Table of Contents
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What is a Carlota?
A Carlota is a dessert layered with cookies and covered in a creamy sauce. It is placed in the refrigerator for several hours for the cookies to absorb the sauce. There is no baking required.
This is a classic Carlota de Limón with strawberries. Do you like strawberry lemonade? That’s kind of what Carlota de Fresa tastes like.
Think creamy strawberry lemonade with vanilla cookies… Yes please! An icebox cake dessert that’s so easy to make, you’ll love every bite.
- Wash and slice the strawberries.
- Set them aside until ready to assemble the dessert.
Carlota de Fresa is uses fresh strawberries like in Fresas con Crema or Raspados Mexicanos.
Look for strawberries that are red and without white spots or still green. Taste them for sweetness.
Popular Mexican Desserts
How to make the cream sauce:
- To a blender, add evaporated milk.
- Add sweetened condensed milk.
- Add lime juice.
Some people do not like the lime flavor.
Swap out options (without lime juice):
- Omit the lime juice. Dissolve strawberry gelatine in water and blend with the milks.
- Or, omit the lime juice. Blend half the strawberries with the milks and mix with 2 cups whipped cream.
Carlotas are desserts that always use Galletas Marias. They are a classic in Mexican food.
If you can’t find them, you can always buy Galletas Maria online.
Or, you can use vanilla wafers.
Maria Cookies (or Galletas Maria) are thin, round, and only mildly sweet. They are like vanilla wafers or graham crackers but without the cinnamon flavor. This cookie is favorite in Mexico.
How to assemble this dessert
- Add a layer of the cream sauce to the bottom of the plate so the cookies won’t move.
- Add a layer of cookies.
- Add a layer of strawberries.
- Add another layer of the cream sauce. Repeat layering.
Continue layering in this pattern. Depending on the serving plate, you might not have as many layers to add.
There’s something about trifles that I love. You can buy a trifle bowl online or a Pryex dish with a lid that works great if you’re taking this dessert to a potluck or picnic.
- For a visual effect, you can add sliced strawberries on the side of the trifle.
Even if you’re not using a trifle, you can also add strawberries to the side of a glass plate to make it look pretty.
Be sure to save some strawberries for decorating the top of the icebox cake.
What does icebox cake mean?
An icebox cake is a dessert made of cream, wafers, fruit, and sometimes nuts, then set in the refrigerator. No baking is required.
- Continue layering with the cream sauce, strawberries, and Galletas Marias.
- Repeat until there you run out of ingredients, or there is no more room.
- Place in the fridge for 24 hours.
For the trifle dish, 1 ½ sleeves of the Galletas Maria were used. They will soak up all the creamy lime sauce and taste amazing.
How long does an icebox cake need to be refrigerated?
It is best to chill overnight, or at least 6 hours. The cake can be stored in the fridge for up to 2-3 days.
More Mexican Desserts
Carlota de Fresa is a rich and creamy Mexican dessert. Light, fruity, and absolutely delicious. Add a few sliced strawberries on top for decoration. You will you beg for seconds.
Carlota de Fresa
Ingredients
- 1 can evaporated milk
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- Juice of 10 key limes (or 5 regular limes)
- 2 16-ounce packages strawberries sliced
- 1 ½ to 2 sleeves Galletas Maria
Instructions
- In a large blender, add the evaporated milk, condensed milk, and lime juice.
- Blend until smooth.
- Set aside until ready to use.
- NOTE: If you are not going to use the cream sauce right away, store it in the fridge.
- Slice strawberries.
- Add a thin layer of cream sauce to a baking dish.
- Add a layer of strawberries on top of the cream sauce.
- Add a layer of Galletas Maria on top of the strawberries.
- Repeat this pattern until there are no more ingredients.
- Chill for 24 hours, or a minimum of 6 hours.
- Serve and enjoy.
Video
Notes
- Dissolve strawberry gelatine in water and blend with the milk. Omit the lime juice.
- OR, blend half of the strawberries with the milks and mix with 2 cups whipped cream. Omit the lime juice.
Nutrition
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Maggie Unzueta is the writer/blogger, photographer, recipe developer, videographer, and creator of In Mama Maggie's Kitchen. She has been developing easy and authentic Mexican food, Mexican-inspired recipes, and traveling tips since 2010. From family recipes to her extensive travels throughout Mexico, she brings traditional Mexican flavors from South of the Border and into your kitchen. Maggie has been featured in notable culinary websites and other media outlets. For more details, check out her About page.
This is a great dessert for summer plus I live in California. We have local strawberry farm everywhere so this is perfect.
Delicious! Glad you enjoyed it!
Oh wow this looks absolutely delicious! I would really love to make this for this weekend!
Yes! Please do. It’s a delicious and refreshing recipe.
Yum, Yum, YUMMY! I am not a baker – so I immediately perked up when I read No-Bake. This looks delicious and I loved learning about the Maria Cookies. Great recipe. Thanks!
Right! I love no bake desserts. Hope you find the Maria Cookies. They are a classic in Mexican food, but you can swap out for vanilla wafers.
Delicious! This reminds me of the mango graham refrigerator cake that my son makes for me. I will try your recipe too. Strawberries are in season here, so might as well take advantage of it and make this yummy dessert.
Oooh… I gotta try something like this with mangoes. Thanks for the idea.
This looks so yummy and delicious a very great recipe. Plus the strawberry ingredients is one of my favorite on a dessert a very recommended for everybody.
So good right? We love this recipe too.
I’ve seen the video and it looks so easy to make. Thanks for the recipe, will try to copy it this weekend.
Glad you liked it! This recipe is delicious.
Carlota de Fresa sounds like something my entire family would love. I need to try this soon!
It’s amazing! Hope you try it!
This looks just like a trifle. I bet it tastes just as delicious as it looks too!
It sure does! Hope you try it!
This is one of the reason why I am such a huge fan of sweets. My mouth is watering just about now. How I wish I can get a bite.
This recipe is soo yummy! Hope you try it!
This is the first time I’ve heard of a recipe like this! OMG I love the idea of making Carlota de Fresa at home, it’s something that I wouldn’t want to share 😉
Hope you like it! It’s delicious
This is my first time hearing of a Carlota. However, I must admit that it does look and sound pretty tasty.
It’s so tasty! Hope you try it!
It certainly does remind me of trifle and it looks so good. I would love to make a dessert like this but it takes real talent.
It’s not complicated to make. Hope you give this recipe a try!
Ooh this would be a real treat. I love the presentation too. I’m new to using those cookies!
This recipe is delicious. Hope you try it!
What a simple yet delicious looking and sounding recipe! I bet it’s a mouth-pleaser! 🙂
Yes! Thank you. This is so easy and delicious.
This looks so tasty! I don’t think I’ve tried his before but I tend to enjoy anything with strawberries.
Tasty indeed! Hope you try it.