Blackberry Icebox Cake
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.
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 681kcal
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
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 681kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 55g | Saturated Fat: 33g | Cholesterol: 224mg | Sodium: 102mg | Potassium: 164mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 2116IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 148mg | Iron: 1mg
