How better to celebrate the 4th of July than with my old-fashioned Red, White, and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake! This easy layered 4th of July dessert is filled with heavenly whipped cream, graham crackers, fresh sweet strawberries, and delightfully juicy blueberries.
With only seven ingredients, this 4th of July cake is a dream to make and just as dreamy to eat. Red, White, and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake is the perfect dish to take to a neighborhood barbecue or cookout, and your family and friends will think you worked for hours to make this festive and easy patriotic dessert.
Perfect for novice or beginner cooks, this berry icebox cake can be made ahead of the big day and doesn’t require any baking. It does take a little time to line up the strawberries and blueberries for the stars and stripes, but that’s the hardest part.
Ingredients – here is what you will need:
- Heavy whipping cream – is the main ingredient used in making whipped cream. Depending on the brand, you might also see it called heavy cream. Both products have a high-fat content and can be used interchangeably.
- Powdered sugar – adds sweetness to the dish, and because it is powered, it blends in beautifully without the graininess of granulated sugar.
- Vanilla extract – adds a fabulous taste to this easy 4th of July dessert and works with the salt to enhance and bring all of the flavors together.
- Kosher salt – enhances all of the ingredients and balances out the sweetness.
- Graham crackers – are an essential ingredient and form part of the layered cake. When layered with whipped cream and berries and stored in the refrigerator overnight, they are transformed into tasty bites of pure deliciousness.
- Strawberries – not only add their beautiful red color to this berry icebox cake, but they also serve as the stripes on the flag. In addition, strawberries add their wonderfully delicate sweetness to the mix.
- Blueberries – add a stunning dark dusky blue color to the cake and serve as the stars on the flag. They also add their fresh berry-licious flavor to the icebox cake.
Directions – here’s how to make it:
- Place a large mixing bowl and a stand mixer whisk or electric mixer beaters in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill.
- While the utensils are chilling, rinse the strawberries and blueberries, spread them out on paper towels, and let them dry. Remove the leaves and the core of the strawberries and slice them thinly. Set aside.
- Add the cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to the chilled bowl. Beat on low for three minutes, then switch to high speed. Beat for a few more minutes or until the cream is whipped and holds stiff peaks that stand straight up when the beaters are lifted. There should be no bend or curl at the top of the peak.
- Place a spoonful of the whipped cream in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and spread out evenly. This holds the graham crackers in place.
- Add a layer of graham crackers. You may have to break some crackers to cover the bottom evenly.
- Use an offset spatula to spread one-third of the whipped cream evenly over the graham crackers. Top this layer with all but about 50 of the blueberries.
- Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and another layer of whipped cream. Top this layer with sliced strawberries, but reserve some for the top of the cake.
- Add a final layer of graham crackers and the rest of the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream out evenly.
- In the upper left-hand corner, add five rows of blueberries with eight berries in each row to form the stars. Next, add five rows of sliced strawberries overlapping the slices to create the stripes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. To test if the cake is ready, insert a knife in the center. It should go in easily and should come out with soft crumbs. If the graham crackers are still crispy, it needs to sit longer before slicing.
- To serve, cut into squares and serve chilled.
Frequently asked questions:
If you are wondering why this is called an icebox cake, it’s because instead of cooking it in an oven, it is put in a refrigerator (icebox) to chill and for the ingredients to meld together. It’s also one of the easiest and quickest cakes you will ever make, with most containing layers of fruit, some crispy cookies or wafers, and whipped cream.
The original classic icebox cake contained nothing but sweetened whipped cream and Oreo cookies.
You can use any soft fruit you like as a filling, but I used blueberries and strawberries because I wanted this cake to be red, white, and blue for the 4th of July. You could also substitute blackberries for the blueberries and raspberries or cherries for the strawberries.
Yes, this is one of the reasons I like this recipe so much. You can make this refrigerator cake with graham crackers up to 24 hours before you plan to serve it.
Leftovers should be stored tightly covered in the refrigerator for the best results. They will last for up to three days. After that, the berries will start to weep, and the whipped cream will deflate.
I do not recommend freezing this cake; it will compromise the texture.
Icebox cakes are highly versatile. Instead of plain graham crackers, try using chocolate or cinnamon graham crackers. Other ideas include substituting Oreos, peanut butter or shortbread cookies, biscoff cookies, vanilla wafers, gingersnaps, or sugar cookies.
Instead of homemade whipped cream, you can use a purchased refrigerated whipped topping such as Cool Whip. Other filling ideas include chocolate or vanilla pudding or custard, adding cream cheese or sweetened condensed milk to the whipped topping, and flavorings such as lemon curd, strawberry, chocolate syrup, or peanut butter.
Regarding the fruit, feel free to leave it out and just have the dairy and cookies, or add your favorites, including bananas, apple or cherry pie filling, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi, sliced peaches, or even mango slices.
Sharon’s tips:
- For the best results, be sure your heavy cream and whipping utensils are chilled before making the whipped cream. If the cream is at room temperature, it will not whip properly.
