Vintage Icebox Cake

 

    Welcome to my first post of 2022! To start off I am sharing the last of my holiday recipes. And this one is amazing for the holidays for several reasons, but we will get to that next. To start with, this post is in honor of National Whipped Cream Day. Foodie Extravaganza Party is posting today with all things whipped cream-themed. I knew immediately that I wanted to post about Vintage Icebox Cake. This recipe was our Christmas dessert because I don't really cook on Christmas. In comes the amazing part, first off this can be made a day or two in advance AND it takes almost no effort at all. 

    Food has trends just like everything else. At one point food was kinda difficult, and the biggest trend was "eat what's available". It was limited and time-consuming. And then technology advanced and opinions were more plentiful. Along with those innovations we started to cook differently and trends embraced some astounding new technology. One of those was frozen food and other quick-cooking and pre-fab items.  Chefs and cooks got away from making everything and leaned more towards prepackaged and prepared foods. I am glad to say we have started to go back in the other direction towards prepared from scratch, but one recipe that will stick around forever is the icebox cake. 

    The Nabisco chocolate wafer appeared around the 1940s and they are amazing. They are crisp, and chocolaty, and deep, and just delicious. And that is on their own, add whipped cream and what happens next is magic, pure and simple. The cookies need a few hours to sit, and while they do they absorb the moisture from the whipped cream and get soft and cake-like. And it is like the greatest style of cake ever, like a cake that is light and dense all at once. This also means that the whipped cream doesn't need to be stabilized and will hold for several days in the fridge. And it really couldn't be more simple. Just whipped cream, packaged cookies, and time. Take a few minutes to layer them, let sit in the fridge, and voila! You have dessert. 

    Originally this recipe called for two ingredients, cookies and a tub of cool whip. I kept the cookies and did away with the fake cream. If you don't mind cool whip you can make preparation even simpler by using a tub. My grandmother made it with whipped cream, but I prefer the real stuff so my instructions include how to make it that way. You're welcome. 

    Another really fun thing about this easy dessert is how versatile it is. The flavors are chocolate and cream, which is always a classic. And the colors are black and white, which means it easy to dress up for any occasion. This time I used rosemary and pomegranate to make it festive, but sliced strawberries and blueberries are great for the Fourth of July, Pumpkin chocolates and orange sugar are delightful at Halloween, and Raspberries with pink and red candies turn it into a Valentine's Day treat. Colorful jimmies could even make it a birthday cake spectacular. and once you get done playing around with the decor there are all the flavor options. Chop a bottle or morello cherries and add to the whipped cream, that and a nice chocolate drizzle make for a Black Forest version. Or top with caramel, chocolate, and toasted pecans for a turtle cake. Chopped peppermint candies in the whipped cream are a very festive Christmas touch. There you can change up the whipped cream, add some cocoa to the cream while whipping, peanut or cookie butter, or, I just thought of this one, some Nutella in the whipped cream and then top with cocoa powder and toasted hazelnuts. I'm trying that next. Anyway, the options are endless. Basically, If you need a treat, this is your dish. 

    Let's talk about Nabisco chocolate wafers. They can be a pain to find, I've found more upscale grocery stores are starting to carry them more regularly. I've tried other brands of chocolate cookie crisps and the final product tends to be soggy rather than cakey. I have found them from large retailers online, and I did get them in 2 days, but they weren't worth having and ruined the dessert. They were Nabisco brand but they were all crumbly and tasted like they might have been part of the original 1940's batch of cookies. Which is to stay they were beyond stale.  I returned them since they were gross and reordered but the result was the same. I won't be doing that again. 

    Check out all the other recipes featuring Whipped Cream the group has to share with us!

• Cheesy Creamed Leeks from Food Lust People Love
• Chocolate Truffle Cakes with Cappuccino Whipped Cream from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Havarti, Egg & Dill Breakfast Quiche from Palatable Pastime
• Oven-Baked Au Gratin Potatoes in a Pie Dish from Faith, Hope, Love & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Pull Me Up Cake from Sneha’s Recipe
• Raspberry Parfait from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Vintage Icebox Cake from Pandemonium Noshery

Vintage Icebox Cake

1 (9oz.) pkg. Nabisco chocolate wafers

3 c. heavy whipping cream

1/2 - 3.4 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

    Place the whipping cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until slightly thickened. Turn to medium and whip some more. Once it's thickened some more turn the speed to high and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. You want stiff peaks so it holds together properly. 

    

    Take a cookie from the package and spread about two teaspoons on one side of the cookie. Add a second cookie on top and place it on the plate. Spread another cookie with the same amount of whipped cream and place onto the two cookies already whip creamed and press slightly to adhere. Repeat with a third of the cookies.  Place the stack of cookies on a platter. Repeat with another third of the cookies. And then with the remaining third of the cookies in a separate column. Take some whipped cream and spread it over the cookies to work it into the cracks and the gaps. Take the remaining whipped cream and spread on the top and sides of the cookie mixture. 

    Place in the fridge and allow to chill a minimum of 8 hours, but longer is better. Remove from the fridge and garnish as desired. Serve in slices.