This strawberry cake doesn’t require any baking or cooking. It is easy to make and only requires 3 ingredients to make it. The cake can be made ahead of time for an impressive dessert to share with others.
A slice of strawberry cake on a small white plate

This strawberry icebox cake is the perfect quick and easy strawberry-themed dessert to make. All you need to do is assemble the 3 ingredients into layers, let it rest for a few hours, and you have a soft layered cake that doesn’t require any baking or cooking.

Ingredients

  • Strawberries
  • Cool Whip or Whipped Cream
  • Ladyfingers

Strawberries: Fresh slices of strawberries are layered into the cake to give the cake its strawberry flavor. If you want even more strawberry flavor, you can add a little strawberry puree into the cream or fold in crumbles of freeze dried strawberries into the cream.

Cool Whip or Whipped Cream: If you want to make this cake even quicker, you can use Cool Whip for the cream layers in the cake. If you don’t have Cool Whip or prefer homemade whipped cream, you can make homemade whipped cream easily by mixing heavy cream with a little sugar.

Ladyfingers: Ladyfingers are the key to the cake having soft and fluffy layers that look like a cake you baked. A lot of icebox cakes are made with biscuit cookies or graham crackers but I prefer ladyfingers. The ladyfingers will get soft as they soak in the moisture from the cream and develop a texture similar to a sponge cake.
Strawberry Cake with fresh strawberry slices on top

How to Make No Bake Strawberry Cake

  • A thin layer of cream is first added to the bottom of your prepared baking pan. This will help the ladyfingers stay in place. Then add a layer of ladyfingers, followed by a thicker layer of cream and a layer of strawberries. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, cream and strawberries. Add one more layer of ladyfingers so you have 3 layers total. Add another layer of cream on top. Place into the fridge to set for several hours or overnight.The steps to make a strawberry cake
  • When cake is ready, add some more cream on top for decoration and garnish with strawberries if desired.

Strawberry Cake with whipped cream and fresh strawberries on top

Expert Tips

  • This cake needs several hours to allow the cake layers to soften. I recommend making it the night before.
  • You can make the cake layers with biscuit cookies or graham crackers as well, but if you want soft, thick cake layers, then I recommend using ladyfingers.
  • The cake recipe can be doubled and assembled in a 9 inch by 13 inch pan if you need it to feed a larger crowd.

A slice of strawberry cake with a fork

More No Bake Cake Recipes

5 from 3 votes

3 Ingredient No Bake Strawberry Cake

This layered strawberry cake doesn't require any cooking or baking. It's an easy, stress-free dessert to make. You only need 3 ingredients to make it.
Servings: 16 slices
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
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Ingredients

  • 6 cups (426 g) Cool Whip or Homemade Whipped Cream, see notes section for homemade whipped cream recipe
  • 4 cups (480 g) sliced strawberries, ¼ inch thick
  • 42 ladyfingers

Instructions
 

  • Please note this cake needs to be made ahead of time, so I recommend making it the night before you plan on serving it. Line a 9 x 9 inch square pan with parchment paper. Make the sides of the parchment paper a little higher than the pan so that when the cake is done, you can easily lift the cake out.
  • Spread a thin layer of cream across the bottom of the lined pan. This will help the ladyfingers stay in place and also will help soften them. Line the bottom with ladyfingers. You want to make sure the cookies are touching side by side. You can cut some ladyfingers, if needed, to get them to fit, so that the entire bottom of the pan is covered in a layer of ladyfingers. I was able to get 14 to fit across the bottom and did not need to cut them.
  • Add about 2 cups of cream on top of the cookies, spreading it evenly across. I like using an offset spatula to help me spread it evenly across but a regular spatula should also work. Add a layer of strawberries on top of the cream. Line the strawberries in a way that prevents too many gaps. My method was to add them in opposite directions (i.e., the first strawberry has pointy side facing up, the strawberry next to it has the pointy side facing down, see photo in post for reference). I used about 2 cups of sliced strawberries per layer. Add another layer of ladyfingers, followed by another layer of cream and another layer of strawberries. Add one more layer of ladyfingers; you should have 3 layers of ladyfingers. Make sure each layer of ladyfingers have the cookies facing the same direction as the previous layer so that all the layers of cookies line up. This will help ensure a uniform cake layer when cut.
  • Top the last layer of ladyfingers with a thin layer of cream (about 1 to 1 ½ cups). You want enough to cover the ladyfingers so that they will soften but you want to save some cream to add right before serving. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate the cake for a few hours (ideally overnight) to allow the cookies to soften. Save any remaining cream for the frosting.
  • When cake is ready, remove plastic wrap. Remove cake from the pan. Add remaining cream for the frosting. You can add more cream if you desire a thicker layer of frosting on top. If desired, garnish with more strawberries. Slice and serve chilled. Store any uneaten cake in the fridge.

Notes

  • Homemade Whipped Cream
    • 4 cups (2 pints) heavy cream
    • 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp granulated white sugar
    • Add the heavy cream and sugar to a large mixing bowl (I used a stand mixer). Using the wire whisk attachment, beat heavy cream at high speed until stiff peaks form.
  • You will need a little more than 1 lb of strawberries to get 2 cups of sliced strawberries.
  • You can replace the ladyfingers with other cookies like biscuit cookies or graham crackers. I like using ladyfingers because they become cake-like when they soften. I used Balocco Savoiardi Ladyfingers.*
  • *This product link is an affiliate link. This means I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 163kcal, Carbohydrates: 28g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 23mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g, NET CARBS: 27
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. This is not a comprehensive list of all the nutrients in the recipe (i.e., does not include vitamins, cholesterol, etc). I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
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