Strawberry Icebox Cake

Strawberry Icebox Cake

This chilled Strawberry Icebox Cake’s luscious Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse melts in your mouth with every bright pink bite.

4.0 from 2 reviews
Strawberry Icebox Cake
 
Makes 1 (8-inch) cake
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg (50 grams)
  • 1 large egg yolk (19 grams)
  • ½ teaspoon (2 grams) vanilla extract
  • ¾ cup (94 grams) cake flour
  • ½ teaspoon (2.5 grams) baking powder
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
  • 2½ tablespoons (38 grams) whole buttermilk
  • ¼ cup (80 grams) strawberry preserves
  • ¼ cup (28 grams) finely chopped pecans*
  • 6 to 7 drops liquid red food coloring
  • 12 medium fresh strawberries (168 grams), hulled and halved
  • 2¼ cups (330 grams) thinly sliced hulled fresh strawberries (⅛ to ¼ inch thick)
  • Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse (recipe follows)
  • Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipe follows)
  • Garnish: fresh strawberries
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F (170°C). Line bottoms of 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with parchment paper; spray pans with baking spray with flour.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes, stopping to scrape sides of bowl. Add egg and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Gradually add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Add preserves, pecans, and food coloring, beating just until combined. Divide batter among prepared pans, smoothing tops.
  4. Bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool completely in pans. Remove from pans; discard parchment paper.
  5. Line bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Cut 2 (3½-inch-wide) strips of parchment paper to line sides of pan. (You want the parchment to extend about ¼ inch higher than the sides of the pan.)
  6. Place 1 cake layer in center of prepared pan. Place halved strawberries, cut side out, around cake layer and against sides of pan. Place ¾ cup (110 grams) sliced strawberries in a tight single layer on top of cake layer. Place 2⅓ cups (about 401 grams) Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse in a large piping bag. Cut a ½-inch opening in tip. Pipe mousse between halved strawberries (this ensures there are no gaps); pipe mousse on top of sliced strawberries, and smooth top. Top with second cake layer. Place ¾ cup (110 grams) sliced strawberries in a tight single layer on top of second cake layer. Place 2⅓ cups (about 401 grams) Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse in piping bag. Pipe mousse in gap between cake and sides of pan; pipe mousse on top of sliced strawberries, and smooth top. Top with remaining cake layer, remaining ¾ cup (110 grams) sliced strawberries, and remaining 2⅓ cups (about 401 grams) mousse, smoothing top. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. (Alternatively, refrigerate for at least 4 hours and then freeze for at least 1 hour before serving).
  7. When ready to serve, remove sides of pan and parchment paper. Using a hot, dry metal offset spatula, smooth sides and top of cake. Place Sweetened Whipped Cream in a small piping bag fitted with an open star tip (Wilton 4B). Decorate top of cake, and garnish with fresh strawberries, if desired. Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

4.0 from 2 reviews
Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse
 
Ingredients
  • 16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup (107 grams) strawberry preserves
  • 1 teaspoon (6 grams) vanilla bean paste
  • 2 cups (480 grams) cold heavy whipping cream
  • 2 to 3 drops liquid red food coloring
Instructions
  1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese at medium-low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add sugar, and beat at medium speed until smooth. Beat in preserves and vanilla bean paste until combined. Transfer to a large bowl, and set aside.
  2. Clean bowl of stand mixer. Using the whisk attachment, beat cold cream at medium speed until thickened. Slowly increase mixer speed to medium-high, and beat until stiff peaks form. Using a whisk, fold about one-third of whipped cream into cream cheese mixture by hand until combined. Fold in food coloring and remaining whipped cream until no streaks remain. Use immediately.

 

4.0 from 2 reviews
Sweetened Whipped Cream
 
Ingredients
  • ½ cup (120 grams) cold heavy whipping cream
  • 2 tablespoons (14 grams) confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together cold cream and confectioners’ sugar by hand until medium peaks form. Use immediately, or refrigerate until ready to use.

 

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4 COMMENTS

  1. I made the strawberry cream cheese mousse and put it on a white velvet sheet cake for the filling and topping with the sliced strawberries and it was delicious. pipped a bit of whipped cream on it.

  2. Under the receipe header it says makes one 9″ cake. Step 1 if the directions is to prepare three 8″ pans. As I was mixing, it didn’t seem like the amount of ingredients would make three 8″ cakes and it took looking at the recipe online (the next day) to see if there were any corrections to relize the amount the recipe makes and the instructions aren’t a match. Had I caught the mismatch before I baked the cakes (two very thin 8″ layers), I would have doubled the recipe. Everything tastes pretty good so my only complaint is the mismatch for what the receipe makes and size/how many pans to prepare. The bake time for the two 8″ pans was closer to 10 minutes since I didn’t have the required amount of batter in each pan.

    • Hi WM Smith,

      Thanks for reaching out and for catching the discrepancy! I’ve changed the yield to one 8″ cake. Three 8″ pans is correct, and each layer is very thin (like the picture). This is by design because it is an ice box cake, and the Strawberry Cream Cheese Mousse is the star of the show. We appreciate your feedback!

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