Photo: Natalie Levin
Icebox cake will forever remind me of my childhood. I always remember how as a girl I liked to make icebox cake with my mother and lick cream scraps from the beaters. It was always a cake that required patience; it’s made easily and quickly, but requires decent few hours of cooling in the fridge for setting before it is good for eating. I remember my impatience every time we made the cake together, and how I always waited impatiently for the cake to be set already.
Icebox cake is the most “dangerous” cake I know, simply because you just can’t stop eating it straight from the pan. “Just another small piece”, and without noticing half a pattern is already in your stomach. I prepared this following recipe for upcoming Christmas, and if you need an easy dessert for the holiday – this is the one you want! It’s made of layers of graham cracker (or plain biscuits) filled with ricotta cream, strawberry jam and whole strawberries for decoration.
The final look is especially wintry and sweet, mainly thanks to lots of powdered sugar and edible gold dust on top. This is undoubtedly an impressive icebox cake that is so festive, east to make and delicious.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Strawberry and Cream Icebox Cake
For the biscuits:
- 240 ml. (1 cup) milk
- 400-500 grams graham crackers or plain biscuits (see notes for gluten free version)
For ricotta cream:
- 500 grams (2 cups) ricotta cheese
- 500 ml. (2 cups) cold whipping cream
- 120 grams (1 cup) sugar powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 60 grams (6 tbsp.) instant vanilla pudding powder
- 200-300 grams strawberry jam
For decoration:
- 200-250 grams whole clean strawberries
- Sugar powder
- Edible gold dust
- Put the milk in a convenient container for dipping the biscuits.
- Dip the biscuits in the milk and arrange in an even layer at the bottom of the pan. Some biscuits will have to be broken in order to cover the bottom evenly. It’s okay if there are few holes.
- Ricotta cream: in an electric stand mixer with whipping hook whip ricotta, cream, powdered sugar, vanilla and pudding at high speed until you get a uniform, stable cream.
- Pour about 1/4 of the cream on top of the biscuit layer and spread to a uniform layer.
- Arrange more biscuits dipped in milk over the cream, then another 1/4 of the cream and then spread some strawberry jam in a uniform layer (over the cream).
- Arrange another layer of biscuits over the jam, pour another 1/4 of the cream and over it another layer of biscuits dipped in milk.
- Transfer the remaining of the cream to a piping bag fitted with 2 cm round piping tip and drizzle mounds of cream on top of the cake.
- Cool the cake in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours to set.
- Garnish the top with whole strawberries and generously sprinkle with powdered sugar and edible gold dust.
- Keep the cake in a closed container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
- Instead of strawberries, you can use any other fruit you like: raspberries, cherries, blackberries or blackcurrants will go just as good. Change the jam flavor according to the desired fruit.
- Edible gold dust can be obtained from stores specializing in bakery products and ingredients.
- Gluten free version: use gluten free biscuits instead of graham crackers.
Photo: Natalie Levin
Photo: Natalie Levin
Photo: Natalie Levin