SOUR CHERRY AND LEMON ICE-BOX CAKE

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Sour Cherry and Lemon Ice-Box Cake image

Sour cherries seem to be an elusive fruit. Finding them fresh in the supermarket is nigh on impossible and finding them at a greengrocer or farmers market seems almost as hard. Thankfully, the frozen variety is a little easier to track down and I hoard them when I see them. I would encourage you to get your hands on some for this dessert. You can use regular sweet cherries, but the flavor won't be quite the same, so double the lemon juice, reduce the sugar a little, and add a few drops of almond extract to get you close. You can either freeze this, akin to a semifreddo, which is my preference, or simply chill it in the refrigerator, which will, of course, give it a softer finish.

Provided by Edd Kimber

Categories     Dessert     Frozen Dessert     Cake     No-Cook     Cherry     Lemon     Marscarpone     Milk/Cream     Kirsch     Vegetarian     Soy Free     Peanut Free     Tree Nut Free

Yield Serves 12

Number Of Ingredients 14

Unsalted butter or neutral-tasting oil, for greasing
For the sour cherry compote:
600 g (1 lb 5 oz) frozen pitted sour cherries, defrosted
120 ml (4 fl oz / ½ cup) kirsch
100 g (3½ oz / ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons cornflour (cornstarch)
For the filling:
250 g (9 oz / 1⅛ cups) mascarpone, at room temperature
35 g (1¼ oz / ¼ cup) icing (powdered) sugar
800 ml (28 fl oz / 3⅓ cups) double (heavy) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
150 g (5½ oz / ½ cup) lemon curd
270 g (9¾ oz) digestives, graham crackers or speculoos biscuits

Steps:

  • Lightly grease the baking tin and line the base with parchment paper. If you want to remove the cake from the tin to serve, you can line the tin with a piece of parchment paper that overhangs the two long sides.
  • For the cherry compote, place the cherries, kirsch, sugar and lemon juice into a large saucepan and cook over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the fruit softens and releases a lot of juice. Use a slotted spoon to remove the cherries to a heatproof bowl, leaving the syrup in the pan. Continue cooking the syrup until it is reduced to about 240 ml (8½ fl oz / 1 cup).
  • Place the cornflour in a small bowl and whisk in a little of the cherry syrup to form a smooth paste. Add this to the cherry syrup in the pan and simmer, stirring, for a couple of minutes, or until slightly thickened. Pour the syrup over the fruit, cool slightly, then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate until cool.
  • For the filling, whisk together the mascarpone, icing sugar, 600 ml (20 fl oz / 2½ cups) of the cream and the vanilla in a bowl until the mixture just starts to hold its shape. Add the lemon curd and continue whisking until the mixture holds soft peaks.
  • To assemble the dessert, spread a thin layer of the lemon cream over the base of the prepared tin, then cover with a layer of biscuits, breaking them up as needed. Spread over half of the remaining lemon cream and then dollop over about a third of the cherry compote. Repeat the layering a second time and then finish with a final layer of biscuits.
  • Cover the tin with clingfilm and refrigerate or freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.
  • Just before serving, whip the remaining cream to soft peaks and spread over the dessert. Cut into slices and serve each portion with a spoonful of the remaining compote.
  • Store in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 2 weeks; if refrigerated, it will keep for 3-4 days.

RedBossy
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This is one of the best ice box cakes I've ever had. I highly recommend it!


A g G
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I had some trouble finding sour cherries, but I was able to use frozen cherries instead. The cake still turned out great.


Bhojpuri king Yadav
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This cake was a little too sweet for my taste, but I think that's just a personal preference. I would still recommend it to others.


Okafor Chinecherem
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I'm always looking for new ice box cake recipes, and this one is definitely a keeper. It's a great way to use up leftover sour cherries.


James Sayers
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I wasn't sure how I would like the combination of sour cherries and lemon, but I was pleasantly surprised. The flavors go together perfectly.


Dipak Patel
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This cake is perfect for summer parties. It's light and refreshing, and it's always a hit with my guests.


hassena khan
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I love how easy this recipe is to follow. I'm not a very experienced baker, but I was able to make this cake without any problems.


Adittyarajjoy Adittyarajjoy
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This recipe was a little more work than I expected, but it was definitely worth it. The cake was stunning and tasted even better than it looked.


Nojrul Hussain
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I've made this cake several times now and it's always a crowd-pleaser. The cake is moist and flavorful, and the sour cherry filling is the perfect balance of tart and sweet.


Aries Wade
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This ice box cake was a huge hit at my summer party! The combination of sour cherries and lemon was so refreshing and delicious. I loved that it was so easy to make and that I could prepare it ahead of time.