A no-bake recipe that's a wonderful spring or summer dessert! Blackberry Icebox Cake has floral sweetness from honey and layers of ladyfingers and cream.
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I say, you just gotta love an icebox cake, and in this family everyone agrees. These cool, creamy cakes are easy to make, need no baking, and are absolutely delicious.
Case in point: the best Blackberry Icebox Cake recipe ever! The structure of the cake comes from crisp ladyfingers, and they're layered with honey, sweetened cream cheese filling, and shining, fresh blackberries.
If you're wondering what an icebox cake is, here's all you need to know about these ingenious desserts.
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What's an icebox cake?
Icebox cakes, or refrigerator cakes, are old-fashioned, no-bake desserts made by layering ingredients into pie plates or baking pans. They set up overnight in the fridge, and the next day, they're firm, sliceable treats.
I've come across many different recipes for these cool cakes in my vintage cookbooks. Though there are innumerable variations, the basic elements of icebox cakes are:
- Something already baked (like leftover cake, cookies, or crackers)
- Something sweet and creamy (like pudding, custard, mousse, or whipped cream)
- Layers of sweet mix-ins like fruit (berries, mango, peaches, etc.) or candies (such as chocolate chunks, toffee bits, candy bars, ganache, or caramel sauce)
The overnight refrigeration allows the layers in the icebox cake to soften and meld into a firm, chilled dessert that's easy to slice and serve.
In my Blackberry Icebox Cake recipe, there are ladyfinger cookies, fresh berries, and homemade whipped cream.
So then, what's an icebox??
Why, it's your fridge, of course! I like that retro name, though—icebox. Where'd the name come from?
Starting in the late 1920s, more and more households were buying the coolest (literally) new appliance on the market: the electric refrigerator. Before that, families kept perishable food cold in iceboxes: tall, metal-lined, wooden cabinets that held large blocks of ice. The ice kept everything stored inside the icebox cold.
Because iceboxes needed ice, there was a whole business around ice deliveries. Horse-pulled wagons brought enormous blocks through neighborhoods. Delivery men would hack off big chunks and use large metal tongs to grab and carry the pieces into homes. Like in this Three Stooges episode!
Despite the upgrade in the '20s to electric refrigerators, for many decades, folks still referred to their fridges as iceboxes. Remember in the 1984's "Ghostbusters" movie when Dr. Venkman tells Dana Barrett about the evil deity named Gozer? (He was very big in Sumeria.) "Well, what's he doing in my icebox??" she asks. Dana's talking about her fridge!
Why you'll love this recipe
Old-fashioned Blackberry Icebox Cake has a really lovely and unique blend of flavors: floral blackberries, sweet and floral honey, homemade whipped cream, and a hint of lemon and vanilla. Layers of lady fingers soften in the cake but still add some texture and extra sweetness.
Because this fridge cake is a no-bake treat, it's perfect to make in the summer when it's too hot to turn on the oven—and when fresh blackberries are in season. One of the most beloved New England summer traditions is berry picking with the family. This cake is a fun way to show off your bounty of berries.
Since blackberries are available year-round, I also like making this dessert in the spring. The honey flavor and fresh berries fit with the season beautifully. Use honey from local beekeepers if possible—like Champlain Valley Honey in Vermont or Carlisle Honey in Massachusetts. you'll be supporting a small business and getting the best tasting honey around.
The fruit icebox cake gets an overnight stay in the fridge, and that means you can prepare it ahead of time. It'll be waiting in the icebox to pull out, slice, and serve at dessert time.
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Another blackberry favorite!
Blackberry Coconut Crisp
🔪 How to make an easy Blackberry Icebox Cake
Ingredients:
- Heavy whipping cream: Use this to easily whip up a batch of homemade whipped cream with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Blackberries: If it's summertime use freshly picked berries; otherwise, pick out the best packages of blackberries available at the grocery store.
- Honey: You can use any kind of honey you want: clover, orange blossom, wildflower, etc. If locally harvested honey is available, use it—it'll have the best flavor.
- Ladyfingers: Look for packages of light, crisp ladyfingers in the cookie aisle or bakery department.
- Confectioners' sugar: Because it dissolves quickly and smoothly, powdered sugar is the best choice to sweeten the classic icebox cake filling.
- Cream cheese: Make sure the cream cheese is really soft; here are some ways to soften cream cheese in a jiffy.
- Cream of tartar: Just a pinch added to the whipped cream helps to stabilize it.
- Vanilla extract: Use a good-quality extract from brands such as Nielsen-Massey.
- Lemon juice: It adds just a little acidity and citrusy brightness to the icebox cake filling.
