Heavenly Strawberry Icebox Cake

Strawberries are one of my favorite summer treats!  I love just about anything strawberry (as I'm sure you could tell from my crazy strawberry dessert recipe).  About a month ago I was browsing through thekitchn when I stumbled upon this icebox recipe.  It looked so good and so I tucked it away in my mind for another time.  Well that time came on Saturday and boy am I glad that it did!

I had the original recipe in the back of my mind, but as I started to "bake" I just went with my gut instinct.  As I've mentioned before, I like to read a recipe and then improvise from there.  

First thing is first, whip cream (you should always start with whip cream)!  It is made with heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  First whip the cream until peaks appear, then add the powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to mix as you typically would when making whip cream.  Then start to layer!  First you place a foundation of whip cream in the bottom of your dish.

Then cover the whip cream with one layer of gram crackers.  Apply another layer of whip cream over the gram crackers.

Thinly slice hauled strawberries, arrange them on the whip cream, and cover with whip cream.

Repeat this step 2 or 3 times.  Once the desired amount of layers have been applied, leave an exposed layer of strawberries on top.  

Make a dark chocolate ganache with about 3 oz of finely chopped dark chocolate and 1/4 cup heated heavy whipping cream.  Combine the two and whisk together until a rich chocolate sauce forms. 

Pour the ganache over the top layer.  Place in the fridge for a few hours.

Invite some friends over for dinner, serve and enjoy (after you eat an amazing Italian meal)!

Simply Heavenly!