Strawberry Icebox Cake with Black Pepper

Votes: 1

Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
Complexity: easily
Servings: 12

Nutritional value per serving:

Calories 355, total fat 23 G., saturated fats 13 G., proteins 3 G., carbohydrates 35 G., fiber 1 G., cholesterol 72 mg, sodium 168 mg, sugar 21 G.

This delicate cake with strawberry jam and airy cream cheese frosting is made without baking—in the refrigerator! Its secret ingredient is coarsely ground black pepper. It adds a richer, more complex flavor, while still remaining just the right amount of sweet without being overly bitter.

The recipes use measuring containers with the following volumes:
1 glass (st.) - 250 ml.
3/4 cup (st.) - 180 ml.
2/3 cup (st.) - 160 ml.
1/2 cup (st.) - 125 ml.
1/3 cup (st.) - 80 ml.
1/4 cup (st.) - 60 ml.
1 tablespoon (tbsp) - 15 ml.
1 teaspoon (tsp) - 5 ml.
1/5 teaspoon (tsp) - 1 ml.

Ingredients for the recipe:

1 cup strawberry jam, divided
220g cream cheese, divided
1 cup sour cream
1 tbsp + 1 tsp lemon zest
1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream, divided
1/4 cup powdered sugar
13 graham crackers
2.5 tsp coarsely ground black pepper, divided
Special equipment: stand mixer, bread pan

Ingredient Substitution Suggestions

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Recipes with similar ingredients: cream cheese, sour cream, cream, strawberry jam, powdered sugar, cream, black peppercorns, shortbread cookies

Cooking the dish according to the recipe:

Line a 20x10x7 cm loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving enough overhang on all sides to completely cover the top of the cake. Measure out 2/3 cup strawberry jam. Set aside.
Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese on high speed until fluffy, about 4 minutes, stopping as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the sour cream and lemon zest and beat until smooth, about 30 more seconds. Transfer to a large bowl.

Replace the spatula with a whisk and beat 0.5 cups of heavy cream with powdered sugar until stiff peaks form, about 3 minutes. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture and transfer to a zip-lock bag.
Line the bottom of the prepared loaf pan with a layer of graham crackers. Snip off a corner of the frosting bag, pipe about 1/4 to 1/2 cup frosting onto the crackers, and smooth it out with a spoon or spatula (you can add frosting by eye, but keep in mind that you should have six layers of frosting). Top with about 80 grams of jam (again, you can eyeball it), sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, and add another layer of frosting.
Continue layering—graham crackers, whipped cream, jam, pepper, frosting, graham crackers—until you have 4 graham cracker layers (see Notes). Cover the cake with the overhanging plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours or up to 24 hours.
When ready to serve, beat the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream with a mixer until stiff peaks form. Reduce mixer speed to low and add the remaining 1/3 cup of strawberry preserves and 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until stiff peaks form.
Unwrap the cake and invert it onto a serving platter. Remove the plastic wrap and top the cake with strawberry whipped cream. Slice and serve immediately.

Note

The most important thing is to always place the crackers between the layers of cream, but not next to the jam. The fat in the cream prevents the crackers from getting soggy.