Howard Bulka's Strawberry Icebox Cake

Name: Howard Bulka's Strawberry Icebox Cake
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Eight servings
Ingredients: 1 1/2 pints strawberries, hulled and washed; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 ounce strawberry liqueur or eau de vie; 1 pound mascarpone; 8 ounces sour cream; 2 cups heavy cream, chilled, plus more for garnish, if desired; 1/2 cup sugar; 1 1/2 packages Italian ladyfingers (about 11 ounces); Shaved white chocolate, for garnish

By Marian Burros

Total Time: 15 minutes, plus overnight refrigeration
Rating: 4(28)
Notes: Read community notes

Featured in: When Chefs Celebrate; Sweet Surprise For A Cookbook Author

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Ingredients

Yield:Eight servings

The Soaking Syrup

1½pints strawberries, hulled and washed
1tablespoon sugar
1ounce strawberry liqueur or eau de vie

The Cream Filling

1pound mascarpone
8ounces sour cream
2cups heavy cream, chilled, plus more for garnish, if desired
½cup sugar
1½packages Italian ladyfingers (about 11 ounces)
Shaved white chocolate, for garnish

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
The day before serving, make the soaking syrup. Puree the strawberries in a food processor. Push through a sieve to remove the seeds. Combine with the sugar and strawberry liqueur. Thin with a little water if necessary.
Step 2
Combine the mascarpone and sour cream. In another bowl, whip the heavy cream until it forms soft peaks. Slowly beat in the sugar. Fold the 2 mixtures together, until smooth and well blended.
Step 3
To assemble: Soak the ladyfingers for half a minute or so in the strawberry syrup. Layer half of the ladyfingers on the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan, then cover with half of the cream filling. Repeat with the remaining ladyfingers and cream filling. Smooth the top of the cake, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Step 4
When ready to serve, unmold the cake onto a platter. Garnish with white chocolate and additional whipped cream, if desired.

Ratings

4 out of 5

28 user ratings

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Julie4 months ago

I cut back the proportions a bit to make it in an 8x8 pan. I made it more than 24 hours ahead of time, but it was too soft to unfold, so served with a spatula. No matter: it was delicious! (I appreciate the commenter's suggestion to sub creme de cassis.) The ladyfingers I bought were split, so I used the half lady fingers without giving it much thought--perhaps had I used them whole, the cake would have been stiff enough to unmold? But it seemed the right proportion of filling to cake.

ilyssa1 year ago

This was v good but we thought would be better if served with more syrup on side. It ate a little dry- but will def make again with that one modification.

jennifer3 years ago

This is an excellent recipe. I worried I didn’t soak long enough- 30 sec seemed to short- but the balance of strawberry, cream and lady fingers was perfect. Used creme de cassis in lieu of strawberry liquer. Skipper white chocolate garnish for concentric circles of cut strawberries and a bit of chopped mint.

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