenly over the graham crackers. Then, top it with all but about 50 of the blueberries.

Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and another layer of whipped cream. Top this layer with sliced strawberries, but reserve some for the top of the cake.

Add a final layer of graham crackers and the rest of the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream out evenly.

In the upper left-hand corner, add five rows of blueberries with eight berries in each row to form the stars. Next, add five rows of sliced strawberries overlapping the slices to create the stripes.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. To test if the cake is ready, insert a knife in the center. It should go in easily and should come out with soft crumbs. If the graham crackers are still crispy, it needs to sit longer before slicing.

To serve, cut into squares and serve chilled.

Sharon Rigsby is the blogger behind Grits and Pinecones, a cooking, and hospitality blog. Check out her recipes at gritsandpinecones.com.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Keep cool with Red, White and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake for July 4th