How-To & Diy

How to Make Any Icebox Cake in 5 Steps

June 24, 2013

Here at Food52, we love recipes -- but do we always use them? Of course not. Because once you realize you don't always need a recipe, you'll make your favorite dishes a lot more often.

Today: The best summer dessert is also the easiest.

How to Make Icebox Cake

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Cookies and cream: you may know it as an ice cream flavor, but the place they shine -- the place they belong -- is in an icebox cake.

At its simplest, an icebox cake is simply cookies and whipped cream, layered, and left to sit and meld together so that the cookies become creamy and the cream becomes cookie-y and you're left with one, singular, so-good-you-can't-stop-talking-about-it dessert.

Icebox cakes come in all shapes and sizes. I go for the classic: Nabisco chocolate wafers, layered with whipped cream, and stacked into a log. You could also build the cake in a circle, or arrange logs next to each other for a more-classic cake shape. You could flavor your whipped cream with peanut butter or coffee or caramel. You could use graham crackers or gingersnaps or thin chocolate chip cookies. When you're making icebox cake, you're in control.

This is the best make-ahead dessert -- since it needs to be made ahead -- and is a saving grace in the dog days of summer. But I make them year-round, because once you start making them, you're hooked. Here's how I make mine.

How To Make Any Icebox Cake in 5 Steps

1. Dump a lot of heavy cream into a bowl, and whip it until it holds a medium-to-stiff peak. If you're measuring, I like to whip 3 cups of cream for each sleeve of cookies. Before whipping, you can fold in flavorings; sometimes, I add a splash of vanilla or a big pinch of confectioner's sugar, but the cream is great as is.

How to Make Icebox Cake

2. Take a cookie, spread a spoonful of whipped cream on top of it, and top it with another cookie. Repeat until you have a little tower. When the tower gets too high, lay it on its side.

How to Make Icebox Cake

3. Build another tower of cookies, lay it on its side, and connect your two cookie-logs. Repeat until the sleeve of wafers is finished, reserving some of your whipped cream. You should have one, big, messy log of cookies and cream.

How to Make Icebox Cake

4. Frost the log with your remaining whipped cream.

How to Make Icebox Cake

5. Cover your cake with foil, and let it rest in the fridge overnight. Before serving, you can garnish it with chocolate shavings or sprinkles -- but I usually just slice it on the bias and dig in.

How to Make Icebox Cake

Still want a recipe? Here are a few for inspiration:

S'mores Pudding Cake
Meyer Lemon Icebox Cake
Spiced Dulce de Leche Banana Icebox Cake 

We're looking for contributors! Email [email protected] and tell us the dish you could make in your sleep, without a recipe.

Photos by James Ransom

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Written by: Brette Warshaw

I'm a reader, eater, culinary thrill-seeker, and food nerd.

98 Comments

Kerry J. May 21, 2019
Has anyone tried this by subbing the cream for coconut milk/cream?
 
Lisa D. May 19, 2019
My grandmother used to make this but she put a very thin later of strawberry preserves on top of the log before the final coating of whipped cream...fantastic!
 
Emilia R. May 19, 2019
Wow, that sounds really nice!
 
Ivanete P. March 29, 2017
Gostaria que houvesse tradução em português
 
Katherine July 15, 2016
Just read the Yogurt Whipped Cream following this current posting. Has anyone tried this in these ice box cakes? By the way, first had this years ago and everyone has always loved it. Very surprised to find out it's just chocolate wafers and whipped cream.
 
Eisha A. September 18, 2015
Is there any alternative for nabisco choclate waffers??
 
Lisa D. May 19, 2019
Ina Garten has a recipe that uses Tates Chocolate Chip cookies and Mocha whipped cream with a touch of Kahlua, I have made it and its absolutely delicious!
 
Deedledum July 30, 2015
Hey there Marty: Does "ice box fruit cake" refer to putting fruit in an ice box cake? There are many variations upon the theme over at www.thekitchn.com. Check it out, and perhaps ask your question there too-one of the editors there has done alot with these cakes.
 
Marty September 18, 2015
deedledum: ice box was what was used before the modern frige was made. ice kept food,milk ,butter chilled because of the block of ice that was in there. Thanks for the info!
 
Marty July 30, 2015
Thanks ladies for your helpful comments. I will try this. Now, does anyone have the recipe for the no bake 'Ice box fruit cake'? This was a favorite around the holidays in the 1950's. I had the ingredients and directions at one time.. Thanks if you can help.
 
