No-Bake Madagascan Vanilla Icebox Cake with Toasted Cashews and Cocoa

Toast the cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, shaking often, until golden and fragrant. Cool completely, then roughly chop and set aside.

Serves 10

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream, very cold
• 8 ounces mascarpone, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup powdered sugar
• 1 whole vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups raw cashews
• 9 ounces plain rectangular biscuits or graham crackers
• 1 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled completely
• 2 tablespoons dark rum, optional
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

1. Toast the cashews in a dry skillet over medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes, shaking often, until golden and fragrant. Cool completely, then roughly chop and set aside.
2. Beat the mascarpone with the powdered sugar, scraped vanilla seeds, vanilla extract and salt until smooth and lump-free.
3. In a separate cold bowl, whip the heavy cream to soft peaks — it should hold a shape but still slump when the whisk lifts.
4. Fold a third of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture to loosen it, then gently fold in the rest in two additions. Stop the moment it looks uniform; overworking will turn it grainy.
5. Stir the rum, if using, into the cooled coffee in a shallow dish.
6. Dip each biscuit into the coffee for one second per side — barely long enough to darken. Soaked biscuits collapse into paste overnight.
7. Line the base of a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan or 8-inch square dish with dipped biscuits, spread over a fifth of the cream, and scatter with toasted cashews. Repeat for four more layers, finishing with cream.
8. Cover tightly and refrigerate at least 8 hours, ideally overnight, so the biscuits soften into cake and the layers set firm enough to slice cleanly.
9. Just before serving, dust the top heavily with cocoa powder and finish with the remaining chopped cashews. Slice with a hot, dry knife.
10. Madagascar produces the vanilla that defines the flavor for most of the world, and a dessert this plain is the best possible argument for using a real bean rather than extract alone — there is nothing else here to hide behind. The icebox method is a tropical solution to a tropical problem: no oven, no heat in the kitchen, just time in the refrigerator doing the work that baking normally would. The overnight rest is not optional, and the cake is genuinely better on the second day.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 487 kcal
• Protein: 7g
• Fat: 37g
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugar: 18g
• Sodium: 185mg