How’s that for a name?!! This icebox cake is SO SIMPLE and crazy tasty. It takes 30 minutes to put together and you’re done! Serve this at any cookout, shower (bridal/baby/etc), party or dinner party. Your guests will love it!
I was thinking about presentation with this dessert too. Have you seen many icebox cakes dressed up? I usually see them in casserole dishes with maybe a few toppings. I thought, why has nobody ever used a pretty bowl?? Dress it up! Use a nice bowl and decorate the top. It’ll quickly go from something you pull out last minute to something you’ll want to display! Skip trying to pipe Cool Whip and load the top with fresh fruit and extra Nilla Wafers. Go even further by adding fresh flowers (see my note at the bottom about the food-safe way to decorate with fresh flowers). It’ll look beautiful and you’ll make your guests very happy. Have fun with this, layer away and enjoy!!
Pro tip: Buy the 16 ounce container of Cool Whip. If you run out of pudding at the top, you’ll be glad you have it!
This recipe takes 30 minutes to assemble. It can be served right away but is better after about an hour. See specific information about chilling times in direction #6.
Serves 10
Ingredients:
2 boxes vanilla instant pudding powder (3.4 ounce size)
2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
8 ounces Cool Whip
1 box Nilla Wafers (11 ounces)
1 pint blueberries
16 ounces strawberries
6 ounces raspberries
Other fruit and berries per personal preference
Bowl about 9 inches in diameter, 3 ½ inches deep
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, add the instant pudding powder, whole milk and vanilla extract. Whisk for 2 minutes then let stand for an additional 3 minutes.
2. Fold Cool Whip into the instant pudding. Careful not to overdo it, you want those air bubbles for lightness!
3. Reserve a few Nilla Wafers and some fruit for garnish. Cut the stems off the strawberries and with the cut side down, cut them in half then half again, creating 4 long slices (see picture).
4. In your serving bowl, layer the icebox cake in the following order:
Note that measuring the pudding is important so that you don’t run out at the top! Each bowl will be different, so add more pudding in the bottom layers if you need to, just remember that you’ll need to top the cake off with a layer of Cool Whip.
– ½ cup of pudding
– Single layer of Nilla Wafers
– 1 cup of pudding
– Single layer of fruit
– Single layer of Nilla Wafers
– 1 ½ cups of pudding
– Single layer of fruit
– Single layer of Nilla Wafers
– 1 ½ cups (or the rest) of the pudding
5. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
6. The Nilla wafers will soften as time goes on, which is supposed to happen! This recipe is tasty whether the wafers still have crunch or are soft. Here are a few notes on timing so that you get the exact texture you want:
– At 2 hours, the wafers will still have a definite crunch.
– At 4 hours, the wafers will still have some crunch.
– Past about 4-6 hours the wafers will completely soften.
– After 24 hours, the wafers will start to get a little soggy as the fruit naturally releases their juice.
7. Decorate the same day you plan to serve the cake. Use extra Nilla Wafers and fruit to decorate the top! Flowers add a really pretty touch but please see my note below before adding them to the cake. Store in the refrigerator.
It’s important to note that decorating with fresh flowers can be tricky! Buy the most quality flowers you can find. Some flowers have excess pesticides sprayed on them and you can always ask your floral department about the specific ones you want to use. That said, the most important thing is to prep them appropriately! Never put a cut stem directly into food, unless it’s specifically an edible flower. Wrap the cut stems with waxed floral tape, making sure the end is sealed. Better yet, if you happen to have fondant or a cotton ball, cover the end with that, then wrap with floral tape. If this worries you, decorate with faux flowers or nix the flowers all together!