“It’s sweet but not too sweet” 💕 “It’s like layers of cloud!” ☁️ “It tastes like heaven, Jess.”
(^quotes from friends about this dessert.)

Hello friends,

It was love at first glance when I spotted this recipe for “Blueberry Lemon Icebox Cake” while paging through a magazine in summer 2016. I had just picked blueberries outside of Lake Chelan when I saw it, and I literally carried my huge bag of blueberries on a plane back to San Francisco to freeze them in the hopes of making it soon. When I finally first made this dessert in March 2017, its staying power in my brain-recipe-file proved true on the plate as well - and thus it has retained its star spot on my “special desserts” list to this day.

As you long-time readers will have noticed, I don’t write about desserts very often in this here Friday email, but every good cook needs a few desserts up her sleeve, and this is on my special-occasions-shortlist for a few reasons:

1. Obviously, as with anything I take the time to write about it, it’s SUPER FREAKING DELICIOUS! It’s light but luxurious; creamy, tart and sweet (but not too sweet) all at once. It can be made with summer fruit even in the winter because frozen fruit is ideal, which makes it a treat for any time of year.
2. It is a cold/freezer dessert, which means you can make it ahead, and keep leftovers well for a while! Make-ahead-anything is always clutch in my book, especially on a special occasion where you may be making more effort on a meal. In a past life, I made this for dinner parties (which I am REALLY MISSING these days), where it proved a HUGE crowd pleaser. This year, I will be contact-free delivering to some friends and neighbors, and sharing with my valentine 😍. Even if you don’t have a special valentine to share it with, this treat is totally worth making just for yourself - you can freeze it and then slowly eat single-size portions over the next few months whenever you have a dessert craving! Yes, you are totally worth making a special dessert for in my book - even if it’s just for you :).
3. This recipe is intuitive cooking friendly because it’s not a baked good, but rather an assembly kind of dessert, so you have the option to customize according to your liking.
4. This recipe is FLEXIBLE with very easy OR more complicated options - you can make it from mainly store-bought ingredients, OR you can go all out and customize it with home-made elements. Up to you how much of a project you want it to be!

So - what exactly IS an icebox cake?! Well - this is the only one I’ve ever made, but I found this guide handy! It’s basically a cheat cake, in which you layer whipped cream, fruit/jam, and graham crackers, then refrigerate it for several hours or overnight. The graham crackers absorb moisture and become kind of like a layer of cake. Even if you don't want to make this exact recipe, I hope you might be inspired to try making something similar from treats you might have in your pantry/freezer - crispy cookies, jams, frozen fruit, coconut milk, nuts, etc. I'm sure to be making new and different versions in the future!

This Lemon Raspberry Icebox Cake has four elements to it:

1. whipped cream (which you’ll mix with part of the lemon curd to make a lemon cream)
2. lemon curd
3. raspberry jam or "mash"
4. graham crackers

I have to tell you - I did some SERIOUS recipe testing for you this week. I went all out comparing the easier store-bought version to my extra-credit all-homemade version. First, I taste-tested each element side by side, and as I did - I have to say, I wondered if my homemade version was actually worth all the effort...

The main reason I wanted to make all the elements myself is because I can then control the sweetness level of each element. Now, the original reason I made this recipe my own was because I wanted to make it gluten- and dairy-free for a friend. But I also prefer my desserts less sweet compared to most store-bought items. When doing my testing this week, I knew that the store-bought stuff would be sweeter, but when I tasted each element side by side, they didn’t seem all that different. However - when I layered everything up into the final product, I gotta say my homemade version took the cake. You really could taste the freshness, and each item being a little less sweet than normal combined for my personally-perfect sweetness level. However, I also confirmed that the store-bought version is GREAT, and totally worth making.

Doing the comparison side by side also helped me pick up some fun hacks and observations to help YOU be able to customize it to your exact liking.

I’ve adapted the original recipe to make it my own, and I’ve written it up in a choose-your-own-adventure kind of way, because that’s how I will be making this one from here on out! Full guide below, and you can also check out more visuals on my Instagram highlight here.

I hope you enjoy, and if you make it, you gotta let me know what you think! Happy dessert-making and happy valentine's day!

