You need only a few ingredients to make this fun, retro strawberry delight dessert.
Remember when recipe names were mysterious? The cooks of decades past had fun whipping up dishes like lemon icebox pie, bean surprise and tuna wiggle! Now we have recipes like glazed strawberry cookies with titles that certainly make sense but leave nothing to the imagination. I decided to go in search of a “mysterious” recipe to put to the test.
Looking through a vintage cookbook, the recipe name that caught my eye sounded delicious, though vague: strawberry delight.
What is strawberry delight?
It turns out there are many vintage recipes out there for strawberry delight. Though most are creamy and delightful, no two are exactly alike. Possible ingredients for a strawberry delight recipe include instant pudding, gelatin, sweetened condensed milk, nuts, fruit cocktail and more.
I decided to create my own recipe for strawberry delight. It is sweet but not too sweet, has a lovely fluffy texture and boasts a beautiful pink color. A graham cracker base provides a crunch beneath all that creamy filling. And, of course, it has lots of strawberry-pineapple flavor.
Ingredients for Strawberry Delight
Graham crackers: You’ll need 18 whole graham crackers to make the graham cracker crust.
Butter: We mix one stick melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs to form the mixture that will become the yummy, crunchy graham cracker crust.
Crushed pineapple: Pour the crushed pineapple into a mesh strainer to strain off the excess juice.
Strawberry pie filling: Grocery stores normally carry pie fillings in the baking aisle. My go-to brand is Lucky Leaf.
Frozen strawberries: Thaw your strawberries and give them a good chop before mixing them into the no-bake strawberry delight.
Mini marshmallows: If you can’t find mini marshmallows, purchase regular sized ones, chop them up and measure out 4 cups.
Frozen whipped topping: Buy a frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip) and thaw it so it mixes better with the other ingredients.
Directions
Step 1: Make the crust
Blitz the graham crackers in a food processor to grind them into crumbs. With the machine running, pour the melted butter through the chute until the graham cracker crumbs have the consistency of wet sand.
Spoon the buttery crumb mixture into the bottom of a 13×9-inch baking dish. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumbs into an even layer on the bottom of the dish. Chill the crust in the fridge until it’s set, about 15 minutes.
Step 2: Blend the fruit and marshmallows
Place the pineapple, strawberry pie filling and strawberries into a large mixing bowl and stir them together. Pour in the mini marshmallows and stir until they’re completely coated in fruit.
Step 3: Fold in the whipped topping
Spoon the thawed whipped topping into the bowl, and use a spoon or rubber spatula to gently fold the whipped topping into the fruit until everything’s combined and looks nice and pink.
Editor’s Tip: See our guide on how to fold ingredients if you need a tutorial.
Step 4: Spoon the filling into the pan
Scoop the filling over the chilled graham cracker crust and gently smooth it to evenly cover the crust. Cover the pan tightly with storage wrap and chill the dessert in the fridge until it’s set, about one hour. If desired, top with additional whipped topping and halved fresh strawberries.
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