Grandma’s Strawberry Crunch Cake

This is one of our traditional Christmas desserts, one that we’ve had every Christmas as long as I can remember. I even made sure to whip this up while we were in Boston, miles and miles away from our extended family back in Mississippi. It was comforting to share that little piece of home and helped me cope with missing them so very much during the holidays.

I post this here because I think I may be the last of my family to have this recipe. Someone had told me that my grandmother had lost it, and it would break my heart to lose this traditional family favorite.

It’s simple. And beautiful. This red and white delight is a lovely finishing touch to any holiday or spring table. I do hope you’ll try it when you can spare the calories.

INGREDIENTS

Crust:

2 sticks of butter, melted
2 cups of flour
2 cups pecans
2 Tbsp sugar
A pinch of salt if using AP flour, optional

FILLING:

2 packages cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
Box of Dream Whip (located near Jello in baking supplies aisle)
1 can strawberry filling

INSTRUCTIONS

For crust: Place butter into baking dish and melt in a 350-degree oven. Add flour, nuts, and sugar to melted butter, forming a dough. Press the dough into the pan to form a crust and bake in pre-heated oven until golden. Cool.

For filling: Cream together softened cream cheese and powdered sugar. Prepare box of Dream Whip per box instructions (see notes below). Fold Dream Whip into cream cheese mixture. Pour combined mixture into cooled crust and top with strawberries before refrigerating.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.