Old Fashioned Icebox Cake Wafer Cookies

I am a lover of an old fashioned icebox cake with wafer cookies from way back. In fact – duh duh duh – I even wrote a book about them. In the book, I included 25 recipes for icebox cakes, including this one and this one, made with all homemade components (ie: homemade cookies, whipped cream, pudding, etc). And though I think making old fashioned icebox cakes with wafer (and other) cookies from scratch is grand and all, I also like making icebox cakes with store-bought wafer cookies, which is what I have done here (you’re welcome).

WHAT IS AN ICEBOX CAKE?

An icebox cake, for the uninitiated, is a no-bake cake that gets it “cake-y” texture when whipped cream is layered with cookies and placed in the refrigerator. The cookies absorb the whipped cream and the resultant cake is literally that of which creamy dreams are made. Any crispy, thin cookie will work, and using different flavors of cookies (as well as cream) – like lemon wafer cookies layered with lemon whipped cream and ginger snap cookies layered with cinnamon whipped cream- will give you different flavors of cake.

Here, I have made a traditional icebox cake and so the cookies are of the chocolate variety, but the whipped cream is something truly special – rather than sweeten it like I normally would, with confectioners’ sugar, I have done so with sweetened condensed milk, one of my favorite ingredients, by the way. Not only is the whipped cream extra stable, but it is beyond delicious to boot, with a slightly toasted flavor. Thus this cake, though traditional, has a little extra somethin’ somethin’ that really makes it shine.

HOW TO MAKE AN ICEBOX CAKE:

To make an icebox cake could not be simpler – particularly in this instance. A loaf pan is lined with plastic wrap. and filled with half the whipped cream. Then the wafer cookies are pressed into the whipped cream in horizontal rows (ie: the rows go across the short side of the pan, not up and down the long-side). Once all the cookies have made their way into the cake, the remaining whipped cream is spread on top and the cake is placed in the fridge to set up. Easy-peasy, right?

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Old Fashioned Icebox Cake Wafer Cookies

A deliciously simple icebox cake with a very special sweetened condensed milk whipped cream.

Recipe Author Jessie Sheehan

Course Cake

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

chill time 8 hours hrs

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 9 ounces chocolate wafer cookies
• Rainbow Sprinkles for decorating

Instructions

• Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, so the wrap hangs over both the short and long sides of the pan. You may need two pieces of the wrap.
• Place the cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, and whisk on medium high until medium peaks form.
• Position the prepared pan in front of you so the short side is closest to you. Place half of the cream in the pan and begin pressing the wafers into the cream (vertically – so they are standing up like dominos) in short rows that stretch from one of the long sides of the pan to the other.
• Continue doing this until you run out of cookies – you will have about 5 short rows. Cover the rows with the remaining whipped cream, smooth the top and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours.
• Flip the pan on to a serving platter, remove it and peel away the plastic. Decorate with rainbow sprinkles and serve.