I'm sending you all my love,

Jess

PS. I have decided to begin offering a paid-subscription-version-offering to this newsletter, info coming in the next couple weeks. The basic version of Food for Thought Friday will continue to be free, and I would also love the chance to get paid to do even more with these emails. I really do put my heart and soul (and sometimes an entire week's worth of work, like I did this week!) into writing them - and I would love the chance to be supported by those of you who get a lot of value out of them and perhaps want even more.

When I started writing this almost two years ago, I really had no idea that I would enjoy it so much. I genuinely love the rhythm (and accountability) of writing it every week, simply for the joy of sharing my ideas and inspiration in the kitchen in the hopes that it makes your own cooking a little easier, tastier, and more joyful. And of course I love connecting with all of you and am so grateful that you want my writing in your inbox every week! The subscription option will give me the chance to connect even more closely with some of you who want even more. It will likely be around $50/year for more extended content, extra/printable goodies and it will come with some additional benefits and perks - of which I am still working on and very excited to put together, so if you have any ideas/requests - I would love to hear them! For now, just wanted to give you a heads up that more info will be coming soon on this option. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts or feedback, I would love love love to hear! Just reply back :) And without further ado, my icebox cake choose-your-own-adventure recipe guide is below! Thanks so much for reading!

GPJ Lemon Raspberry Icebox Cake - Choose Your Own Adventure Recipe/Guide!

Elements:

1. whipped cream - you gotta make this part, it only takes 10 mins; can do dairy (yogurt + cream) or coconut** (dairy-free) - both versions are SUPER delicious
2. graham crackers - choose store bought: regular or gluten free (making your own is fun but a lot of work; I did it but wouldn't recommend unless you really want a project)
3. lemon curd - choose: store bought (Bon Maman was great) or make your own (takes 30 mins, so delish!)
4. raspberry jam OR mash - choose: buy jam/use what you have, OR make your own "quick mash" with frozen raspberries and chia/maple syrup (takes 8 mins, light/fresh and worth it!)

Notes on the choices to consider:

• Yogurt Whipped Cream vs. Coconut Whipped Cream - if you like both, here's what to know:
• Yogurt version has delicious tang and creaminess - it's a bit more luxurious, and slightly heavier comparatively. Whips up really easily and beautifully - very easy to spread. If you are making this in a loaf-pan to cut into slices, note that the yogurt cream is easier to spread/deal with, AND easier to freeze. It stays softer than the coconut cream in the freezer, which makes the "cake" easier to cut when frozen.
• Coconut version also tastes delicious (albeit like coconut), makes the cake taste lighter (in my opinion). Coconut whipped cream is slightly trickier to deal with just because of variations based on the brands, need for refrigeration before making it, etc. It gets much harder when frozen, so if you want to freeze the whole cake in a loaf pan, it's slightly harder to cut this one straight out of the freezer.
• Graham Crackers: Regular vs Gluten Free
• Normal graham crackers are super flaky, crumbly, and airy, which means they absorb the moisture from the cream quickly and get soft/turn into "cake" faster.
• Gluten-free graham crackers seem generally much denser, so they take a bit longer to soften into "cake" and maintain their firmer texture more readily. This can be delicious if you prefer more texture! Not an issue either way - both taste great - just something to note.
• If freezing in the loaf pan, note that the gluten-free grahams can be a little harder to cut, whereas the regular grahams tend to cut more easily when frozen.
• Lemon Curd and Jam: make yourself or buy?!
• This is just a matter of personal preference. Generally, anything store bought will usually be sweeter than the recipes I've included for these. In my store-bought test, I used a "tart" raspberry preserves that had about half the sugar of other options in the store, and I liked it. My homemade lemon curd and raspberry "mash" both had a fresher, lighter flavor - due to the fresh lemon juice and more acidic/not-cooked-down raspberry mash. This produced a lighter dessert in my opinion. But overall, if you buy good quality lemon curd and jam, you probably wouldn't notice a huge flavor difference on these.

