Saffron Icebox Cake

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I hate turning the oven on during the summers so here is a simple no-bake dessert! Icebox cakes are made of layers of cookies, whipped cream, and sometimes fruit! They’re creamy, light and so delicious! I layered lemon cookies, saffron cream, strawberries, and super-ripe peaches (mine were on their last leg so they were sooo soft!). Icebox cake originated in the 1930s as a means to market iceboxes aka earlier refrigerators! This cake is so easy that I remember making an icebox cake with chocolate Nabisco wafer cookies and cool whip as an elementary school kid! This recipe is a bit more sophisticated that my elementary school recipe, but it’s just as delicious!

To make this icebox cake extra rich I whipped the cream with mascarpone cheese. The mascarpone cheese is easier to mix and combine into the whipped cream if it’s room temperature. Also the rich fattiness of the mascarpone cheese adds a thick creaminess to the whipped cream! In addition, feel free to adjust the amount of powdered sugar to your liking. My icebox cake is mildly sweet.

I also added quite a bit of saffron to my icebox cake because I really wanted the saffron to be pronounced in this recipe. It pairs so beautifully with the fruit and really adds a nice floral flavor to the dessert. I love the pronounced flavor of the saffron in this dessert and it really just makes it so rich and summer-y.

I used Trader Joe’s lemon cookies to add a little tartness and brightness to the ice box cake. You can also use any thin vanilla cookie like vanilla oreos or even graham crackers.

I layered strawberries and ripe peaches in my icebox cake. Feel free to use all strawberries or peaches. You could even use thinly sliced mango to make it more desi!

This is a great overnight dessert and it comes together in no time. You can freeze the icebox cake if you want an ice cream cake-like texture, however, I prefer refrigerating it so the fruit isn’t too firm.

If you decide to make this icebox cake be sure to tag me on social media @milkandcardamom!

Saffron Icebox Cake

Author: Milk and Cardamom
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 9 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

An effortless no-bake dessert- a saffron ice box cake layered with saffron whipped cream, strawberries, peaches and lemon cookies. Makes one 8-inch pan

Ingredients

Units Scale

8 oz (1 package, 226 g) mascarpone cream, room temperature
1/2 cup (85 g) powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups (357 g) heavy cream
big pinch of saffron
48–50 lemon cookies*
7–8 strawberries, thinly sliced, plus additional for decoration
1–2 ripe peaches, thinly sliced

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Instructions

Line an 8-inch pan with parchment paper and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, add 8 oz of mascarpone cream and 1/2 cup (85 g) powdered sugar and mix until well combined. Add in 1 1/2 cups (357 g) heavy cream and a big pinch of saffron. Using a hand mixer, mix on low for 1 minute and then mix for 3-4 minutes on high speed until the whisk trails show in the cream. THe cream should be thick and have semi-soft peaks.
Spoon 1/4 cup of the saffron cream into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spread it out into an even layer and top with a layer of lemon cookies. Add a little less than half (8 oz) of the saffron cream on top and spread evenly. Layer thinly sliced strawberries on top. Add another layer of lemon cookies. Spoon saffron cream (8 oz) on top, making sure to leave behind about 1 cup of cream for the top layer. Spread it into an even layer and top with a layer of sliced peaches. Add one more layer of cookies and spread the rest of the cream on top.
Loosely wrap the pan in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours up to overnight. You can also freeze the cake for 4 hours.
Remove the cake from the pan and decorate with strawberries. Enjoy immediately. Leftovers can be kept in the freezer.