Strawberry Icebox Cake

I don't think there's ever been a better combination invented than strawberries and chocolate. Whoever first combined sweet berries with the goodness of chocolate surely deserves to be memorialized forever. Since my mother is a major chocoholic, making a dessert for Mother's Day that contains chocolate is usually a must. After browsing the internet for days, I stumbled on a picture of Strawberry Icebox Cake and knew immediately that it fit the bill. To top it all off, it's a no bake, chilled dessert, which is perfect for us since we're already feeling the hot weather that summer will bring. Not only that, it's a really easy, but still very pretty dish. Best of all, my mother and grandmother loved this dessert and both have already asked me to make it again.

Ingredients
2 lbs fresh strawberries, washed
2 cups of heavy cream
1/4 c powdered sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 sleeves of graham crackers
2 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1) Reserve three or four of the best looking strawberries for garnishing the cake. Cut the tops off the rest of the strawberries and slice them.

2) Using a mixer beat about 1 3/4 cups of heavy cream (set aside the rest) until it almost holds a stiff peak. Then, mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract until they're well combined.

3) Spread a thin layer of whipped cream in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

4) Then, top that with a layer of graham crackers. I did two rows of three graham crackers and then broke off a little extra of another to fill in the side of the pan. Cover the graham crackers with another thin layer of whipped cream, and place a layer of sliced strawberries on top of that.

The first layer of graham crackers.

5) Repeat step 4 twice until you have three layers of graham crackers in all.

Just before starting the third layer. 

6) Chop the chocolate in to small pieces. Then, heat the reserved heavy cream (about 1/4 cup) until it just begins to bubble around the edges. In a small bowl, add the cream to the chopped chocolate and let it set for a couple of minutes. Then, stir the mixture together until the chocolate ganache becomes thicker and looks glossy.

7) Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate over the dessert. Garnish with the reserved strawberries, and place the dessert in the refrigerator for at least four hours to allow the graham crackers to soften.

Enjoy!