Strawberry Icebox Cake Recipe

Most individuals dread turning on their oven within the summertime. I, a dessert fanatic, have by no means been that individual; I’ve at all times braved the warmth so I can make the most of ripe berries and stone fruit by incorporating them into each cake, crumble, cookie, and pie I can consider. This summer season, nevertheless, the warmth has been unrelenting. And for the primary time ever, I’ve determined to totally embrace no-bake desserts like icebox truffles. 

The fantastic thing about an icebox cake is that there’s little extra to do than wait: You layer cookies or crackers with a creamy filling, then let time and the coolness of the fridge do the onerous work. Because the confection sits, the crackers soften and the flavors meld, making a dessert that mimics a traditional layer cake, no oven required. 

The recipe under options strawberries and cream, a taste mixture that’s particularly scrumptious in the summertime when strawberries are at their ripest and juiciest. Strawberries and cream are scrumptious as is, however serving them with vanilla wafers and a strawberry compote makes it a extra substantial dessert.

My inspiration for this was the fraisier cake, a French dessert of sponge cake layered with pastry cream and strawberries. To maintain the cake as unfussy and lightweight as doable, I’ve skipped the pastry cream and have opted for a vanilla whipped cream. I take advantage of vanilla wafers instead of cake, however after a number of hours of absorbing the strawberry compote and cream, it tastes similar to a scrumptious vanilla cake. The result’s a celebratory dessert that’s straightforward sufficient to whip up for weeknights or make-ahead for a special day. Right here’s find out how to make it.

5 Ideas for Making a Summery Strawberry Icebox Cake

Make your individual strawberry compote. When testing with totally different strawberry fillings, I experimented with jam and located it too candy and thick for my liking. Recent strawberries didn’t have fairly the sauciness I wished, and macerating them produced a filling that was too juicy for the cake. The answer? A easy, rapidly cooked strawberry compote, which has simply the proper consistency to hydrate the crackers and likewise means that you can alter the sweetness to your liking. A tablespoon of lemon juice provides a pleasing acidity to the compote, making it a extra balanced filling for the cake.

Line your loaf pan with plastic wrap. Like my s’mores icebox cake recipe, this cake is made in a normal 9- by 4-inch loaf pan. For seamless unmolding, use plastic wrap to line your loaf pan earlier than you assemble, ensuring the plastic hangs over the sting so you possibly can simply maintain onto it if you unmold it. To unmold, merely take away the plastic wrap from the highest of the cake, invert it onto a rimmed baking sheet, then take away the loaf pan and remaining plastic.

Line the perimeter of the pan with halved strawberries. To recreate the traditional look of fraisier cake, press halved strawberries—hulled facet up and lower facet flush to the edges of the pan—towards the plastic-lined sides. Whenever you invert and unmold the cake, it should reveal a powerful border of strawberries.

Retailer-bought wafers are fantastic. In the event you’re feeling bold, you may make your individual vanilla wafers for this recipe. But when time is of the essence, store-bought Nilla wafers will do the trick. The flavour of vanilla wafers most carefully resembles the flavour of a traditional sponge cake, however you possibly can swap it out for a distinct cookie like shortbread or creme cookies in case you choose. Simply keep away from sugar cookies, as they could make the dessert cloyingly candy.

Enable the cake to come back to room temperature after slicing. Although a frozen cake is simpler to slice, nobody needs to eat one except it’s of the ice cream selection. Let the cake sit at room temperature for ten minutes so it’s nonetheless chilled, however not so chilly it’ll offer you a mind freeze. Plus: Letting the cake heat up barely will assist the flavors turn out to be extra pronounced. Scrumptious issues come to those that wait!