Dark and Stormy Icebox Cake

Cool and tasty, the perfect antidote to summer’s swelter

No-bake cake? We’re in!

Especially when it tastes like a Dark and Stormy Cocktail – with whipped cream.

So grab your bottle of rum and get ready to whip up a cool dessert. Yo ho ho!

Recipe: Dark and Stormy Icebox Cake

The Dark and Stormy Cocktail is one of our favorite summer drinks. It’s a delightful combination of ginger beer, dark rum, and lime juice. So why not take these great flavors and make them into a cool summer dessert?

Mrs. Kitchen Riffs, the dessert maven in our household, based this recipe on one she found in the Washington Post.

It takes about 30 minutes to prepare this cake. Then the cake needs to set up in the freezer for at least 3 hours before serving.

This recipe serves up to 8, depending on how large you slice the pieces. Leftovers keep for several days if refrigerated in an airtight container.

Ingredients

• 2 cups heavy cream (divided)
• ~½ cup granulated sugar (divided)
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract (divided)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons dark rum (to taste)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons lime zest (to taste)
• 2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (to taste)
• ~8 ounces ginger snaps (about 40 cookies) 
• additional lime zest for garnish (optional)
• lime slices for garnish (optional)

Procedure

1. Line a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap (let the wrap hang over the sides of the pan). 
2. Pour one cup of the cream into a mixing bowl (see Notes). Using a whisk beater, whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Add about half the granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Continue whipping until the cream forms soft peaks. Add the dark rum, then whip until the cream holds firm peaks when you remove the whisk. Add more sugar and/or rum to taste if necessary, then whip again briefly to combine. Set aside.
3. Pour the remaining cup of cream into a separate mixing bowl. Using a whisk beater, whip the cream until it begins to thicken. Add the rest of the granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract. Continue whipping until the cream forms soft peaks. Add the lime zest and lime juice, then whip until the cream holds firm peaks when you remove the whisk. Add more sugar and/or lime flavoring to taste if necessary, then whip again briefly to combine.
4. Construct the cake: Using a large spoon or spatula, spread about half the rum whipped cream along the bottom of the prepared loaf pan. Add a layer of ginger snaps (use about half the cookies) over the whipped cream. Then, using a spoon or spatula, spread about ¾ of the lime whipped cream over the ginger-snap layer. (Refrigerate the remaining lime whipped cream, reserving it for garnish.) Add another layer of ginger snaps, using the remaining cookies. Then add a final layer of rum whipped cream, using the remaining half of the rum cream.
5. Cover the cake with additional plastic wrap, then place the cake in the freezer for at least 3 hours (or even overnight).
6. When ready to serve, remove the cake from the freezer and peel off the top layer of plastic wrap. Place a large plate over the loaf pan containing the cake. Quickly invert the cake onto the plate, then peel off the remaining plastic wrap. Using a sharp knife, cut the cake into slices and place on serving plates. Garnish each slice with some of the reserved lime whipped cream. Add additional lime zest as garnish if desired (or use lime slices).

Notes

• Want to make this cake gluten free? Just use gluten-free ginger snaps.
• You can even make the cake alcohol free. Just use rum extract (to taste; start with 2 teaspoons, and go from there).
• The original recipe calls for 3 cups of heavy cream. But that makes almost enough for two cakes (if you’re using a standard loaf pan). So we reduced it to 2 cups – which is more than adequate.
• If you don’t want to use two separate mixing bowls for the cream, you can just whip all the cream in one bowl, then divide it before adding the rum and lime flavorings. If going this route: Whip the cream until it thickens, then add all the sugar and vanilla extract. Continue whipping until the cream forms stiffish peaks, then remove half the cream to a smaller mixing bowl. Add the rum to the original mixing bowl, then whip to combine. Add the lime zest and juice to the cream in the smaller mixing bowl. Using a spatula, fold in the lime flavorings until well combined.
• Whipped cream does not freeze “solid” in a home freezer, so the cake will still be soft when you serve it. That means the pieces probably will not hold together when you cut them. Use the reserved lime whipped cream to cover gaps. 
• This cake is a bit easier to cut if you use a very sharp knife. Have an electric knife? Use that – it makes for neater cuts.
• BTW, cutting the frozen cake right before serving (Step 6) results in fairly firm pieces. If you want a softer serve, we suggest cutting the cake about half an hour before serving. Then put the plated pieces of cake in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve them.
• You can crumble the ginger snaps if you want, although we like to keep them whole.
• You could also make this cake into a parfait: Just place alternate layers of whipped cream and crumbled ginger snaps in serving glasses.

The Perfect Storm

“This is like having a cocktail for dessert,” I said. “I could get whipped into a frenzy over it.”

“Icebox cake is the cream of the crop,” said Mrs. Kitchen Riffs. “Limey tell you.”

“I’ve made snappy work of finishing off this piece,” I said.

“Rum thing,” said Mrs K R. “I suppose you’ll be begging for more. Like a cat around a bowl of cream?”

Yup. I’m just a whipping boy.

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Dark and Stormy Cocktail
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Homemade Meringues with Strawberry Sauce
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Or check out the index for more