Lemon Icebox Cake with Blueberries

Vanilla biscuits, whipped cream, lemon curd and fresh blueberries come together in this recipe for a delicious no-bake summer dessert.

Lemon Icebox Cake with Blueberries

Here we are in August! It feels a little like summer is slipping through my fingers; what about you? I’m not ready to give up lemonade for pumpkin spice lattes just yet, nor do I want to preheat my oven to make a dessert. So, here is the first of several posts this month to celebrate no-bake desserts! Today, I’m highlighting the icebox cake. This itieration of the American classic is a Lemon Icebox Cake with Blueberries.

A cousin to the English trifle, icebox cakes became popular in the 1920s thanks to the convergence of Nabisco chocolate wafers and affordable iceboxes. By the 1930s, refrigerator manufacturers focused on cuisines that would showcase their electric appliance as indispensable. So, icebox cakes and other layered cold or frozen desserts were popular.

But this really is more of a pudding than a cake. The idea is the wafers or biscuits are nestled in a good deal of whipped cream and left overnight in the refrigerator to become super soft. Although the early chocolate-wafer-whipped-cream version remains delicious, I was inspired to work with lemons and fresh blueberries after seeing this icebox cake in a magazine.

What I was going for when making my icebox cake!

You’ve no doubt noted my version doesn’t closely resemble the inspiration photo! There were some construction challenges for me, but I will make this one again because unlike the traditional icebox cakes that are formed in a square or oblong dish, this cake looked like a blossoming flower! So, read on to learn how to make my Lemon Icebox Cake with Blueberries and I’ll share tip to help you make this delicious summer no-bake dessert.

To make Lemon Icebox Cake with Blueberries, which makes 10 servings, you will need these ingredients:

• 3 cups heavy whipping cream

• 3 Tablespoons confectioner’s (powdered) sugar

• 1 (10-ounce) jar prepared lemon curd

• 60 (approximately) Marie biscuits

• ½ pint fresh blueberries

• Lemon slices for garnish

  
  

The inspiration for this recipe used lemon zest but I didn’t think that would pack enough pucker, so I decided to swap zest for prepared lemon curd. I used the Dickinson’s brand

but be advised that this one is on the sweeter side. When I make this icebox cake again, I’ll reduce the sugar added to whipping cream by at least 1 tablespoon.

Why Marie biscuits? These are larger than the standard vanilla wafers often used in icebox cakes. The Marie biscuits are what create the petal effect I mentioned earlier. I found a large box of these at Walmart but save what you didn’t use for this recipe. I knew these are wonderful when dunked in tea, but I didn't know until recently that these biscuits date to 1874 when first made by Peek Freans, a London bakery. These thin cookies are enjoyed around the world.

Marie or Maria biscuits have been enjoyed since 1874.

Directions for Icebox Cake with Blueberries

Wash berries and place flat on a clean kitchen towel to air dry.

In a large bowl, beat the cream and sugar on high until stiff peaks form. In my long and troubled journey with whipping cream, I’ve learned that your cream and bowl must be cold. Like, really cold, and it’s best to use a metal bowl because it keeps colder longer as the cream is whipping. And an optional addition here if you had it would be a few drops of lemon extract.

Arrange several Marie biscuits on your serving plate. Remember, you’re not transferring this icebox cake once it’s been assembled, so use the cake stand or serving plate on which you intend to present it. Depending on the size of your plate, start with anywhere from 6 to 8 wafers.

Tip: I made a thin layer of whipped cream on the serving plate before I laid down the first biscuit layer to keep the wafers in place.

Transfer whipped cream into a pastry bag and pipe enough to cover top of biscuits (about ¾ cup).

Full disclosure: my layering process went a bit off the rails. I folded about 5 ounces of lemon curd into the whipped cream so didn’t get to the full eight layers the inspiration recipe called for because I ran out of “glue.” I also tried strategically placing blueberries at each layer, but that adversely affected how the thin wafers stacked up. Here’s what I will do next time.

Place several biscuits on top of whipped cream. Transfer the lemon curd into another pastry bag and cover the second layer. Repeat this layering process, alternating between whipped cream and lemon curd, until you’ve used all the cookies.

Top with whipped cream, fresh blueberries, and lemon slices. Refrigerate overnight. Slice and enjoy!

Tip: If you want more blueberries in the layers, consider making an easy blueberry sauce with 1 cup of blueberries, ½ cup water and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Bring to a low boil and allow berries to break apart. Cool the mixture before spooning over the icebox cake layers. Use any leftover sauce over pancakes or waffles!

