Strawberry Icebox Cake

I still have more crazy Krispy Kreme recipes coming up and planned on posting them back to back but with the heatwave we are having I thought this recipe would be perfect. Right now in Virginia we are having temperatures in the low to mid 90's but by Thursday the temperature is expected to soar to 101 degrees. It's expected to remain that high through the weekend. See why I thought this would be a great dessert to post right now? I'm not complaining at all though. I just wish I felt better right now. I have a "wonderful" summer cold/flu and I'm just dragging. I had plans to spend time with my daughter in law and granddaughter but of course whenever one plans something there's always a good chance of it not working out! Especially if you've already taken days off work in advance. What do they say about the best laid plans???

Getting back to the recipe - I found this in the latest issue (August) of Womans Day. This really hits the spot. It has some healthy ingredients and then some just plain delicious ones. I don't know what I did wrong but the cake is supposed to have the wafers looking like stripes. This old brain just couldn't figure out (even with directions) how to do this so my wafers look like wafers and not stripes. Oh well, the taste is the same. I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this is. I can't wait to have another slice of this later on tonight. (Yes, I still eat even when I'm sick.....if I don't eat then I know there is a really BIG problem!). Please, please make this if you don't want to heat up the kitchen this time of year. I promise you will not be disappointed. It is THAT good!

1 lb strawberries, hulled

1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 oz envelope unflavored gelatin (from a 1 oz box)
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 cup fat free Greek yogurt
27 chocolate wafer cookies (such as Famous Chocolate Wafers)

Line the bottom of an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 in loaf pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides. In a food processor, pulse the strawberries, sugar and vanilla until smooth.

Transfer 1/4 cup of strawberry mixture to a small saucepan, sprinkle the gelatin over the top and let stand for 1 minute. Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the gelatin dissolves, about 2 minutes. Transfer the gelatin mixture to the food processor and pulse to combine.

Using an electric mixer, beat the heavy cream and yogurt in a large bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold the strawberry mixture into the yogurt-cream mixture until fully incorporated.

Arrange 3 cookies, spacing them evenly, on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place 3 cookies standing up against each long side of the pan. Using 2 cookies on opposite sides as your guide, place 6 cookies standing up in the mixture between them, creating a row of 8 cookies. Repeat with the rest of the cookies. (You should have 3 total rows of 8 cookies each).


Cover and freeze for at least 8 hours or up to 2 days.

When ready to serve, invert the cake onto a cutting board and remove pan and parchment. Cut crosswise into slices.

(I just realized there is an instructional video for this cake at www.womansday.com/icebox. This should help any confusion - I should have watched this first!).