Pumpkin Spice Icebox Cake
Pumpkin Spice Icebox Cake.
Icebox cakes have long held a fascination for me in the same vein of pudding cakes, flan (creme caramel) and certain candy mix-ins for ice cream. And the fascination is of the transformation that occurs while the dessert rests after you have assembled it. In this case, spice cookies are dunked in a mixture of coffee and marsala wine, then layered with pumpkin whipped cream and left to sit for 24 hours in the “icebox”, other wise known to us now as the refrigerator. During this time the cookies soften, absorbing the moisture of the cream and pumpkin and their texture becomes cake like. In this regard, icebox cakes are almost identical to most preparations of tiramisu.
In this version, I’ve taken a recipe from The New York Times, added a few flavors and made them individually portioned. While the dessert looks impressive, it is in fact quite easy to assemble and lovely when garnished with curls of milk chocolate. There’s a not too sweet balance of spice, brown sugar, pumpkin, hint of wine (which can be omitted) and chocolate all in one gorgeous little cake. The cookies stay just a little bit crumbly and firm enough to serve with an offset spatula. When I tested them, they kept well into a third day, but not past it. The cookies are also excellent on their own or dipped in chocolate for a special treat.
To assemble the individual cakes, line them up in a parchment lined 9x13” casserole dish that will give plenty overhead room for building upward. It helps to pipe the whipped cream “assembly line” style versus trying to spread it with a spatula.
Pumpkin Spice Icebox Cake
Yield: 12 servings
Time: active 45 minutes, waiting 24 hours
Ingredients:
For the cookies:
2 cups/270 grams all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks/1 cup/227 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup/67 grams packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup/64 grams confectioner’s sugar
1 egg white, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
For the pumpkin whipped cream:
1 1/2 cups very cold heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup/64 grams confectioner’s sugar
2/3 cup/170 grams pumpkin puree (not pie filling), cold
To assemble:
1/4 cup strongly brewed coffee, cooled
1/4 cup marsala wine (optional)
Good quality chocolate bar for making curls
Special equipment:
Parchment paper
3” cookie cutter (or similar size)
Pastry bag fitted with star tip or preferred pastry tip
Directions:
Line three baking trays with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour and the spices, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter, brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar on low speed. Once the sugar is combined, increase the speed to medium high and beat until smooth and lighter in color. Stop to scrape down the sides as needed so the mixture is uniform.
Add the egg white and the vanilla extract to the butter mixture and stir on low speed until the egg is broken up. Scrape down the bowl and beat on medium speed until most of the egg white is incorporated. Add the flour in two additions, scraping well in between the additions, and mix on low speed only until all of the flour disappears.
Scrape the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper (a bowl scraper works best) and press into a flat circle. Wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes. This is a high butter content dough that is easiest to work when it is cold.
Once the dough has rested and is cool to the touch, remove from the refrigerator and preheat the oven to 350 F. Roll out the dough to about a 1/4” thickness. If it is very cold you may have to let it warm for a few minutes so the sides don’t split too badly. Cut out the cookies with a 3” round cookie cutter, or similar size. I was able to get about 24 cookies with a little dough left over. Cut as many as you can, then gather the dough and re-roll. Repeat until you have used up the dough. Place the cookies at least an inch apart on the baking tray, they will not spread but they do need room to crisp properly.
Bake the cookies for 17-20 minutes. Because of the brown sugar it will be difficult to tell when they are done, but they should be crisp and lift easily from the parchment. Remove from the oven and while still warm, prick the cookies a few times with the tines of a fork (this allows for better soaking later). Let the cookies cool completely.
Meanwhile prepare the remaining components for assembly. Combine the coffee with the marsala in a small bowl. When you are ready to assemble the desserts, make the whipped cream. Pour the heavy cream into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Add the 1/2 cup of confectioner’s sugar.
Mix on low at first to combine the ingredients, then increase the speed to high. Now here’s where you need to be careful. Only whip the cream to a very soft peak, the cream will just be able to hold the lines of the whisk. Slow the speed to a low speed and spoon in the pumpkin puree a bit at a time as it whisks. Once all of the pumpkin has been added, I prefer to remove the bowl from the mixer and use a hand held whisk to whip the cream the remainder of the way. I like a firm peak for this recipe, so when you pull up the whisk, the cream will billow and hold the peak when held right side up. Be careful not to over whisk or the cream will look curdled.
Assemble the cakes. Line a casserole dish with parchment paper if you have it, a 9x13” dish should hold a dozen of these 3” cakes. These pictures show 9 because I taste tested a few of the cookies, so…then there were nine. One at a time, quickly dunk the cookies in the coffee/marsala then place on the parchment. You don’t need to soak them, a quick little dunk is all it takes.
Fit a large star tip in the end of a pastry bag (or just cut a hole in the bag, that will work too) and fill the bag with half of the pumpkin whipped cream. Pipe a round circle of whipped cream on top of each cookie, try to get as close to the edges as you can.
Then repeat the dunking of the cookies, placing a cookie on top of the whipped cream. Re-fill the pastry bag if needed (you should use nearly the full batch of whipped cream for 12 cakes). Pipe spirals of whipped cream on top of each layered cookie.
Chill the icebox cakes. Cover the casserole dish and place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Use an offset spatula to lift the little cakes out of the casserole dish. Use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls from the bar of chocolate (I used milk chocolate, but a dark chocolate or even white chocolate will work too), and decorate as you like. You can also forgo the chocolate and sprinkle with pie spice or a cinnamon and sugar mix, or just a sifting of cocoa powder.