Make the cream mixtures
Whip up the heavy cream until it has firm peaks. Set some aside, and blend the rest with cream cheese, sugar, and lemon juice.
Assemble the cake
Build two layers of berries, honey cream, and ladyfingers in a square baking dish lined with parchment. Brush the final layer of cookies with a little cream.
Chill
Cover the pan tightly with food wrap and pop it in the fridge to rest and chill overnight. The next day, invert the cake onto a serving platter.
Decorate
Use the reserved whipped cream to frost the top and sides. Add blackberries to the top. Then, slice and serve the cake!
Tips:
- Remember to plan for the overnight chill when you make this old-fashioned icebox cake with ladyfingers—or at least eight hours. This time is crucial to let the cake set up and to develop the flavors.
FAQs
Even though the name has the word "ice", an icebox cake should be stored in the fridge. That way, the cake gets chilled and can set. Refrigeration also protects the textures of the baked element, fruit, and cream.
Blackberries tend to be much larger (1 to 2 inches) while black raspberries are smaller (about ½-inch to ¾-inch.) Another way to tell them apart is that blackberries are shiny and have a white plug in the center where they came off the stem. Black raspberries have a fuzzy appearance and are hollow in the center.
The flavors also differ, with black raspberries having a very sweet, jammy, sun-kissed sweetness. Blackberries have more of a floral flavor and sweetness.
The Blackberry Icebox Cake recipe is below! And here are a few more icebox cakes worth trying:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Blackberry Icebox Cake
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Ingredients
- 2 cups cold, heavy whipping cream (Plus extra to brush on the top cookie layer)
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- ½ cup honey
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 18 ounces fresh blackberries, divided
- 24 crisp ladyfinger cookies (Plus one or two extra to fill gaps)
Instructions
Get stuff ready:
- Line the bottom and sides of an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, wax paper, or plastic wrap.
- Place the bowl and whisk attachment from your mixer into the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.
Make the whipped cream:
- Assemble the chilled bowl and beater on your mixer. Turn the mixer on low and slowly pour in the whipping cream and the cream of tartar. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip the cream until it begins to thicken.
- Pause the mixer and add in the honey. Turn the mixer back on and whip the cream until it's thick and holds stiff peaks.
- Set aside two cups of the whipped cream. Put the remaining whipped cream in a covered bowl in the fridge to use on the finished cake.
Make the filling:
- Beat the room-temperature softened cream cheese on medium-high speed in your mixer until it's very smooth. Beat in the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in the two cups of reserved whipped cream using a rubber spatula, until it's fully incorporated.
Assemble the cake:
- Set aside 9 of the blackberries to garnish the finished cake. (Cover them and keep them refrigerated until the next day.)
- Slice the remaining blackberries in half. Arrange half of the sliced berries over the bottom of the prepared baking dish.
- Then, spoon half of the cream cheese-whipped cream filling over the berries, and spread it into an even layer.
- Next, arrange 12 of the ladyfingers over the cream, fitting them tight together. If there are spaces or gaps, break an extra ladyfinger into small pieces to fill them.)
- Repeat the layers: the remaining sliced blackberries, the rest of the cream cheese filling, and 12 more ladyfingers, along with pieces to fill the gaps if necessary.
- Brush the top layer of ladyfingers with some of the heavy whipping cream to moisten them just a little.
Chill:
- Cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap. Place the pan into the coldest corner of your refrigerator. Allow the icebox cake to chill for 8 to 10 hours or overnight.
Decorate:
- Remove the cake from the fridge and carefully invert it onto a serving platter or cutting board. Peel off the parchment or plastic wrap.
- Retrieve the rest of the honey whipped cream from the fridge and use it to "frost" the top and sides of the cake.
- Arrange the blackberries you set aside over the top of the cake.
- Cut the icebox cake into slices and serve immediately.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The recipe makes 8 servings.
Notes
- Chilling the mixing bowl and whisk attachment before making the whipped cream helps ensure that the cream sets up correctly. Cream of tartar in the mixture helps make the whipped cream more stable in the finished icebox cake.
- It's important that the cream cheese be given time to warm up to room temperature—it should be really soft—so that it blends up smoothly. Otherwise, the mixture will look lumpy.
Nutrition
Christian says
This was a perfect treat during this hot week!
Nancy Mock says
I'm so happy you liked it!!
Andrea says
Oh my does this look and sound fabulous! Big fan of blackberries so this is definitely for me.
Nancy Mock says
I hope you get to make one, Andrea! The honey and blackberries together are so sublime. 🙂
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