This Vibrant Icebox Cake Tastes Exactly Like a Lemon Meringue Pie
Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezA few years ago, a friend introduced me to Bill Smith’s Atlantic Beach pie. The dessert, inspired by the many childhood summers the chef spent in North Carolina, has a buttery saltine crust, a tangy filling of condensed milk and lemon juice, and a lofty pouf of whipped cream on top. Salty, sweet, and creamy, the pie tastes exactly like a summer day at the beach, if it were dessert. And the memory of that first bite has stayed with me through the years—so much so that I make Smith’s pie each summer and have now come up with an icebox cake recipe inspired by it.There are a few key differences, though. Really, my recipe is a mash-up of Smith’s dessert and another classic confection: the lemon meringue pie. Smith makes his crust by tossing crushed Saltines with butter and sugar; here, I reach for Ritz crackers, which have a rich, savory flavor without the need for additional butter. And instead of a filling of lemon juice, condensed milk, and egg yolks, I opt for layers of lemon curd—which you can prepare from scratch or purchase from the store—and whipped cream. Finally, there’s the lemon meringue pie’s signature topping of a torched meringue that coats the entire cake. The best part? There is no baking required. All you have to do is layer the components in a loaf pan, plop it in the fridge, and wait. Make it the night before you have a party, and your dessert will practically be done by the time you wake up. All that’s left to do is unmold the cake and brown the meringue with a kitchen torch. Like my favorite lemon desserts, this icebox cake is pleasantly tangy, with just enough saltiness and whipped cream to balance the curd’s sweetness. Here’s how to make it.Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez7 Tips for Making a Zesty Lemon Icebox CakeMake your own lemon curd. Though lemon curd is readily available in grocery stores, it’s worth taking the time to make your own curd, which allows you to adjust for sweetness. In my lemon curd recipe, I call for rubbing the lemon zest with sugar before cooking to help draw out the citrus fruit’s fragrant oils, resulting in a more flavorful curd.Line your loaf pan with plastic wrap. Like my s’mores icebox cake recipe and strawberry icebox cake recipe, the key to successfully unmolding this cake is lining your loaf pan with plastic wrap before you assemble. Make sure the plastic hangs over the edge of the pan so you can easily hold onto it as you unmold the cake. To unmold your icebox cake, simply remove the plastic wrap from the top of the cake, invert it onto a rimmed baking sheet, then remove the loaf pan and discard the remaining plastic.Use a savory cracker. For a salty-sweet dessert, I recommend using a savory cracker. Though I use Ritz here, saltines would also be delicious. Avoid sugar cookies, shortbread, or vanilla wafers, as they won’t provide the savory contrast needed.Let your fridge and freezer do the hard work for you. Refrigerating the cake for at least six hours helps the crackers soften to a cake-like texture, and allows them to soak up the flavors of the tangy curd. After you unmold the cake, freeze it for at least an hour to ensure it’s cold enough to frost, torch, and slice without melting into a puddle.Allow the cake to come to room temperature. A frozen cake is easier to slice, but unless you want to chip a tooth, I recommend letting the cake sit at room temperature for ten minutes, which will soften it slightly and allow the flavors to become more pronounced. The cake will still be cold, but you won’t have to suffer a broken tooth or brain freeze. Frost with Italian meringue. As I noted in my s’mores icebox cake recipe, Italian meringue for an icebox cake may be a little “extra”—but I prefer the more neutral flavor and thickness of Italian meringue. To make an Italian meringue, you slowly pour a hot sugar syrup into whipping egg whites, which cooks and stabilizes the mixture. But if that feels a bit too fussy for you, feel free to use marshmallow fluff. For the toastiest meringue, use a blowtorch. Using a blowtorch allows you to evenly toast the meringue without heating the cake too much. But if you don’t own a blowtorch, you can approach this like you would a baked Alaska by toasting the meringue in the oven. Just make sure your cake is properly frozen—otherwise you’ll end up with lemon meringue soup.Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezLine a 9- by 4-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine heavy cream, sugar, and salt. Whip on medium-high speed until medium-stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, combine cream, sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat on medium speed until medium stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes.)Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezUsing a flexible or offset spatula, spread about 1/2 cup (50g) whipped cream on the bottom. Cover surface with 8 Ritz crackers and gently press into whipped cream. Spoon 1/2 cup (about 100g) lemon curd over crackers. Repeat three more times, until you have four layers. Top with 8 crackers and a thin layer of whipped cream. Press plastic wrap against surface of whipped cream and refrigerate until crackers have softened, about 6 hours or up to 24 hours.Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezLine a 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Remove plastic from top of cake and invert icebox cake onto lined baking sheet, gently peel away plastic, and transfer to freezer until firm enough to slice, about 1 hour or up to 1 week.Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezMeanwhile, prepare the Italian meringue: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, begin whisking egg whites on low speed. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook until sugar syrup registers 240ºF (115ºC) on an instant-read or candy thermometer, about 4 to 6 minutes. (Remove from heat immediately once sugar syrup reaches temperature.)Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezIncrease mixer speed to medium and mix until soft peaks form. With the mixer running on medium speed, carefully and slowly drizzle hot sugar syrup into the side of the bowl. Increase speed to high and whip until stiff peaks form and meringue is no longer hot, about 10 minutes.Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezRemove cake from freezer. Using a flexible or offset spatula, frost cake with Italian meringue. Using a butane blowtorch, torch meringue 1- to 2- inches away from the surface of the meringue until evenly browned. Hold both ends of the foil and gently lift cake to transfer to a cutting board. Gently wiggle a chef’s knife or long offset spatula under the cake to loosen it from the foil and gently pull foil to remove.Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezUsing a hot knife, slice cake into 8 pieces and serve. (For cleaner cuts, run knife under warm water and carefully dry knife with a clean kitchen towel before portioning each slice.)Serious Eats / Amanda SuarezSpecial Equipment9- by 4-inch loaf pan, stand mixer or hand mixer, flexible or offset spatula, 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet, instant-read or candy thermometer, butane blowtorchNotesIf you don’t feel like making Italian meringue, you can substitute with store-bought marshmallow fluff and torch it for a similar result.If you don’t own a blowtorch, you can toast the meringue in the oven. However, it is crucial that the icebox cake is fully frozen before you frost it with meringue, otherwise the mousse and cream will melt. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 500ºF (260ºC). After coating the cake with meringue, transfer rimmed baking sheet with icebox cake to oven and bake until meringue is golden brown, about 5 minutes.Make-Ahead and StorageUnfrosted, the icebox can be made up to 1 week in advance and frozen before frosting, slicing, and serving. Proceed with step 10 when ready to serve.Sliced icebox cake can be frozen on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment and tightly wrapped with plastic for up to 5 days.
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