Yummy, creamy, fruity, crunchy frozen dessert!
Here I am, back at home in Minnesota, where the beach is no longer in sight. Vacation was wonderful! The house we rented looked directly out onto the ocean. I got better sleep than I have in months and I was in the very best company. It was a lovely and very much-needed trip.
But I am always happy to come home, thanks to the wonderful little family that I have been blessed with. I got home after 1am, yet jumped eagerly out of bed at 7am to hug my monkeys. And now I have to start switching modes. Tomorrow Elijah will be having his 8th heart cath at Children’s Hospital. So long vacation, and hello hospital.
Can I share one of my favorite photos from my trip? These are the beautiful, fun ladies I spent the majority of my time with.
This frozen dessert seemed like the perfect one to share since it screams warm weather. Although, the weather wasn’t exactly warm the entire time we were in California. That’s ok. The ocean made up for it.
How To Make Frozen Strawberries and Cream
(Recipe adapted from: she wears many hats)
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Coat an 8×8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
In a food processor, combine:
1/4 cup pecans, toasted
4 whole graham crackers, broken into pieces
Process until finely ground.
Add the crumbs to a large bowl, along with:
10 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
Mix well. Spread the crumbs evenly on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring once half way.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine:
- Egg whites
- Sugar
Using a hand-held mixer, mix on medium speed for 3 minutes.
Add:
- Heavy whipping cream
Mix on medium speed for an additional 6 minutes.
Add:
- Lemon Juice
- Cream cheese
Mix on low speed until creamy.
Coarsely chop 2 cups of hulled strawberries.
Gently fold the strawberries into the cream mixture.
Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
Top with the strawberry-cream mixture.
Top with the remaining crumbs.
Cover with foil and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours before serving.
I made another pan of this, substituting the strawberries for blueberries. Both were fresh and totally yummy!
Related Recipes
Frozen Strawberries and Cream Dessert
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup pecans toasted
- 4 whole graham crackers broken into pieces
- 10 tbsp. butter melted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- 2 cups strawberries hulled and chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Coat an 8×8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. In a food processor, combine the pecans and graham cracker pieces. Process until finely ground. Add the crumbs to a large bowl, along with the butter, flour and brown sugar. Mix well. Spread the crumbs evenly on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, stirring once half way.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine egg whites and sugar. Using a hand-held mixer, mix on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add whipping cream and mix on medium speed for an additional 6 minutes. Add lemon juice and cream cheese and mix on low speed until creamy. Gently fold in strawberries with a spoon.
- Press half of the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Top with strawberry-cream mixture, followed by the remaining crumbs. Cover with foil and freeze for a minimum of 3 hours before serving.
Hi Diane! I would be very interested to hear how yogurt turned out in this dessert. What a great idea! I think it would be great!
Megan
Hi! Can't wait to try this… Will it make much of a difference if I substitute the cream cheese with yogurt?
Your recipes and photographs are amazing. Right up there with my other favorite food blogger, Pioneer woman. From one fellow foodie to another…well done!
These do look & sound fabulous! But just an aside to Brandy, if you are concerned about using raw egg whites, egg beaters are raw egg whites as well.
To make a clean slice into the frozen dessert, use a knife with a blade that has been heated, perhaps in hot water.
Hi Evalani! Try cutting these into squares when they are still mostly frozen. Obviously it is tougher to slice through the more frozen they are, but you will be able to keep their shapes better this way. Hoping for better success for you next time! I'm glad you loved the flavor!
Megan
I made these last weekend and it was a HIT! Only thing was, was that I had to serve it in a giant bowl as a cobbler type dessert (where people scoop there serving out). That was bc I had extreme difficulty cutting them into perfect squares while they were semi frozen. If it was frozen it was too hard to cut and if I let it thaw out a bit it turned mushy.
Any ideas to get them to cut nice and square? Other than that, the taste was soooooo DELICIOUS!!:)
Hi Katie and Ranelle! I don't know that I would freeze this an entire week before serving it. A couple days would be just fine. Let me know how it turns out!
Megan
How long can this be in the freezer? I want to make this sunday for the 4th of july on Wednesday.
Great recipe!
I used vanilla yogurt instead of the cream cheese and loved it
Hello – Can you freeze these a week in advance?
Thank you Megan! Im making it tonight and hope it turns out well…it looks amazing:)
Hi Evalani! This recipe makes 9-12 servings, depending on how big you cut your squares. Enjoy!
Megan
about how many people does this serve? im making it for a potluck and want to have enough. should i just double the recipe?
It IS very good with egg replacer!! My friends were all over it! Thanks again f or the recipe!!
Thank you for this recipe! I have it in the freezer right now. 🙂 I can't wait to dig in! I did use a commercial egg replacer, and it looks like it should so far! I'll let you all know how it turns out!
http://www.vitacost.com/orgran-gluten-free-no-egg-natural-egg-replacer?csrc=GPF-PA-720516010552&ci_sku=720516010552&ci_gpa=pla&ci_kw={keyword}
It would be good with a pretzel crust too if you can't find graham crackers. My mom makes a strawberry pretzel salad that is similar in components to this recipe and it's delicious!
Hi all, in europe we call graham crackers, digestive cookies. Hope the info helps ..,,
Hi Robin! It's doable to slice it right out of the freezer. I wouldn't let it sit too long before serving.
Megan
This sounds so good…do you just take it directly out of the freezer, slice and serve frozen? Is it frozen rock hard or easy to slice frozen?
Thank you!