Margaret F. July 11, 2015
COSTCO sells a thin square concoction called Brownie Brittle. I bet that could substitute for chocolate wafers and add an ultra-chocolate flavor to the already tempting cake, just saying!
 
Juanita R. July 11, 2015
I tried it with the brownie brittles it was to die for
 
Barb M. June 28, 2015
This made me so nostalgic! I am 70 - and this was one of my mom's favorites. Will make this very soon!
 
Caroline S. May 25, 2015
A favorite from my '50s-'60s childhood that I passed on to my children. Our family name for this dessert, adopted from the Childs family who taught me how to make this tasty treat, is zebra guts.
Just sharing!
 
Khandi '. May 22, 2015
I'm the odd one out, I've never had one but I will soon!
 
janet.McC April 12, 2015
Is the tower necessary? What about putting whipped cream into a pan, then inserting cookies edge-on?
 
Deedledum March 6, 2015
@Mrs K: I don't normally use it for food-related research either, but did in this case as I didn't know where you were, and it was the first that showed the names and fat contents of the product in various countries. If you google "how to make whipped evaporated milk" you'll get scads of results, so it does appear possible (I've never done it) to use it as a lower-fat substitute if that's your thang. I think I first heard of it on an old episode of Good Eats-I think Alton Brown's trustworthy. If you use the American heavy cream (about 35% butterfat apparently, you'll get the results you want.
 
Deedledum March 5, 2015
@Mrs K: Nope, our half-and-half is 10%. These posts led me to seek out the Wiki on cream, and there's a good range between the two countries (and many others-see the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cream). I made a mistake earlier about heavy cream-it's really called table cream. I've read there are ways of using that, and even canned evaporated milk. I consider the use when deciding what kind of cream to buy-higher butterfat gives you a sturdier, and longer-lasting whip.
 
Emilia R. March 6, 2015

As far as I know, evaporated milk won't turn into whipped cream. (Unless I misunderstood your comment.) The only "table cream" I found in the US is what we call in Brazil "creme de leite"; there as here it comes in small cans (smaller than evaporated milk cans) and is produced by Nestlé. Please, don't take me wrong, but I don't like Wikipedia as a source of information, because anyone who's logged on can make changes and adjust things to what they believe to be right. I am no expert in the matter of heavy cream, but where I live in the US it is either heavy cream (that turns into whipped cream when whipped, and we call chantilly in Brazil), or half & half and milk (both can be poured into coffee). I noticed Britain has different denominations for certain things--like trousers there and pants here. Meat cuts always makes my eyes glaze, so different they are. And consider that my (poor) knowledge on these and all matters, comes from Portuguese!!!
:-)
 
Deedledum March 5, 2015
@rhoula1: The difference between the two is the amount of fat. Here in Canada, heavy cream is 18%, and whipping cream is 35%. If you want whipped cream, you need the higher fat product.
 
Emilia R. March 5, 2015
In the US I buy heavy cream and whip it to get whipped cream. Maybe what we call "heavy cream" here, is half & half in Canada?
 
rhoula1 March 5, 2015
it says add heavy cream....but im reading people say whip cream....Whats the difference in heavy cream and whip cream?
 
Emilia R. March 5, 2015
When you whip heavy cream the final product is whipped cream.
 
Sasha May 20, 2015
There is also WHIPPING cream, which as far as I know is the same or similar to heavy cream. In fact they usually call it "Heavy Whipping Cream" around California - and I'm from a dairy town. As the name implies - it is for Whipping into whipped cream or butter. (add salt and beat longer to get butter)
 
Emilia R. May 20, 2015
Yup.
 
virginia March 5, 2015
thanks for the no bake cake,looks yummy and very easy,much appreciated,oxox
 
Sukie H. February 14, 2015
This is the ONE thing my Navy sailor insists upon when he's home on leave. I have added Creme de Menthe or mint extract, or a touch of fruit based liqueurs to the whipped cream for the older set. Putting red and green sugar crystals on top for Christmas is a must in my house.
 
Tina January 7, 2015
I love this! You can never go wrong with any dessert smothered in whipped cream!
 
Ellie M. December 6, 2014
I began assisting my Mom in making of this cake when I Was five years old. My amazing Mom is 88 now, and we still love to make this cake together for special occasions.