Recipes: Strawberry-Lemon Icebox Cake, Pistachio-Chocolate Icebox Cake

Serves 9 to 12.

Note: The dessert also can be made in 8- by 4-inch loaf pans; you will have enough pudding and strawberries for two cakes. To remove the cake from the pan for serving, line it with plastic wrap before building the layers. This recipe must be prepared in advance. Adapted from "Icebox Cakes," which includes a recipe for ladyfingers. We used store-bought ladyfingers.

• 1 c. sugar

• 1/4 c. cornstarch

• 3/4 tsp. salt

• 2 1/2 c. whole milk

• 3/4 c. heavy cream

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 1/4 tsp. lemon extract

• 24 ladyfingers, or more as needed

• 3 cups fresh strawberries, hulled, thinly sliced

Directions

To prepare the pudding: Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Whisk in milk, cream, lemon juice and zest until combined. Add egg; whisk again. Place saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking constantly. When the mixture begins to thicken and bubbles begin popping on the surface, turn heat to medium and whisk vigorously for 45 seconds. Remove pan from heat.

Strain pudding through a medium-mesh wire sieve into a heatproof bowl. Add butter and lemon extract; whisk until they are incorporated. You should have about 5 cups. Let the pudding cool slightly; it should still be warm and relatively pourable when you layer it with the ladyfingers. Prepare lemon whipped cream. (Recipe below.)

To assemble cake, spread a generous layer of pudding on the bottom of an 8- by 8-inch baking pan. Cover as much of the pudding as possible with a layer of ladyfingers, filling any gaps with broken ladyfingers. The pieces should touch; the goal is a solid layer of ladyfingers.

Set aside about 1/4 cup sliced strawberries for garnish. Layer some remaining strawberries over the ladyfingers. Continue layering in this order (pudding, ladyfingers, strawberries) until you run out or reach the top of the pan, no matter what layer you end on. Spread the top of the cake with lemon whipped cream. Gently cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 24 hours. Remove plastic wrap from cake; scatter reserved strawberries on top. Serve directly from pan.

Calories295Fat14 gSodium212 mg

Carbohydrates38 gSaturated fat8 g

Protein5 gCholesterol99 mgDietary fiber1 g

Makes about 3 cups.

• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream

• 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

• 1 1/2 tbsp. fresh lemon zest

• 1 1/2 tbsp. limoncello, optional

• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract, or to taste

Directions

Add powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, limoncello, if using, and lemon extract. On medium-high, whip cream until it holds stiff peaks that stand upright when the whisk is raised.

Serves 12-15.

Note: Of the three elements in this recipe adapted from "Icebox Cakes," make the pistachio paste and wafers first. Then 24 hours before serving, whip the cream and assemble the cake. If you want to substitute a store-bought cookie, author Jessie Sheehan suggests a thin, crisp cookie such as Jules Destrooper Almond Thins. This recipe must be prepared in advance.

• 2 1/4 c. flour

• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 3/4 c. unsalted butter, at room temperature

• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

• 1 tsp. almond extract, or to taste

• 2 tbsp. whole milk

• 1 tbsp. light corn syrup

• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped toasted pistachios

• Pistachio-chocolate whipped cream, see recipe

Directions

To prepare the wafers: whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream sugar, butter and vanilla and almond extracts on medium-low speed until slightly fluffy, about 2 minutes. Do not overbeat. (You can also mix with electric beater or by hand.) Scrape sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

In a small bowl, whisk milk and corn syrup to combine. Add milk mixture to the butter-sugar mixture with mixer on medium-low speed; beat until just combined. Scrape sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add pistachio paste; beat just until incorporated. Add flour mixture all at once. On low speed, beat until dough just begins to pull away from the bottom of the bowl and forms a cohesive mass. Scrape sides of the bowl to fully incorporate all ingredients.

To bake, unwrap one log; cut into thin (about 1/8-inch) slices, rotating log as you cut to keep it from flattening. Place slices about 1 inch apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet; freeze at least 10 minutes. Repeat with second log. (You should end up with about 60 slices.) If you need more room for slices, arrange on additional sheets of parchment paper, then layer dough-covered papers on top of each other on a baking sheet in the freezer, switching them out as you bake each batch.

Position a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 350 degrees. Bake one baking sheet of frozen rounds until edges begin to brown, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating sheet halfway through baking. With a stiff metal or plastic spatula, immediately press down lightly on each cookie to flatten it. Let wafers cool on the baking sheet, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Wafers should be very crispy when cooled. If not, return to the oven 1 to 2 minutes longer. Repeat baking additional sheets of dough rounds.

While wafers cool, toast 1/2 cup shelled pistachios on a baking sheet in a 350-degree oven until they begin to brown and become fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes. Stir nuts midway through baking to ensure even toasting.

Store cooled wafers immediately in an airtight container. They will remain crispy at room temperature, tightly sealed, for about 24 hours. Freeze baked wafers in a resealable plastic bag up to 1 month; you need not defrost wafers before assembling cake.

To assemble cake, line a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap hanging slightly over sides. Spread a generous layer of pistachio-chocolate whipped cream on the bottom of the lined pan. Cover as much of the cream as possible with a layer of wafers; fill gaps with broken wafers. The goal is a solid layer of wafers. Continue layering whipped cream and wafers until you run out or reach the top of the pan, ending with whipped cream. Gently cover cake with plastic wrap. Refrigerate, 24 hours.

Nutrition information per serving of 15:

Calories440Fat34 gSodium79 mg

Carbohydrates32 gSaturated fat16 g

Protein7 gCholesterol82 mgDietary fiber3 g

Makes about 6 cups.

• 1/2 c. pistachio paste, see recipe

• 1/3 c. powdered sugar

• 1/3 c. cocoa powder

• 1/4 tsp. almond extract, or to taste

• 1/8 tsp. salt

Pour cream into a chilled metal bowl; whip on medium speed until just thickened. Add pistachio paste, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, almond extract and salt; whip on medium-high speed until cream holds stiff peaks that stand upright when whisk is raised; the stiffer the cream, the more support it will give wafers in your cake. Use immediately.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 2 c. shelled unsalted pistachios

• 1/2 c. sugar

• 1/4 c. water

Directions

Combine pistachios and sugar in a food processor; pulse until nuts are finely chopped, about 90 seconds. Do not overprocess or nuts will get too buttery.