Mixed berry icebox cake is light and airy, bursting with fresh blueberries and strawberries perfect for summertime potlucks and cookouts. It also doubles as a pretty patriotic dessert with its red, white, and blue colors!
6.8ouncesinstant vanilla pudding mixor 2 boxes of 3.4 oz instant pudding mix
3cupswhole milk
16ouncesCool Whipthawed
14.4ouncesgraham crackers1 box, broken in half
2poundsfresh strawberriesrinsed and divided
4cupsfresh blueberries
Instructions
Beat cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.
Add pudding mix, vanilla extract, and milk. Continue beating until fully combined.
Fold in 16 oz. tub of Cool Whip. Beat with a mixer until it begins to thicken.
Spoon about 1⁄2 cup of the pudding mixture over the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish and spread.
Place a single layer of graham crackers into the dish.
Spread a thin layer of the pudding mixture (about 1⁄5 of the mixture) over the graham crackers.
Cut stems from all of the strawberries. Slice about half of the strawberries into thin slices. Set aside the remaining whole strawberries.
Top pudding layer with sliced strawberries and about 1⁄3 of the whole blueberries.
Add another layer of graham crackers, then another pudding layer, and another fresh berry layer.
Add a third and final layer of graham crackers and the remaining pudding mixture.
To top the icebox cake, slice the remaining strawberries in half and place the halves over the top of the icebox cake. Sprinkle the remaining blueberries over the cake.
Place in the freezer for at least 4 hours to set up, or in the refrigerator for 6-8 hours.
Remove from the freezer 15-20 minutes before serving.
Notes
Store, covered with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days or in the freezer for up to seven days.
The amount of berries will vary depending on their size and the thickness you slice them. You do not have to use strawberry halves on the top of your icebox cake. You can simply slice all the strawberries into slices and top the icebox cake with those instead.
The strawberries on this icebox cake will freeze more solidly than some of our other icebox cakes (e.g., lemon blueberry icebox cake). You may wish to store the icebox cake in the refrigerator so that it doesn’t take as long for the berries to thaw before serving.
We like whole milk for a rich and creamy icebox cake, but you can use a reduced fat milk instead. Reduce the quantitiy of milk to 2 1⁄2 cups. Beat the milk in slowly, just a little at a time to ensure that you end up with a smooth pudding filling. The mixture will be very thick after combining the cream cheese, pudding powder, and vanilla. Pour just a couple tablespoons of milk into the mixture and beat well before adding another splash of milk. Proceed in this way until the mixture is smooth and loosened up enough to add the milk and form a nice smooth pudding.