- When making the whipped cream, once it starts to firm up, stop and pull the beaters up every 30 seconds or so to check the consistency. You want to stop at the stiff peak stage. If you stop too early, it will not hold its shape and will deflate quickly. If you continue whipping, however, it will eventually turn into butter.
- Be sure your fruit is dry before adding it to the cake.
- This recipe makes enough for twelve, three-by-four-inch servings as written, but it can be scaled up or down.
- Icebox cake should be served chilled and stored in the refrigerator.
- Instead of rinsing my fruit in a colander under running water, I like to use my salad spinner. I add the berries, fill the container up with water, swish them around a little, and then lift out the basket.
- Yes, I know the American flag has 50 stars and 13 stripes, this is just a dessert made to resemble the flag.
More easy 4th of July desserts:
Looking for more great 4th of July dessert recipes?
- Strawberry Trifle with Angel Food Cake
- Strawberry Pie
- Strawberry Margarita Ice Pops
- Frozen Lemonade Pie
Need more inspiration or menu ideas? Check out my roundup post, 38 Easy 4th of July Recipes and Menu Ideas, or you can find all of my 4th of July recipes here.
★★★★★ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and give it a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!
Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!
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Red, White, and Blue No-Bake Icebox Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 quart heavy cream
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
- 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 sleeves of graham crackers or about 24 graham crackers
- 2 pints blueberries
- 2 pounds strawberries
Instructions
- Place a large mixing bowl and a stand mixer whisk or electric mixer beaters in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to chill.
- While the utensils are chilling, rinse the strawberries and blueberries, spread them out on paper towels, and let them dry. Remove the leaves and the core of the strawberries and slice them thinly. Set aside.
- Add the cream, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to the chilled bowl. Beat on low for three minutes, then switch to high speed. Beat for a few more minutes or until the cream is whipped and holds stiff peaks that stand straight up when the beaters are lifted. There should be no bend or curl at the top of the peak.
- Place a spoonful of the whipped cream in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and spread out evenly. This holds the graham crackers in place.
- Add a layer of graham crackers. You may have to break some crackers to cover the bottom evenly.
- Place a spoonful of the whipped cream in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and spread out evenly. This holds the graham crackers in place.
- Add a layer of graham crackers. You may have to break some of the crackers to evenly cover the bottom.
- Use an offset spatula to spread one-third of the whipped cream evenly over the graham crackers. Top it with all but about 50 of the blueberries.
- Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and another layer of whipped cream. Top this layer with sliced strawberries, but reserve some for the top of the cake.
- Add a final layer of graham crackers and the rest of the whipped cream. Spread the whipped cream out evenly.
- In the upper left-hand corner, add five rows of blueberries with eight berries in each row to form the stars. Next, add five rows of sliced strawberries overlapping the slices to create the stripes.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. To test if the cake is ready, insert a knife in the center. It should go in easily and should come out with soft crumbs. If the graham crackers are still crispy, it needs to sit longer before slicing.
- To serve, cut into squares and serve chilled.
Notes
- For the best results, be sure your heavy cream and whipping utensils are chilled before making the whipped cream. If the cream is at room temperature, it will not whip properly.
- When making the whipped cream, once it starts to firm up, stop and pull the beaters up every 30 seconds or so to check the consistency. You want to stop at the stiff peak stage. If you stop too early, it will not hold its shape and will deflate quickly. If you continue whipping, however, it will eventually turn into butter.
- Be sure your fruit is dry before adding it to the cake.
- This recipe makes enough for twelve, three-by-four-inch servings as written, but it can be scaled up or down.
- Icebox cake should be served chilled and stored in the refrigerator.
- Instead of rinsing my fruit in a colander under running water, I like to use my salad spinner. I add the berries, fill the container up with water, swish them around a little, and then lift out the basket.
- Yes, I know the American flag has 50 stars and 13 stripes, this is just a dessert made to resemble the flag.
Grace
If I made this the night before a party, do you think it would be fine? I don’t want it to get too mushy.
Gritsandpinecones
Hi Grace, it is fine to make this cake the night before. I hope you enjoy it!
All my best,
Sharon
Grace
Thanks! I let the cake chill overnight and it turned out wonderful. 💖
Gritsandpinecones
Hey Grace,
So glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for letting me know!
All my best,
Sharon
Ashley @ Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen
I love fresh berries! This looks like a great way to celebrate the 4th!
Gritsandpinecones
Thanks Ashley! Hope you have a great 4th of July!
Lynn | The Road to Honey
This is such a fun, little cake for fourth of July festivities. I’ve been wanting to try my hand at making an ice box cake. Perhaps August will be the right time to do this as the temps will definitely be soaring and I won’t feel like turning the oven on.
Gritsandpinecones
Hi Lynn, It is a fun cake and oh so easy! Really any soft fruit would be perfect. Hope you are able to try it and enjoy it!