Lemon Icebox Cake from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2010

In 2004 someone said this about making an icebox cake in the Washington Post; "It's absurdly simple -- just sweetened whipped cream and the chocolate wafers." Apparently, the original recipe is on the box of Nabisco chocolate wafers. If Fine Cooking had used a recipe with chocolate, I probably wouldn't have made the cake because I'm not a chocolate fan and the last Classic/Classic Update challenge that I did was the Southern Devil's Food Cake and the Devil's Food Cake Verrine. Both were wonderful, but both had lots of chocolate.

However, Fine Cooking's version of an icebox cake includes an angel food cake and a lemon filling. How was I supposed to know that the magazine would take something "absurdly simple" and turn it into the hardest dessert I've ever made in my life; the Lemon Icebox Cake.

I actually started this yesterday since I was having company today and knew that the cake needed to sit in the refrigerator at least 12 hours. My husband and daughter were out of the house, which gave me the perfect time for what I knew was going to be a long baking experience (the recipe in the magazine runs for 2 pages).

The most important item for this recipe (in my opinion) is the angel food cake pan. I looked all over the stores around me for a pan that wasn't non-stick but wasn't able to find an aluminum one (like my mom has) so I ended up going on eBay and getting one for $4. The angel food cake needs to be able to "walk" up the side of the pan as it expands, needing a "sticky" edge to cling to. Because of that, non-stick pans will cause the cake to not rise as much as it should. In fact, I was really surprised that Fine Cooking's instructions included lightly greasing the inside of the pan. I didn't do that and my cake rose just about to the top of the tube (and I didn't have any problems getting it out).

Anyhow, because this recipe uses angel food cake, lemon curd and meringue, a lot of eggs are needed. There are about 16 egg whites in the cake, 12 egg yolks in the lemon curd and 6 egg whites in the meringue. If you're counting, yes, you end up with 10 egg yolks to make a nice omelet with at some point. My husband thought I as nuts when I bought 3 dozen eggs the other day. I guess now he knows why.

The first step is the lemon curd. I'll be the first to admit that sometimes I skip steps, but I really wanted this cake to turn out well so I followed every one to the letter this time. I'm glad I did too. After heating the curd, I was asked to pass it through a sieve into another bowl. Normally I would have rolled my eyes at this "needless" step since I knew my curd wasn't lumpy, but I got out my sieve and did the passing. After I was finished, I kind of went, "huh." What I didn't realize until then was that no matter how hard you try, it's impossible to get all the egg white off the yolk and as it cooks, it gets white and hard. I ended up with quite a few little cooked egg white pieces in my sieve that I'm so glad weren't in the finished curd.

The curd needs about an hour to cool before doing anything with it, so while it was do so, I went ahead and made the angel food cake. I watch Alton Brown on the Food Network on occasion and have heard over and over about using three bowls when separating eggs so NO egg yolk gets in the whites because the whole thing could fail if even the tiniest speck of fat get in there. So, of course, You crack the white over bowl one. If you're successful, the whites go in bowl two and the yolk goes in bowl three. That way if a yolk breaks, you the whole mess of whites aren't contaminated. Great idea, huh.

So I had my two bowls out and was merrily splitting up the eggs, when I had a yolk break on about egg number 12. There was no way I was going to throw out a dozen egg whites so I used a small ladle and tried to remove all the bits of yellow I could see, which is really difficult when you're working with something that has the consistency of snot. Either Alton was wrong or when you're dealing with 16 eggs whites you're given a little grace because I got great stiff peaks out of my egg whites (thank goodness).

The rest of the cake process went fine so while the cake was in the oven, I finished up turning the lemon curd into a lemon cream and then started in on the meringue. In this version, you work with a very hot syrup that can raise immediate blisters if you're not really careful and splash it on your hand. Trust me, I know. The scorching hot syrup is beat into the stiff egg whites. The step to be careful with is making sure to keep beating the whites because the syrup drops to the bottom of the pan and tries to solidify right away. They way to beat for approximately 10 minutes. You really need to.

Anyhow, meringue gets mixed into lemon cream and you end up with the lemon filling for the cake. That process took me about 4 hours.

Assembling the cake is a piece of cake compared to the process above. It takes a bit of care to cut the cake into 4 pieces, removing the top so a brown layer doesn't show when you cut into it, but other than that, it's just a matter of spread, layer, spread, layer.

