Cool cakes! Impress your guests with an icebox variety

The transformation of a handful of ingredients into a no-cook, multi-layered confection that looks like something from a Viennese pastry kitchen seems almost miraculous. When you need a quick make-ahead dessert that’s light and cool and creamy and impressive, look no further than a carton of cream and a package of cookies. And in this cake, store-bought lemon curd adds lots of lemon flavor without a lot of fuss.

Lemon Raspberry Icebox Cake

To assemble the cake, use a long-handled, wide rubber spatula for folding in the cream and spreading it over the layers.

Ingredients:

• 1 (10-ounce) jar lemon curd (about 1 cup)
• 2 cups cold heavy cream
• ½cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1⁄3 cup raspberry jam
• 12 full graham cracker sheets (48 crackers)
• 1 cup fresh raspberries

Stir lemon curd with a rubber spatula in a large bowl until smooth and creamy.

Beat cream and sugar in another large bowl until soft peaks form. Stir about one-quarter of the whipped cream into lemon curd. Fold in remaining cream.

Line a 9-inch springform pan with plastic wrap. Spread a thin layer of lemon mixture on bottom of pan. Spread a thin layer of jam on 16 crackers and arrange, jam sides up, in pan. Top with about one-third of remaining lemon mixture.

Repeat with two more layers of jam, crackers and lemon mixture, ending with lemon mixture. Arrange raspberries around top edge.

Refrigerate 5 hours to overnight. Remove pan side. Gently lift cake by the plastic wrap to remove it from the pan bottom and peel away plastic wrap. Serves 14.

— Recipe by Jean Kressy