It’s hot, but you need dessert. What do you do?
Sure, you could scoop ice cream or break out the popsicles, but the Fourth of July calls for something special, and when we think special, we think cake.
And not cake that you have to bake. No no no! July is icebox cake season!
An icebox cake is what it sounds like, if you know that an icebox is an old-fashioned word for refrigerator. Meaning, it’s a cake that you make in the fridge. Technically, you make it in your kitchen, but the magic happens in the fridge!
To make an icebox cake, you very simply layer cookies (any kind) with something creamy (of any kind). After a rest in the refrigerator, the cookies soften, and the layers meld to make a sliceable and impossibly delicious little cake.
The most classic and iconic icebox cake is made with store-bought chocolate wafer cookies, which are very thin and crispy, and sweetened whipped cream. Once is rests, it tastes like cookies and cream, since… well, that’s what it is.
But, as we mentioned, you can combine any cookies with any flavors that you like! Chocolate chip cookies with chocolate whipped cream? Yes! Oatmeal cookies with caramel pudding? Yes, please! Snickerdoodles with dulce de leche and whipped cream? Double yes! Check out our Chocolate Peanut Butter version!
There are no rules with an icebox cake, but you’ll want a creamy mixture that is firm enough to spread without running, but has enough moisture to permeate the cookie layer (so, buttercreams are probably not perfect). We’ve tried mixtures that have yogurt, pudding, even cream cheese, folded together with freshly whipped cream.
Of course, you can always gild the lily (that means: make a great thing greater!) and add inclusions like chopped nuts, shredded coconut, toffee pieces, fruit, or chocolate chips.
You can layer your icebox cake on a cake plate for a pretty presentation, or you can build it in a baking pan and slice it like bar cookies. You can cover the entire outside in cream or leave it exposed. Basically what we’re saying is: do whatever you want! It’s very hard to mess up!
Happy Fourth of July!
