Blueberry-Lemon Icebox Cake

This is an easy dessert to make. Looks complicated but trust me it is not. Once all the components are ready, it comes together easily. Take a little extra time to pop the cake in the freezer after adding each layer if only for ten minutes or so. Freezing between layers makes the final product much prettier and a little more tidy when sliced.

Yes, you can cheat for this dessert. If you don't want to make homemade pound cake, no worries; buy a pre-made or frozen cake and slice it up.

No homemade blueberry sauce? Buy a good jar of blueberry jam....ssshhh

Never made easy homemade lemon curd? You can buy that too but don't skip this homemade lemon mascarpone cream. With only 5 ingredients the cream mixes up in just a few minutes and really makes this dessert something special.

Tender pound cake layered between fluffy lemon curd mascarpone cream and fresh blueberry sauce for a wonderful frozen dessert you will be thrilled to serve!

Ingredients:

For the blueberry sauce:

• 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries plus 1/3 cup, divided
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• juice of ½ large lemon, about 1 tbsp

For the lemon cream:

• 250g mascarpone cheese, room temperature
• ¾ icing sugar
• 2 cups double cream
• zest of 1 large lemon
• 1 cup lemon curd, divided
• 1 pound cake, about 9x5 inch, trim off the top, bottom and sides

Method:

Combine 3 cups of fresh or frozen blueberries with ½ cup granulated sugar and 2 tbsp water in a deep saucepan. Heat on medium until the mixtures begins to boil. Reduce the heat slightly to maintain a simmer, and cook until the blueberries pop and the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook until the mixture is almost reduced by half, about 10 minutes. You will need 1½ cups of sauce. Remove from the heat and cool. Refrigerate until ready to use. Keep extra 1/3 cup of fresh blueberries ready, they are added at the end.

When ready to make the icebox cake, line a 9x5 inch loaf pan with plastic wrap making sure there is a lot of extra hangover on all sides.  Set aside.

Prepare the pound cake by slicing into ½ inch pieces removing the dark ends, and sides if desired for a prettier presentation. Set aside.

To prepare the lemon cream: In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine the mascarpone cheese, icing sugar and lemon zest. Blend until smooth. Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the double cream until it's all mix well and starting to thicken. Increase the speed to medium, then high, and beat until medium peaks form. It won't take long.

Transfer 1/3 of the cream to a container with lid and refrigerate until needed. This will be used to "ice" the cake.

Gently fold in  ½ cup of lemon curd into the remaining mascarpone mixture. Now you are ready to assemble the icebox cake.

Place a layer of pound cake in the bottom of the prepared pan, cutting to fit as needed. Spread ¼ of the lemon cream over the cake and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface (place the remaining lemon cream in the refrigerator until needed again).

Place the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes, then spoon ½ cup of the blueberry sauce in mounds over the lemon cream. Spread gently with a clean spoon to cover the cream. Place the pan back in the freezer for about 10 minutes.

Drizzle ¼ cup of the lemon curd over the blueberry sauce. Spoon 1/3 of the remaining lemon cream over the curd and smooth evenly with the back of a spoon. Top with another layer of pound cake.

Repeat the process with ½ of the remaining lemon cream, ½ cup blueberry sauce, and the remaining lemon curd, freezing between layers as needed.

Finish with a layer of the lemon cream and final layer of pound cake. The cake may extend over the top of the pan depending on how thick you cut the pound cake. This is where you need that extra long pieces of plastic wrap to come up and over the cake to hold it all in.

Wrap the entire cake in plastic wrap and freeze for at last 8 hours or overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the plastic wrap and invert the cake onto a serving platter. Peel off the plastic wrap and trim the sides of the cake with a knife, if desired, to make a straight edge.

Spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining mascarpone cream. If needed, whisk the cream until soft peaks form again.

Place the iced cake in the freezer at least 15 minutes or until ready to serve.

To serve, mix the 1/3 cup fresh blueberries into the remaining blueberry sauce and spoon over the cake.