Red, White and Blue Icebox Cake

Show off the stars and stripes this Fourth of July with a lightened, patriotic icebox cake. No oven required!

Jun 28, 2022

Today’s recipe provides a perfect example of how one simple ingredient tweak can greatly improve the nutrient profile of a recipe. Recently, I came across several recipes for icebox cake. Never having made such a dessert, I wanted to give it a try.

Most of the recipes called for heavy cream, and in generous amounts – 2 to 3 cups. Packed with calories, total fat, and saturated fat; heavy cream was the ingredient I needed to change. Turns out the perfect substitute was plain low-fat (2% milkfat) Greek yogurt.

Thicker and creamier than regular yogurt, Greek yogurt has a consistency similar to custard or sour cream. The thickness of Greek yogurt is achieved through a straining process that removes watery whey from regular yogurt.

**A good Greek yogurt shouldn’t run off the spoon.**

Plain Greek yogurt without thickeners like pectin, gelatin, or gums (guar or locust bean) work best in recipes like this one. The ingredient list for plain low-fat Greek yogurt should be short. You’ll typically see three ingredients – skimmed milk, cream, and live active cultures.

This icebox cake is so simple to put together. Just follow the assembly diagram.

**Assembled cake is ready for the refrigerator. The plastic wrap lining the inside of the loaf pan should hang over the sides.**

Once you’ve assembled the cake, there will be about three quarters of a cup of the yogurt and cream cheese mixture remaining. Store it in the refrigerator. It will be used as a frosting to give the top of the cake a finished look once it’s removed from the pan.

**Remaining yogurt and cream cheese mixture (frosting)**

**Top of the cake once flipped onto a serving dish. Use reserved yogurt and cream cheese frosting to fix the imperfections.**

After a few tests, I found the perfect chill time for this cake was about 6 to 8 hours. An overnight chill was ok, but the vanilla wafers got a little too soft for my liking. Use the remaining yogurt and cream cheese “frosting,” strawberries, and blueberries to decorate the top of the cake. Design ideas are endless.

I started this article writing about the impact one ingredient substitution can have on the nutritional profile of a recipe. In this case, the substitution was simple – 2½ cups of plain low-fat Greek yogurt was used in place of 2½ cups of heavy cream. Check out these numbers — calories were reduced by 44%, total fat by 77%, saturated fat by 81%, and cholesterol by 81%. All I can say is WOW! And according to my taste testers, this cake is beyond delicious.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

To your health,

Darlene

RED, WHITE and BLUE ICEBOX CAKE

Yield: 10 servings

Serving Size: 1 slice

Prep: 15 minutes

Ready: 8 hours and 30 minutes (includes refrigeration time)

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup (4 ounces) reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt (such as FAGE Total 2%)
30 vanilla wafers
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh strawberries, divided
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

DIRECTIONS

Line an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan with plastic wrap, leaving overhang on all sides. Add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract to a bowl. Using an electric mixer, cream together until smooth. Add yogurt and continue to blend until combined.
To assemble cake, spread a 1/2 cup of yogurt mixture in bottom of prepared loaf pan. Evenly space 8 vanilla wafers on top of yogurt mixture. Place 1 cup strawberries on top of vanilla wafers and arrange into an even layer. Top strawberries with 1 cup of yogurt mixture and spread to an even layer. Evenly space 11 vanilla wafers over top of yogurt mixture. Place 1 cup blueberries on top of vanilla wafers and arrange into an even layer. Top blueberries with 1 cup of yogurt mixture and spread to an even layer. Evenly space 11 vanilla wafers over top of yogurt mixture. Cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate 6 to 8 hours.
Place remaining yogurt mixture (about 3/4 cup) in a small bowl, cover, and refrigerate. This will be used to frost the top of the chilled cake once it is inverted onto a serving dish. When ready to serve, invert loaf pan onto a serving dish and use plastic wrap overhang to help release cake from pan. Carefully peel off plastic wrap and use reserved yogurt mixture to frost top of cake. Use remaining strawberries and blueberries to decorate top of cake and serve immediately.

Nutrition Information per Serving

199 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 3 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 15 mg Cholesterol, 108 mg Sodium, 29 g Total carbohydrate, 1 g Dietary fiber, 22 g Total sugars, 16 g Added sugars, 8 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 87 mg (6%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 138 mg (2%) Potassium