Earl Grey Ice Box Cake Recipe

For tea time or anytime, this tea-infused dessert takes the cake. Bonus: no baking required! Mascarpone (Italian cream cheese), whipping cream, and a simple syrup steeped with Earl Grey mix up for an ethereal filling that’s spread between layers of chocolate chip cookies. Everything’s packed into a loaf pan before freezing and is ready to serve in 30 minutes!

Earl Grey Ice Box Cake

Yield: 1 (9 x 5-inch) cake
Active Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 8 hours and 30 minutes

Ingredients

For the simple syrup:
½ cup water
½ cup Thrive Market Organic Cane Sugar
2 bags Thrive Market Fair Trade Organic Earl Grey Tea

For the candied lemon slices:
1 lemon
½ cup Thrive Market Organic Cane Sugar, divided
½ cup water

For the cake:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese
Earl Grey simple syrup
3 cups heavy whipping cream
1 bag Thrive Market Fair Trade Organic Earl Grey Tea, leaves divided
1 (7-ounce) bag gluten-free chocolate chip cookies

Instructions

Make the simple syrup:
Heat water, sugar, and tea bags in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally, until sugar is melted. Remove from heat and let steep 5 minutes, then discard tea bags.

Make the candied lemon slices:
Peel yellow rind off lemon, leaving behind the pith (the white part). Add rinds to a small saucepan along with ¼ cup sugar and the water. Simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes, until rinds are tender. Place remaining sugar on a plate, then remove rinds from saucepan and place them on top of the sugar; toss until coated. Transfer to a sheet tray and let dry.

Make the cake:
Whip mascarpone cheese in a large stand mixer until smooth. Add ⅓ cup Earl Grey simple syrup and mix until well blended. On low speed, gradually add 2 cups whipping cream. Increase speed and continue whipping until stiff peaks form. Cut open the Earl Grey tea bag and add half the loose leaves, stirring by hand to incorporate; reserve the rest to garnish the cake.

Line a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving overhang on both sides. Layer cookies on the bottom, breaking them as needed to fill in all the spaces. Top cookies with 1 cup of the cream filling; spread evenly. Repeat with additional cookies and cream, until the last layer of cookies is sprinkled on top. Cover the top of the cake with the hanging plastic wrap and freeze at least 8 hours overnight.

When cake is frozen, make the final topping. Add remaining 1 cup whipping cream and whip in a stand mixer until stiff peaks form. Add remaining Earl Grey syrup and mix until just combined. Invert cake onto platter and remove plastic wrap. Frost with whipping cream and garnish with remaining tea leaves. Return to freezer for 30 minutes, then top with candied lemon slices (if using) before slicing and serving.

Recipe credit: Angela Gaines