Which container(s) should I make it in? Some options:

• Loaf pan - this is what the original recipe said to use. It has the most *chance* for the prettiest aesthetic, and especially if you're serving a crowd... but it's never looked like even CLOSE to the gorgeous bon app photo when I've made it. That said - it's fun to make the layers in the loaf pan, and it's easier to store this in the freezer if you do want to freeze it.
• Jars - I think these are the most fun to eat, and you can make them sort of pretty (albeit messy) - also best to help you only eat small servings at a time! And good to give away like this!
• Glass baking dish - I haven't actually tried this one yet, but I think it would be a good combo of pretty, fun to assemble, and easy to serve, although it may be slightly harder to get as many layers as in the other options. Wouldn't be great if you want to freeze the whole cake.
• My recommendation: do one loaf pan and make little jars out of the rest - a great compromise!

AND NOW THE RECIPES!!!!! Use as needed, assembly instructions at the bottom.

If you are using store-bought ingredients, you'll need to buy:

• 1 jar of lemon curd (at least 12 oz)
• 1 jar of raspberry (or other berry of your choice) jam/preserves/etc
• 2 sleeves (about 10 crackers each) of graham crackers - honey or cinnamon both work

Coconut Whipped Cream (dairy-free)
Takes about 10 minutes; makes about 4 cups coconut whipped cream

For best results, read this recipe before making the coconut cream. This is the technique I followed, but changed the ingredients slightly according to my tastes.

Ingredients:

• one 33.8oz pack of Aroy-D coconut cream OR 3 cans of coconut milk (see brand details here - the brand matters in this case!!), must be *REFRIGERATED OVERNIGHT or for 24 hours ideally*
• 1/8 cup powdered sugar, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
• 3 t vanilla, or to taste
• Equipment: hand mixer and medium bowl or stand mixer

Instructions:

1. Select a good brand (my fav) and refrigerate coconut cream or milk as instructed here - I put mine in the coldest part of the fridge and chill it overnight or longer to help separate the coconut cream from the coconut water.
2. When ready to make whipped cream, remove cans/container carefully from the fridge.
1. If using Aroy-D - If you refrigerated for a while, you may be able to feel the cream in the container - it will be hard and firm. If this is the case, it will be really easy to separate: holding the container over a small-medium bowl or tupperware, insert a paring knife and allow coconut water to flow out into the bowl, leaving the cream inside. When most of the water is out, use paring knife to totally open the container and use a rubber spatula to get all the cream out into a medium-large mixing bowl. Save coconut water for smoothies or just drink it!
2. If using cans of coconut milk, carefully scoop out cream/see instructions here for removing cream into large mixing bowl.
3. Using a hand mixer, whip coconut cream for a minute or so until it has loosened up a bit. Add 1/8 cup powdered sugar, 2 tsp vanilla, and a pinch of salt, then whip together for another 1-3 minutes. Taste and adjust any flavors, then continue whipping briefly if needed to incorporate any additions.
4. If it's runny, refrigerate to firm it up. If making other elements of the icebox cake, store this in fridge while you do so. It keeps in the fridge for about a week or longer.

Yogurt Whipped Cream (dairy-based)
Takes about 12 minutes, makes 5-6 cups of whipped cream

Note - this one is a little messy so wear an apron if you are worried about splatter! Consider whether you are buying or making the other ingredients when deciding how sweet to make this cream. If using store-bought lemon curd, jam, and/or crackers (all are sweeter than homemade), I’d use only 1/8 cup powdered sugar. If making your own curd and raspberry mash, I’d use 1/4 cup powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

• ~2 cups or ~10oz plain whole milk Greek yogurt
• 1 pint container (2 cups) heavy whipping cream
• 1/8- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, or to taste
• 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp vanilla, or to taste
• Equipment: hand mixer and medium bowl or stand mixer

Instructions:

1. Empty Greek yogurt into medium-large mixing bowl. Add 1/8- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Mix thoroughly with hand mixer to combine.
2. Add whipping cream, and mix slowly at first until incorporated, then increase speed and whip for about 3-5 minutes until it thickens and “medium peaks" form (with mixer off, if you pull it out of the cream, a little “peak” should hold its shape slightly).
3. Taste and adjust any flavors as needed, whipping more if needed to combine any additional ingredients.
4. Store in fridge or leave on the counter while you make other elements.