How to store Lemon and Blueberry Icebox Cake

This was a little tricky. I think it would be best if this dessert could be enjoyed at once—say a wedding or baby shower or Sunday family dinner—but it could keep for one or two days if covered with plastic wrap. Honestly, it didn’t look great after two days but still tasted great.

In the final analysis, Lemon Blueberry Icebox Cake is a bit of a challenge and probably should be presented once to wow and feed several people, but I do like this recipe because it’s different than the traditional pan dessert. I loved the addition of lemon curd in this recipe. While I enjoy the combination of blueberries and lemon, it was a little cumbersome to this circular design. Next time, I’ll make the easy blueberry sauce or simply use a few blueberries to decorate the top.

I’ll always keep these posts real for y’all, and as a passionate home cook, I realize there are trials and errors in our kitchens. I hope you will learn from my mistakes on this first attempt at Lemon Blueberry Icebox Cake and put your own twists on this recipe. Comment below or message me if you tried it.

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Tasteful tip

If you want all the lemon flavor and don't mind heating your oven, Tastefully Simple's Sunny Lemon Pound Cake & Icing Mix is the way to go! Cube the baked cake and make a lemon-blueberry trifle by layering pound cake, whipped cream, and fresh blueberries in a pretty glass bowl. Contact me or your local Tastefully Simple consultant to order yours today.

About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Barbecue Potato Salad

A zippy dressing made with mayo and barbecue sauce set this potato salad apart from the pack.

Barbecue Potato Salad

Some say cupcakes are just a vehicle for the frosting. I enjoy both cake and frosting, but I can see the point of these folks. However, on the savory side, I think potato salad is the cupcake of the salad world; it lives as a vehicle for a great dressing. Without that, we have a bowl of bland cooked potato cubes, maybe a little celery and onion or sweet pickle relish.

Potato salad dressings usually sport a mayonnaise or mustard base. Ho hum. Sometimes we’ll go wild with a German-style vinegar dressing. But this Barbecue Potato Salad delivers a saucy dressing that really sets this dish apart from the traditional offerings.

To make Barbecue Potato Salad, which makes four servings, you will need these ingredients:

• 1 large sweet potato

• 2 or 3 Yukon Gold potatoes

• 5 strips bacon

• 2 celery stalks

• 4 green onions

• ¾ cup mayonnaise

• ¼ cup barbecue sauce

• 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil

• ½ teaspoon seasoned salt

• Pinch black pepper

• Optional: Liquid Smoke

Directions for Barbecue Potato Salad

Preheat outdoor grill or your oven to 400 degrees F.

Peel, wash and cut potatoes into 2-inch pieces. I like the sweet potato here because it adds flavor to the dish. Add olive oil to a sheet pan, add potatoes, sprinkle seasoned salt and pepper and toss well to fully coat. Roast until fork-tender (about 30 minutes).

While potatoes are roasting, dice celery stalks, saving any leaves for garnish. Dice white and green portions of onions.

Bring a large skillet to medium-high heat and fry bacon until crisp. Remove from skillet and place on a paper towel.

To make the dressing, add to a small bowl the mayo, barbecue sauce, vinegar and (if desired) two drops of Liquid Smoke. Whisk together until fully combined. Set aside.

Allow potatoes to cool to room temperature before adding dressing, celery, and onions. Fold all ingredients together and garnish with crumbled bacon and celery leaves. If you don’t have any, fresh or dried parsley also will work.

Salad storing tip

Because this dressing has mayonnaise as an ingredient, be sure to keep it chilled if you’re enjoying an outdoor meal. Don’t leave it out for more than an hour.

Store any leftovers in an air-tight container for up to three days. It’s not advisable to freeze potato salad, so just toss any portion you haven’t eaten in that span of time.

Tasteful tip

I think seasoned salt is one of those pantry staples that can be used to boost flavor of anything savory. I use Tastefully Simple's seasoned salt, but you also can make your own using kosher salt, pepper, paprika, garlic and onion powder. The smoky bacon barbecue sauce, also from Tastefully Simple, underscores the bacon in this dish, but you can use your favorite bottled sauce, too.

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About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.

Summer Cobb Salad

This lighter version of a classic salad replaces high-fat ingredients with fresh summer produce and a few pantry staples.

