Strawberry Icebox {no bake} Cake

It's Wednesday morning again at the Hess house. Is it me or do weekends go way too fast, as well as the first part of the week?! As I sit here I quick close my eyes {for a nano second} and pretend that this coffee creamer is making my 'cuppa' coffee taste like I'm sitting at a bistro table outside of a French café...  But actually I'm listening to my threenager demand I make a bed of blankets on the floor because she is 'NOT TIRED' and the baby is perfecting her new skill of throwing objects, any and all across the room.. Now, let's get the day started!

This past Sunday was Father's Day and we had the chance to celebrate the three rockstar dads in our lives. My dad, my father in law and of course Aaron! 

We started our day letting Aaron catch 'a not so quiet' nap because he was up at 3 am to feed the cows {Charlotte was so happy about Father's Day that she stood two inches from his face screaming "dadda"} We then made French toast sticks that everyone said they wanted but then didn't eat, finally after getting our crew together we made it to church service- early! Winning! We popped in at the farm for lunch with Aaron's dad and once we were home and everyone was snoozing for the afternoon I was able to make my favorite summertime dessert for dinner that evening!

Here is the recipe that I adapted from Six Sisters blog! 

No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake
2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed
3 1/2 cups whipping cream, divided
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 sleeves graham crackers (I sometimes end up using less after I break a bunch)
4 ounces semi sweet baking chocolate, chopped

Directions:

-Hull the strawberries and slice into thin slices.

-In a mixer, whip 3 cups of cream (medium high speed) until it just holds stiff peaks.

-Add the confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. Whip to combine.

-Spread a small spoonful of the whipped mixture on the bottom of a 9×13 inch baking pan, or platter. 

-Lay down six graham crackers. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with a thin layer of whipped mixture, and then a single layer of strawberries. (Repeat three more times, until you have four layers of graham crackers.) 

-Spread the last of the whipped cream over the top and swirl it lightly with a spoon. (I use my favorite icing tool)

-Then add a few more strawberries to the top. 

Chocolate Ganache topping
-Heat the remaining cream on the stove 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 over cake and then refrigerate at least 4 hours before enjoying! 

Aaron hates dessert but he LOVES this (and my banana cream pie) Win win!

I hope everyone had a wonderful time celebrating the special men in your lives!

-Tiffany