Lemon Curd
Takes 30 minutes or less, makes 3 cups
(Adapted to be a combo of Ina’s and Martha’s recipes)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar (or 3/4 cup if you want it more tart)
• 2 large lemons or 3-4 small ones (ideally organic because we are using the zest)
• 1/8- 1/4 cup powdered sugar, or to taste
• 4 large eggs
• 8T (1 stick) butter
• pinch of salt (if using unsalted butter, add a larger pinch)
• Equipment: small sauce pot, large fork/whisk, microplane/zester, lemon squeezer or small sieve, 1-cup

Instructions:

1. Measure 1 cup sugar into small sauce pot (pot not on the heat yet).
2. Zest 1 full lemon into the sugar (ideally using a microplane) and stir it in with the large fork or whisk.
3. Squeeze the zested lemon into the 1-cup measure. Squeeze additional lemon(s) half by half until you have 3/4 cup squeezed lemon juice. NOTE: If you want it REALLY ZESTY, feel free to zest the additional lemons before you squeeze them. The extra zest makes a great garnish as well, and you can add it to other parts of the recipe if you like.
4. Add lemon juice and crack eggs into the pot with the sugar. Add a pinch of salt (large or small depending on what kind of butter you are using). Whisk until combined well.
5. Add butter and place pot over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon - small bubbles will form on the sides of the pot and the curd will start to pull away from the sides when it’s done. The whole thickening process will happen fast - about 5-10 minutes. The curd will continue to thicken as it cools.
6. Notes: Do not boil and be sure to whisk constantly; wear an oven mitt on your whisking hand if it is getting too hot. There will be small pieces of zest in the curd and or tiny pieces of egg. If you wish, you can filter through a fine mesh sieve to remove these, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
7. Store in the fridge if needed until ready to use. Will last a week or two in the fridge on its own.

Raspberry Mash
Takes 8 minutes, makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

• ~2 cups or 12-14 oz frozen raspberries (ideally defrosted in the fridge overnight), or fresh berries if you prefer
• 1T chia seeds
• 2 tsp maple syrup, or other sweetener to taste
• tiny pinch of salt
• optional lemon zest if desired/easy
• Equipment: jar or container, tsp and Tbsp measures, muddler or large fork/bottom of a wooden spoon to mash berries

Instructions:

1. If using frozen berries and they are not defrosted, run the unopened bag under hot water for a minute or two to loosen them up. If using fresh berries, wash thoroughly and allow to drain a bit.
2. Pour berries (and liquid if using frozen berries) into a medium-large jar or other tall container, leaving a bit of space at the top.
3. Mash raspberries with a muddler or bottom of a wooden spoon until all smashed and uniform.
4. Add tiny pinch of salt, 1 tsp maple syrup, (lemon zest if using) and 1 T chia. Stir to combine. Taste and add another tsp maple syrup (or other sweetener) if desired. Stir again and taste and adjust as needed. It should taste fresh and balanced.
5. Store in fridge if needed until you’re ready to assemble.

ICEBOX CAKE ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS!

1. Choose your vessels according to the containers guide above. I recommend doing a loaf pan first, then filling jars with whatever’s left.
2. Line loaf pan with parchment for easier removal (you could also use plastic wrap but… I try never to use it bc less plastic!)
3. Important step: Reserve at least 1 cup lemon curd for the layers, then gently fold the rest of the lemon curd in with the whipped cream until well combined.
4. Read these notes 1-4, then follow the below hand-drawn visual guide (from bottom to top!) to layer your icebox cake!
1. I recommend being slightly more generous with the cream layers, this is what will soften the graham crackers.
2. Note that the raspberry jam and lemon curd are both hard to spread. You kind of have to drizzle these two. Don't worry if they get messy/mixed up.
3. Note that it’s extremely difficult to spread the cream (especially coconut) on top of the lemon curd layer, so I recommend using a spatula to spread the cream on the bottom of the graham cracker, then place it on top of the lemon curd layer. Repeat for the layer. See photo of this below the diagram.
4. If using jars, you’ll need to crumble the graham crackers to fit inside. I just do small pieces instead of full on crumbs, but do as you wish!

Assembly instructions continued below photos

Spreading cream on the bottom of the graham crackers and THEN placing on top of the lemon layer is a good trick!