By Melissa Clark
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus chilling
- Rating
- 4(1,487)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Fluffy swirls of strawberry cream are layered with spicy gingersnaps in this summery, no-bake confection. The deep strawberry flavor comes through twice here: once in the mascarpone cream, which is whipped with berry purée, and in a scarlet topping spiked with lime zest and grated fresh ginger. We used Nabisco gingersnaps, but any brand should work, as could vanilla wafers. This cake is best made the day before you want to serve it, giving the gingersnaps a chance to soften into a luscious, soft cake.
Featured in: An Icebox Cake Casts Its Spell on Strawberries
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 1pound/455 grams strawberries
- 12ounces/340 grams mascarpone
- ¼cup/28 grams confectioners’ sugar, more as needed
- 1teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1¼teaspoons finely grated lime zest, more to taste
- ½teaspoon fresh lime juice, more to taste
- 32gingersnaps (about 8 ounces)
- 1tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¾teaspoon grated fresh ginger, more to taste
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
309 calories; 18 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 34 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 20 grams sugars; 4 grams protein; 249 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Set aside half the strawberries, choosing the smallest, prettiest ones. They'll be used for serving. Hull the remaining berries.
Step
2
Using a blender or food processor, purée the hulled strawberries, then strain through a fine mesh strainer. You should have about ⅔ cup of purée.
Step
3
In the bowl of an electric mixer set on low speed, whisk together strawberry purée, mascarpone, confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, ¾ teaspoon lime zest and the lime juice. Once the cream mixture is combined, but not fully whipped, taste and add more confectioners’ sugar if necessary (this will depend on how sweet your strawberries are). Whip to medium-stiff peaks.
Step
4
On a serving platter, lay 2 rows of 4 cookies (for a total of 8) in a rectangle. Spread ½ cup cream mixture over the cookies, spreading it to the edges. Top with another 8 cookies, and spread with another ½ cup cream. Repeat 2 more times, so you have 4 layers of cookies. Top with remaining cream, spreading it along the sides like frosting. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours, and preferably overnight.
Step
5
Half an hour before serving, hull and quarter remaining strawberries (cut them in eighths, if they’re large). Toss berries in a medium bowl with granulated sugar, remaining ½ teaspoon lime zest and the ginger. Let sit for at least 30 minutes, and up to 1 hour; they should release their juices, which will turn syrupy from the sugar. Taste and add more lime zest, ginger and a squeeze of lime juice, if you like.
Step
6
Just before serving, arrange strawberries on top of the cake and drizzle with accumulated syrupy juices. Serve at once, cutting cake into slices.
Ratings
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out of 5
1,487
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Cooking Notes
Tucsonbabe
Make this in a cheesecake pan and put very thin slices of strawberry around the perimeter of the pan when you add the cream mixture. This is beautiful when unmolded and makes for a very elegant presentation.TJ's triple ginger snaps are wonderful in this.
Libby
Can you tell me the dimensions of the serving platter? This recipe looks yum and I would love to try it.
Martha Solomon
New York Times......We miss the Meliisa Clark video series!!This and all her recipes are better watching and listening to herwomderful humor and delivery!!
elle
I've made a version of this using a different cookie and I cannot fathom wasting all the great fruit pulp -- so after I puree the berries, I don't strain them (just because.) It works well with graham crackers, and is especially good with pecan sandies though it needs more time to temper.Thanks for a great reminder of this "cake."
Sarah
Delicious! This was a hit. A few notes: there has been some debate in the comments about whether or not you need to strain the strawberry puree. Note that the recipe says to strain the berries and then mix the PULP into the mascarpone. This is different from many recipes which says "discard solids" - this recipe is the opposite. Keep the juice for another project, but don't mix it into the mascarpone, or it would be too runny. I formed this in a lined bread tin, came out great!
Mary Moore
Question whether the people who said not to strain the puree ever made the recipe. I unfortunately listened to them and came out with a too-loose “frosting,” I am no novice in the kitchen, but I took those comments at face value, assuming that the people that actually made the recipe. That was a mistake. Yes the recipe should be clearer on this point, but the problem was compounded by the comments suggesting that people do exactly what they should not.
Gabrielle
This sounds divine, and can't wait to try it, especially because substituting with gluten free ginger snaps will be...well....a snap!
Joyce
The way I read this is that the straining is not to get rid of seeds or pulp or whatever. In fact, the recipe includes the use of the pulp. It’s to drain off some of the liquid so the dessert is not too mushy. But it’s not entirely clear, is it?
Diana
If mascarpone is unavailable:(1)Do you have access to Greek yogurt? If not in local stores, make it by straining regular yogurt overnight (put cheesecloth or a filter in a strainer, over a bowl, in the fridge, overnight).Whip 1 c Greek yogurt w 3/4 c whipping cream together. Delicious, slightly tangy, stable.(2) OR drain the juice then thicken on stovetop w 1 tablespoon cornstarch per cup juice. Drizzle over top.(3) OR whip 1/2 c condenensed. milk w 2 c whipping cream
Claudia
If I were using red raspberries I would strain, but strawberry seeds are so insignificent I wouldn’t bother either. I make both raspberry and strawberry couli and only strain the raspberries.
