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The first time I made my mother’s chocolate icebox cake for my husband, he watched me lift it out of the refrigerator and asked, quite seriously, when I was going to put it in the oven. I told him I wasn’t. It never goes near an oven. He ate two slices and admitted it was cake. My mother made it in summer when it was too hot to bake and in fall when she wanted something fancy without any work, and it was the dessert people asked about at every family gathering, because nobody could believe it was only cookies and cream.
It is two things: thin, crisp chocolate wafer cookies and sweetened whipped cream with a little vanilla. The cookies are sandwiched together with cream into tall stacks, the stacks are laid on their sides on a long platter to make a log, and the whole log is covered with more cream. Then it rests in the refrigerator, and that rest is the recipe. It needs at least 8 hours, and overnight is best: the cream soaks into the cookies until they are as soft as chocolate sponge cake, while the cream itself firms up enough to slice. Cut it on a slant, corner to corner, and every slice comes out striped dark and white like a zebra.
Why this chocolate icebox cake works
- Thin wafers. Very thin crisp chocolate cookies soften all the way through in the cream. Thick cookies stay chewy in the middle.
- Cream whipped to soft peaks. Soft but steady peaks spread easily and soak into the wafers. Overwhipped cream turns grainy and stays dry.
- A long rest. At least 8 hours in the refrigerator turns cookies and cream into one soft cake.
- A little powdered sugar. Powdered sugar sweetens the cream and helps it hold its shape while it sets.
- Cut on the diagonal. Slicing across the log at an angle shows the stripes of cookie and cream in every slice.
Ingredients
Makes one log cake about 14 inches long, 10 to 12 slices. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the cake
- 2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream (600ml)
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar (40g)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine salt
- about 40 thin crisp chocolate wafer cookies (about 9 ounces, 255g)
To finish
- 1 ounce dark chocolate (30g), for shaving
Look for the very thin, crisp, dark chocolate wafer cookies sold in the cookie aisle. If you cannot find them, thin homemade chocolate cookies about 2 1/2 inches across work too. Use heavy cream with at least 36% fat so the cream holds.
How to make chocolate icebox cake
- Chill the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cold cream into the bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt, and whip on medium high speed until the cream holds soft, steady peaks. Stop before it turns stiff or grainy.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of whipped cream on one wafer. Top with another wafer and spread with cream, and keep going until you have a stack of 8 to 10 wafers.
- Turn the stack on its side and lay it on a long serving platter. Build a second stack the same way and press it gently onto the end of the first, then keep going until all the wafers are used and you have one long log.
- Spread the remaining whipped cream all over the top and sides of the log, covering it completely.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap held up off the cream with a few toothpicks, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Just before serving, shave the dark chocolate over the top with a vegetable peeler.
- To serve, cut the log on a sharp diagonal, about a 45 degree angle, with a long knife wiped clean between slices, so each slice shows the dark and white stripes.
Tips that make the difference
- Be generous with the cream between the wafers. The cookies need it to soften; too little and they stay crisp in spots.
- Do not rush the chill. After 4 hours the wafers are still firm; after a full night they are soft cake.
- Dip your knife in hot water and wipe it dry between slices for clean stripes.
- Assemble it on the platter you will serve it on. Once it has set, it is too soft to move.
Variations
- Coffee cream. Dissolve 1 teaspoon of instant coffee powder in the vanilla before whipping, for a mocha cake.
- Peppermint. Add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract to the cream and scatter crushed peppermint candies on top.
- Berry. Fold a cup of chopped strawberries into half of the cream and use it between the wafers.
- Round cake. Lay the wafers flat in overlapping circles in a springform pan with cream between each layer for a layered round icebox cake.
Storage and make-ahead
Keep the cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The wafers keep softening, and many people think it is best on the second day.
It freezes well: freeze the finished log uncovered until firm, then wrap it and freeze up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours.
Leftover slices can be eaten straight from the freezer like an ice cream cake.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an icebox cake need to chill?
At least 8 hours, and overnight is best. The time is what turns the crisp wafers soft and cake-like and lets the cream firm up enough to slice.
Why is it called an icebox cake?
Because it is set in the icebox, the old name for the refrigerator, instead of baked in the oven. Recipes for it were printed on cookie packages in the 1920s and 1930s and it became a family favorite across the country.
Why are my wafers still crunchy?
The cake needs more time, or there was not enough cream between the cookies. Give it a full night and spread about a tablespoon of cream on each wafer.
Can I make it with graham crackers?
Yes, that is a different classic. Layer graham crackers flat in a dish with cream or pudding; they soften overnight the same way.
Whip the cream soft, be generous between the wafers, give it the whole night, and cut it on the slant. Then wait for somebody to ask when you are going to bake it.
Chocolate Icebox Cake (the No-Bake Wafer and Cream Cake)
The classic chocolate icebox cake: thin chocolate wafer cookies stacked with sweetened vanilla whipped cream into a log, chilled overnight until the cookies turn soft as cake, and sliced on the diagonal into stripes. No oven. US cups with grams.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 pinch fine salt
- about 40 thin crisp chocolate wafer cookies
- 1 ounce dark chocolate (30g), for shaving
Instructions
- Chill the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 10 minutes.
- Pour the cold cream into the bowl, add the powdered sugar, vanilla and salt, and whip on medium high speed until the cream holds soft, steady peaks. Stop before it turns stiff or grainy.
- Spread about 1 tablespoon of whipped cream on one wafer. Top with another wafer and spread with cream, and keep going until you have a stack of 8 to 10 wafers.
- Turn the stack on its side and lay it on a long serving platter. Build a second stack the same way and press it gently onto the end of the first, then keep going until all the wafers are used and you have one long log.
- Spread the remaining whipped cream all over the top and sides of the log, covering it completely.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap held up off the cream with a few toothpicks, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Just before serving, shave the dark chocolate over the top with a vegetable peeler.
- To serve, cut the log on a sharp diagonal, about a 45 degree angle, with a long knife wiped clean between slices, so each slice shows the dark and white stripes.
