Mulberry Icebox Cake

This mulberry icebox cake takes advantage of a (free!) foraged fruit, the humble mulberry. Cook it down into a jam and layer it with graham crackers and whipped cream for the perfect summertime dessert.

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I feel like mulberry trees are synonymous with New York City, most specifically the outer boroughs. Take a stroll through almost any residential neighborhood in Brooklyn or Queens and you’re bound to find mulberry trees. In spring and early summer, you’ll probably recognize them when you feel something squishy under your feet and look down to find the sidewalk stained purple and littered with berries. And while you might feel weird about eating berries off a random tree in NYC, yes mulberries are definitely edible, and very delicious. I have a mulberry tree growing in my yard – I don’t know how it got there, it just started growing like a weed one day – so I’m taking advantage of the abundance of these berries and using them in recipes. Mulberries are synonymous with summer, so I wanted to use them in something that also screams summer, hence mulberry icebox cake.

I have to admit that I’ve never made an icebox cake before. But I was looking for a recipe that would be summer-y, super easy, and showcase this tasty fruit. Icebox cake seemed to fit the bill perfectly. An icebox cake is a no-bake dessert that’s made by layering some type of cookie or cracker with cream and fresh fruit, and then chilling it in the refrigerator or freezer. It’s the perfect dessert for a summertime cookout because it can be made ahead, it’s cold and refreshing, and it showcases fresh summer fruit. And this mulberry icebox cake is no exception; the star of this desert is undoubtedly the humble mulberry.

A LITTLE MORE ON MULBERRIES

Mulberries taste kind of like blackberries, but with a hint of citrus and some slightly darker and smokier tones. They are sweet and super juicy, perfect to use in place of any berry in pretty much any recipe. The reason we never see them in the grocery store is because they damage easily and are too difficult to transport, and they go bad pretty quickly. But if you’re lucky enough to have a tree growing in your yard (like I do), or in your neighborhood, you can most definitely forage for mulberries. Super fresh fruit for free? Sign me up.

You can simply pluck the ripe mulberries (they’ll be dark purple) off the tree. But for a faster and easier method of gathering tons of berries, you can spread a clean tarp or sheet on the ground and shake the tree branches until a shower of mulberries comes raining down. And while you’ll want to use or eat them somewhat quickly, the good news is that mulberries don’t all ripen all at once, so you can keep returning to the same tree for more hauls of berries. For more information on finding and harvesting mulberries, check out this article.

MAKING MULBERRY ICEBOX CAKE

While this mulberry icebox cake does require a little bit of cooking in the form of making a mulberry jam, it is still an undoubtedly easy recipe to execute. You could forgo making the jam and simply layer this icebox cake with fresh fruit. But I think the jam adds another dimension of flavor and texture. Plus, it’s simple enough to make; all you have to do is cook down some mulberries with sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest (like the jam I made for my homemade fig bars), and you’ll have a nice thick jam. At that point it’s just a matter of layering graham crackers with whipped cream, mulberry jam, and fresh mulberries, and throwing it in the fridge.

As the mulberry icebox cake sits, the whipped cream softens the graham crackers, giving them an almost cake-like texture. Each bite screams with sweet honey graham crackers, fresh mulberry flavor, and whipped cream goodness. Of course, if you can’t get your hands on mulberries, you can try making this icebox cake with practically any other berry, blackberries being the closest in flavor. But if you happen to live in a city or town with an abundance of mulberry trees (like NYC), I urge you to take advantage of them, gather yourself some free fruit, and try this mulberry icebox cake.