Cherry-Topped Ice Box Cake

Hmmmm . . .  not so much left of this dessert. And what is left looks like it got dropped on the floor or something. Oh wait, it did get dropped on the floor. There is a reason it looks like that. Okay, maybe I should back up for just a second.

We had a dessert social at work to celebrate our lovely and talented school nurse. She won school nurse this year for our entire state so a little celebration was in order. I decided to make cherry topped ice box cake, a light, refreshing, fruity dessert perfect for a get together. I think this was one of the only two desserts that were brought that weren't chocolate. That just tells you how stressed out everyone is, right. Out of probably 10 desserts, only two weren't chocolate!

Anyway, as the dessert sits in the fridge it gets yummier and yummier. The crackers get softened by the pudding mixture and when the crackers lose their crunch they also lose the ability to be served up without completely breaking apart. I was so excited to see that at the end of the day there was a still a corner of the dessert left. I thought, "Great, I'll grab the pan, stick it back in the fridge, take it home for my two guys and snap a picture of it for this post. A win-win situation." As I was putting it in the fridge I set it on the edge of the tray for a second to get a better grip on something and before I even knew what happened it was on the floor upside down. Thank goodness it had a lid on the pan because otherwise all would have been lost. As it was, I brought home the above very tasty mess!

I will try to make this dessert again because I am sure it is copyright infringement to post this picture from the cookbook on my blog. I will post it for a bit until I can get another picture. And I guarantee you that the fact that their cake is in perfect form it was either photoshopped or they they took the picture when the crackers were still super crisp. Either way, enjoy!

Cherry-Topped Ice Box Cake
20 whole graham crackers
2 cups cold milk
1 package (6 serving size) instant pudding (vanilla or chocolate)
1 3/4 cups thawed whipped topping
2 cans (21 ounces) cherry pie filling

Line a 13x9 inch pan with some of the graham crackers, breaking crackers if necessary. Pour cold milk into bowl. Add pudding mix. With electric mixer at low speed, beat until well blended, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then blend in whipped topping. Spread half of the pudding mixture over the crackers. Add another layer of crackers. Top with remaining pudding mixture and remaining crackers. Spread cherry pie filling over crackers. Chill about 3 hours.

Makes 12 servings