FRESH STRAWBERRY YUM YUM
FRESH STRAWBERRY YUM YUM
MAY 18, 2020
Love spring and summer's fresh strawberries? They're even better enjoyed in this dreamy, creamy Fresh Strawberry Yum Yum! A layer of fresh berries sandwiched between two thick fluffy layers of deliciousness makes for one very tasty dessert, indeed. As an added bonus, this Southern classic dessert is no-bake, too.
There's not much I love more than fresh spring strawberries, picked straight from the field.
We're fortunate to live within a couple miles of three strawberry farms, and I just can't wait each year until they open with their beautiful, bountiful crop of newly-ripe juicy berries. We're always there on opening day or shortly after to grab a flat or two. -- And we gobble most of them up just as they are, with just a quick rinse and not even bothering to cut off their little leaf caps.
Though I do try to save some of the juicy beauties from our gobbling so there's enough to make a wonderfully delicious fresh strawberry treat --
Place about 5 or 6 cups of sliced strawberries in a saucepan. Sprinkle the berries with dry strawberry Jell-o powder and stir the mixture gently to evenly coat the berries.
Sugar-free strawberry Jell-o works just fine, too, if you'd prefer that over the regular.
Then heat the coated berries over medium-low heat just until the Jell-o powder is dissolved. Remove the berry filling from the heat and set it aside to cool while you prepare the Yum Yum crust and creamy-layers mixture.
Once the strawberry filling is prepared and cooling, make the Yum Yum's graham cracker crust.
Combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl and blend them together with a fork until the crumbs are moistened.
Set aside 3 tablespoons of crumbs to sprinkle on the top of the finished dessert. Press the rest of the crumb mixture into the bottom of a 9x13-inch pan that's been coated with non-stick cooking spray.
Then mix together the Yum Yum's characteristic creamy-layers mixture.
Cream together softened cream cheese, some confectioners' sugar, and a little vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth. Then in a separate bowl, whip up some homemade whipped cream.
Mix together the whipped cream and cream cheese mixture until it's all well combined.
Top the strawberry layer with the remaining cream cheese/whipped cream mixture. Gently spread it evenly over the strawberry layer, covering it completely.
Sprinkle the top with the 3 tablespoons reserved graham cracker crumbs. Then cover and refrigerate the finished Yum Yum for several hours or overnight before serving.