The Icebox Cake

My son loves Oreos, Little Debbies...okay, okay, let's be honest here...he basically adores anything with a chocolate wafer and a cream filling. I mean who doesn't?! And what better way to over-indulge in both chocolate wafers and a cream filling then by making an entire Icebox Cake.

So let's just get down to business and start by saying Nabisco chocolate wafers are hard to come by and pretty expensive since they tend to mostly be sold in bulk. They are good, do not get me wrong, but why buy when you can bake? So I include a recipe for chocolate wafers at least for those of you who want the bragging rights that the cake is completely homemade.

Next, the wafers are obviously hard, but the longer they stay in the fridge (topped off with the whipped cream) the softer they will get.  In turn, do not be concerned when you begin to construct the cake and worry about the end result and how it will cut. The longer it remains in the fridge the softer and more pliable the wafers will become.

A trick can be used if needed or if you are simply concerned with appearance. You can use a springform pan when constructing the cake to create a perfect circle. You have a choice to either see the pretty layers and have it come to almost a point or you can use the sprinform pan and fill the holes with pieces of cookie and have a perfect 9" circle with a perfect top coat of whipped cream. I personally like the "imperfect" look. To me the imperfection is like an old house, a vintage Chanel dress, or a perfectly restored historic car... why mess with character, simplicity and beauty for mere overworked perfection? But then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, hence both options so do your thing! 

Ingredients:
Cake
3 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 packages of chocolate Nabisco wafers (9oz.) or homemade chocolate wafers


Garnish
Strawberry, sliced and fanned
1 oz. dark chocolate bar for shaving
chocolate sauce to drizzle


Directions:
1. With a stand mixer, beat the heavy cream, powdered sugar and vanilla on high speed until soft peaks begin to form.


2. For base of cake, use 7 wafers staring with simply one in the center and surrounding it with the remaining 6 wafers.


3. On top of the base layer start by adding about 1/2 cup of the whipped cream topping and then continue to repeat. Wafers, cream, wafers, cream. You get the idea. When complete you will have approximately 12 layers and finsihing off with the top layer being your whipped topping.


4. Now wrap tightly and place this delicious cake in fridge, prefereably overnight.

5. Garnish the cake before serving. (There are many ways to dress up this cake. You can sprinkle cocoa powder or shaved chocolate, drizzle chocolate ganache, or even slice and fan a strawberry to adorn the top.)

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