Blackberry-vanilla icebox cake

Tags

a beautiful mess, baking, blueberry vanilla cake recipe, CoolWhip, easy dessert, elsie and emma, Ice cream, Icebox cake, layer cake, quick dessert, spring dessert, spring form pan, Valentines Day, vintage inspired dessert

The whimsical and brilliant blog A Beautiful Mess did this recipe last summer. Since post-Valentines Day has brought some unseasonably warm weather, and my Valentines Day brought me this beautiful new, glass cake stand, I thought it would be a perfect time to try out Elsie and Emma’s icebox cake recipe with my own little twist. They used ladyfingers for their cookie crust but I took their suggestion and tried out Vanilla Wafers instead. For their layers, they used frozen blueberries and blueberry juice instead of the canned fruit in light syrup that I chose. My version saves you from buying an extra ingredient and I think the canned fruit keeps its flavor a bit better than frozen. I also exchanged their marshmallow-whip layer with cool whip…a bit healthier, a lighter taste, and MUCH easier to work with. Ok, so here you are:

If you’re not a blackberry fan, use any sort of fruit you like. I think peaches, raspberries, strawberries or even something exotic like kiwis would be delicious!

This cake is absurdly simple and I love the spin on a usual ice cream pie. The icebox cake is loaded with flavor but doesn’t leave you feeling heavy and sickly sweet like lots of cakes. You have to work a bit quickly otherwise the ingredients begin to melt as you work. I mixed the ice cream and berries, and cool whip and juice, and then placed those bowls back into the freezer until I was ready to add those layers. Wait until the cake is completely frozen before you do the cool whip piping top also, otherwise it will just sink in and be an ooey-gooey mess.

This might even be my favorite new treat…I should probably tell you that after I finished my slice, I unashamedly dropped my face to the plate and gave it a good lick…no need to be wasteful, right? Even though I’m still perfectly happy in my winter scarves, it’s been nice to feel the recent sunshine and this blackberry-vanilla icebox cake is the perfect homage to Spring, just peaking on the horizon. Enjoy!