Summer Cobb Salad

As “foodie movies” go, Julie & Julia is a winner in my book. With Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci portraying Julia and Paul Child, the screenplay is by Nora Ephron.

In the 2009 film, Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, the NYC office worker who fan girls all over Julia Child while cooking and blogging her way out of professional burnout. In one of the scenes, Julie tells her hubby she has an upcoming lunch with college mates that she’s not looking forward to. “Cobb salad lunch tomorrow. Dreading,” she laments. Here’s the scene:

After we meet her gal pals, it’s easy to understand why she dreaded the lunch because who would turn her nose up at a classic American dish, the cobb salad, although each girl boss in the scene eliminates one ingredient while placing her order: cobb salad, no bacon; cobb salad, no blue cheese; cobb salad, no avocado; cobb salad, no eggs.

My Summer Cobb Salad replaces some of those high-fat ingredients with swaps like kalamata olives instead of bacon and fresh summer corn instead of cheese. A flavorful peppercorn ranch dressing and chicken made with Tastefully Simple’s Makin’ Magic Chicken seasoning round out this tasty salad.

Culinary purists no doubt will argue it’s not a cobb salad without avocado, bacon, and blue cheese. Technically, that’s true. But look at the story that gave us the cobb salad and you may embrace the swaps.

According to legend, Bob Cobb who owned Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant in 1937 after a long night of service realized he was hungry, so he raided the kitchen refrigerator and pulled out hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, cheese, and avocado. He added crisp bacon and shared the salad creation with a friend, Sid Grauman (you know, Grauman’s Chinese Theater), who loved it so much, he asked for it the next day. Lesson: necessity indeed is the mother of invention.

Even after my swaps, what we have is a delicious and well-constructed salad that will feed four people. So, let’s get cooking!

To make Summer Cobb Salad, you will need these ingredients:

• 15 ounces chopped Romaine lettuce

• 2 cups prepared and chopped Makin’ Magic Chicken

• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped

• 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced

• ½ cup fresh corn kernels

• 4 scallions, diced

• 2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives

What is Makin’ Magic Chicken? It’s a seasoning blend made by Tastefully Simple that includes onion, garlic, bell pepper and chives and is perfect for batch cooking. I added 3 tablespoons of this seasoning to 2 pounds of chicken breasts and 1 cup of water to my slow cooker and set it on low for 5 hours. The chicken is moist and shreds beautifully to use in salads, sandwiches, wraps and other recipes.

You also could poach chicken according to your preferred method.

Directions for Easy Cobb Salad

1. Poach your chicken the day before and store in an airtight container inside your refrigerator.

2. Wash and dry Romaine leaves. Chop into bite-sized pieces. The rest is simply assembling the salad!

3. Place Romaine on a large serving plate. Line ingredients in rows on top of the lettuce. If possible, alternate colors: a row of red tomatoes, a row of chopped scallions, and so on.

4. Serve with homemade ranch dressing.

Salad Shake Up Meal Kit

Although the original Cobb salad was dressed with a vinaigrette, a homemade ranch dressing accompanies this salad beautifully. The salad needs a creamy element. You could use your favorite or make it fresh with this easy recipe.

• ½ cup low-fat milk

• ½ cup mayonnaise

• 2 tablespoons Classic Ranch Mix

• 1 tablespoon Seasoned Pepper

The last two ingredients came in my Tastefully Simple Salad Shake Up Five Meal Kit. You could also use whatever ranch mix or seasoned pepper you have.

Whisk ingredients together and pour into a small bowl to serve alongside the cobb salad. I served the salad with freshly baked Bountiful Beer Bread for a complete and satisfying lunch.

So, how does this lightened-up cobb compare with the original? My salad has 17 grams of fat and 275 calories compared to 43 grams of fat and 623 calories. If you can eat a little healthier while not sacrificing flavors, why not?

Salad storing tips

Keep any leftover Easy Cobb Salad in an airtight container (glass works best). Serve the dressing on the side; this will help the leftovers from wilting. Enjoy salad the next day.

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About the blog

Three Women in the Kitchen is an award-winning food blog offering today’s home cooks comforting, hearty recipes with a personal touch. The website also pays tribute to Deborah’s mother, Katie Reinhardt, and paternal grandmother, Dorothy Reinhardt (the “three women” in the kitchen). Whether you’re an experienced or a novice cook, you’ll find inspiration here to feed your families and warm your heart. Subscribe today so you won’t miss a single delicious detail.