Nancy
From the article "Die-hard chocolate lovers can substitute cocoa wafers. You’ll end up with something that tastes like chocolate-covered strawberries, but a whole lot fluffier. Just don’t use any cookies (either chocolate or ginger) with a so-called cream in the center. That stiff white disk will never dissolve, leaving hard, sugary pockets where mousselike suppleness should reign."
Mary
Straining the berries,really ! Wasting the fiber and pulp is an absolute waste of simple goodness. Skip this step .
Robin W.
A memorable dessert that my mom made (and I assume a lot of others during the 60's) was a log made with plain store bought chocolate wafers and flavored (mint, coffee, or berries) whipped cream in between, over the top and sides. It was made a day in advance and cut on an angle, producing what looked like a slice of layer cake. Delicious! This recipe reminds me of an updated version, especially with the lime zest and ginger! Yum!
Dale
I made this and it turned out great. I used a loaf pan that I lined with Saran Wrap. I let it set over night and inverted it onto a plate so that I could slice it. I also used this ginger cookies so that I could have more layers.I also made a version with raspberries instead of strawberries and used thin chocolate cookies. It turned out great. I also made the recipe using half mascarpone and half whipped cream. I prefer this version which makes for a delicate texture and flavor.
Elizabeth Malloy
Joyce, I read this the same way. Puree is used as a verb, then as a noun. It's not totally clear whether you use the juice, or the slop in the strainer. Since many recipes call for discarding the solids, one may wonder. It seems you incorporate the slop, discarding the juice, which would make for a soggy cake. However, if some instructions were added for what to do with the juice (say, 'use strained strawberry juice to craft an artisanal margarita,') it would be obvious.
Dairy free?
Has anyone tried this dairy free?
Helen N
Made this for a dinner with friends and it was spectacular. Not sure what the confusion is regarding pulp vs. juice. Use the pulp only. I used a standard size loaf pan (10” x 5” x 2.75) and it worked perfectly. I served it after 10 hours in the refrigerator and the cookies had softened but had not turned mushy. Following another reader’s tip, I lined the sides of the loaf pan with thinly sliced strawberries and it looked beautiful when unmolded. Would highly recommend this recipe as written.
Julie
Amazing! Use Tate's Ginger Cookies to make it Gluten Free! A huge hit!
Jeffrey K.
Made this last night for a dinner party: WILD SUCCESS!!!! It actually became a part of the conversation on the many combinations that could be taken...mango and graham cracker was a popular suggestion as with the previous reader. I followed the instructions exactly (the strawberry puree is what is left in the bowl AFTER you strain the seeds out...I think I could have left them in, but it did make it beautiful!) and it was PERFECTION! Thank you Melissa!!!
Sheri
This was a winner with my guests! I would double the recipe because helpings for 8 people are small and they wanted more.
Claiborne
Ginger cookies are also a delicious substitute for vanilla wafers in a Banana Pudding.
Julie
I made this with Tate's Gluten Free Ginger Zinger Cookies! Really strong ginger flavor with lots of crystalized ginger bits in them. I broke them apart a bit since they're much larger than regular ginger snaps and I didn't want large spaces between the cookies. Very easy and fresh and summery! I've probably made it five or six times already! And the fact that it needs to be made ahead means no last minute racing to get dessert done for guests! Love it!
Stina
I followed all of the ingredient directions, but instead of making one icebox cake I divided everything up into six wine glasses. A big hit!
megwms
Yuk. This was terrible. What a waste of strawberries, cream & gingersnaps.
krelco
This was a big hit. Made with TJ triple ginger snaps, which are quite thin. To use the whole 9-oz box, you may need to double up on some of layers, stacking 2 per layer. Marscarpone didn't really whip up for me, is it supposed to get airy and fluffy? Still yummy, even with less than awesome strawberries (added more sugar to compensate). The liquid that results from puree could be served in a creamer with the desert and drizzled on the slices for extra berry goodness. Or on whipped cream with it
Maddie
Very tasty! I would highly recommend making this in some kind of container because the summer heat made this a delicious but melty mess to assemble free-form. As some folks noted, my TJ's gingersnaps caused some discoloration to occur overnight. This could likely be solved by making sure the top layer of the cream is nice and thick.
Dana
Can someone clarify- ‘Chill’ in freezer or fridge? Thanks!
Caroline
This was amazing. I used Trader Joe's triple gingersnap cookies and followed the recipe exactly. It was a huge hit! One complaint - it says it makes 8 servings, but 4 of us easily polished it off. Someone please tell me the serving size was a mistake on the author's part... It was worth it!
Cindy O
Used TJs ginger cookies, my favorite but too much for this recipe. Liked the strawberry "icing" with the lime but not with the ginger cookies. If I tried again, I would use lady fingers or vanilla wafers. Dessert looked great, just the tastes were off.
Anne Dodge-Schwanz
Be warned that the Ginger Snaps may stain the icing of the cake.
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