Banana Split Icebox Cake

I love to bake.  I enjoy bringing desserts to people's houses and making cupcakes for friends' birthdays.  My husband even had to make a rule that we could no longer take cakes to bars on the bus.  The one thing I don't like about baking is heating up the oven when we have the AC running.  It is such a waste of energy to cool and heat your house at the same time.  One summer I made cupcakes for my friend's birthday (who is also a contributor on this blog!) at three in the morning because it was too hot during the day to turn on the oven.  

Anyway, if you are like me and you like to bring desserts, but hate heating up your oven in the summer, consider making an icebox cake.  I'll admit, when I first bought an "icebox pie" I thought the bakery had made up that term but it turns out it truly is a thing.  

This banana split variety starts with a pan and some graham crackers. 

 Beat the cream cheese until smooth, mix in 1 cup of the vanilla pudding and fold in the whipped topping.  

Spread one third of the mixture on the graham crackers.

Add a layer of sliced bananas and strawberries and 

top with half the remaining pudding.

Repeat the graham cracker, whipped topping mixture, fruit and pudding layers.

Then add your last layer of graham crackers and the rest of the whipped topping mixture.  

Add sliced maraschino cherries, caramel, fudge and walnuts.

This was a big hit and I have to admit that I liked it more than I thought I would.  The graham crackers softened in the fridge and the "cake" pieces held together very well.  It tasted almost exactly like a banana split.  

What should you buy at Aldi?

In order to make a Banana Split Icebox Cake you'll need:

Ingredientes

1 box vanilla pudding mix

3 cups Friendly Farms milk

8 oz Happy Farms cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup Baker's Corner powdered sugar

8 oz Fit and Active Whipped Topping 

1box Benton's graham crackers

1 lb strawberries, washed and sliced

2 Del Monte bananas

1jar Bakers Corner maraschino cherries

chocolate sauce

caramel sauce

handful of chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Make the pudding according to package directions.

2. Beat together cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth.

3. Add 1/2 a cup of pudding to cream cheese mixture and mix until incorporated.

4. Fold in 2/3 of the whipped topping to cream cheese mixture.

5. Place a single layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x9 pan. 

6. Top graham crackers with half of the cream cheese mixture and spread evenly.

7. Top cream cheese mixture with a layer of thinly sliced strawberries and bananas.

8. Top strawberries with 1/2 of the pudding. 

9. Add another layer of graham crackers.

10. Top with the other half of the cream cheese mixture and spread into an even layer.

11. Add remaining pudding and spread into an even layer.

12. Add another layer of graham crackers.

14. Top with remaining 1/3 of whipped topping and spread evenly.

15. Top with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce and walnuts.

16. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours or until ready to serve.

Recipe adapted from here.