This afternoon I was able to unveil the final product to my guests and the results were overwhelming. Several people said that it was the best cake they'd ever eaten and my husband said it might be the best dessert I've ever made. It really is phenomenal. The cake ends up light and airy and the lemon filling is absolutely out of this world.

Before I ate a piece, I swore I'd never make the cake again because it took so long, however, after eating it, it won't be something I make every weekend, but I'll have to make it again. It's just too good not to.

Lemon Icebox Cake 
from Fine Cooking Magazine, June/July 2010


For the lemon filling 
1-1/2 Tbs. firmly packed finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
3/4 cup egg yolks (from 11 to 12 large eggs)
6 Tbs. granulated sugar
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and softened
Pinch table salt
1-1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled

For the meringue 
2 tsp. powdered unflavored gelatin
1 cup plus 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
3/4 cup egg whites (from 5 to 6 large eggs)
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
To finish the dessert
1 10-inch Angel Food Cake
Vegetable oil, for the pan

Make the lemon filling
Put the lemon zest in a 4-quart or larger bowl and set a medium-mesh sieve on top. In a heavy-duty 4-quart saucepan, whisk the egg yolks and sugar. Add the lemon juice, butter, and salt. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon but still pourable, 4 to 5 minutes. (Don’t boil or it will curdle.) Pass the thickened curd through the sieve and mix in the zest. Cool, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour.

When the lemon curd is cool, beat the cream with an electric mixer on medium speed just until soft peaks form, about 2 minutes. With a large balloon whisk or silicone spatula, fold in the lemon curd. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Make the meringue
In a small, microwaveable bowl, sprinkle the gelatin over 3 Tbs. water; let soften for at least 5 minutes. Microwave on high to melt the gelatin, 15 to 30 seconds.

In a heavy-duty nonstick 2-quart saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1 cup of the sugar and 6 Tbs. water and stir constantly until the syrup is bubbling, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy, 45 seconds. Add the cream of tartar and beat until soft peaks form, 30 seconds. Gradually beat in the remaining 3 Tbs. sugar until stiff peaks form, 1 to 2 minutes.

Have ready a 2-cup or larger heatproof liquid measure. Return the pan of syrup to medium-high heat and boil until a candy thermometer registers 248°F (firm ball stage). Pour the syrup into the measure to stop the cooking and then immediately pour a small amount of syrup over the whites with the mixer off. Immediately beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Stop the mixer and add a larger amount of syrup. Beat at high speed for 5 seconds. Continue with the remaining syrup. Lower the speed to medium, add the gelatin mixture, and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Decrease the speed to low and continue beating until the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm to the touch, about 10 minutes.

Use a large balloon whisk or silicone spatula to fold one-third of the meringue into the lemon cream. Repeat twice more until all of the meringue is folded into the lemon cream.

Split the cake
Unmold the cake according to the recipe at right. Spread two 3-foot-long pieces of parchment or waxed paper on the counter. Position the cake so the top is facing up. Using a long serrated knife, remove and discard the brown top crust. Turn the cake bottom up and split it into 4 even layers. After cutting each layer, use two spatulas to lift a layer off the cake and put it on the parchment or waxed paper. Arrange the layers in the order you cut them so it’s easy to assemble the cake.

Assemble the cake
Lightly oil the inside of a clean 10-inch (16-cup) 2-piece metal tube pan.

Spread one-quarter of the filling on the bottom of the pan. Place the smallest cake ring on top of the filling. Spread about one-third of the remaining lemon filling on top. Top with the next cake layer. Spread on half of the remaining filling. Repeat with the third cake layer and remaining filling. Top with the last cake layer and lightly press it down. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 12 hours or overnight.

To unmold, wet a kitchen towel under very hot water and wring out the excess. Wipe the sides and bottom of the pan to help release the cake smoothly.

Set the pan on top of a canister that’s smaller than the pan’s removable bottom and higher than the pan’s sides, and gently press down on the sides of the pan. If it doesn’t slide down easily, apply more heat to the sides.

Run a long offset spatula between the bottom of the cake and the pan. Run a wire cake tester or wooden skewer around the inner tube. Invert the cake onto a serving plate and remove the tube portion of the pan. Slice and serve the cake.