Icebox Cake Makes the Perfect Cookies and Cream Birthday Cake

This birthday cake is made up of several 'icebox cake' stacks and then decorated in a whipped cream cheese icing. The best part is that it is a no-bake cake!  No oven is required and no cake pan dishes to wash - which means you can make the whole thing in 30 minutes or less.

So what is an icebox cake or stack?  It is a cake made of several wafer cookies layered with whipped cream between each to form a log.  It can be stacked up several wafers high, or the stack can be laying on its side to form a log.  Learn more about it here.

For Americans, Icebox Cakes are made with Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers. But in my region of Canada, we use Mr. Christie's Chocolate Wafers to make this cake, which can nearly always be found in the cookie section of the grocery store.

The beauty of these wafer-and-whipped-cream cakes is that the cookies soften in the whipped cream so you truly get a delicious concoction that is easy to slice and has a cookies and cream flavour.

Here is how to make it...

Recipe: Cookies and Cream Cake made with Icebox Cake Stacks

 Time: This no-bake cake takes about 30 minutes and
no oven time! You must, however, wait 6 hours or overnight before serving it to let the cookies soften - so make one day in advance or first thing in the morning the day of your party.

Make lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream:

You need...

• 3 cups of whipped cream.
• 3 tbsps. of agave, coconut sugar or icing sugar (I used organic icing sugar)
• vanilla bean scrapings or real vanilla extract.

Instructions...

1. Whip the 3 cups of whipped cream.

2. Add the sugar and vanilla bean or real vanilla extract (I used a little of both) just before the whipped cream starts to form peaks.  Stop beating when light peaks form and it is still shiny (if it starts to look even slightly lumpy, stop beating!)

Make the icebox stacks:

You need...

• The sweetened whipped cream you just made
• 1 box (200g or about 7 oz) of Mr. Christie wafer cookies.

Instructions...

1. Make 8 icebox stacks by placing a spoonful of your whipped cream onto each chocolate wafer cookie, then do the same to 6 more cookies for every stack.  The entire box of Mr. Christie Cookies can make 8 stacks plus one cookie. 

2. Place your 8 stacks in a round flower shape.


3. Lightly cover the whole cake in your remaining whipped cream and push some down into the spaces between the stacks. Place in the fridge while you prepare the outer icing.  You can just use your remaining whipped cream to decorate the cake.  Or you can do the following:

Make Whipped Cream Cheese Icing:

You need...

• 1 cup of whipped cream (the remaining amount from what you made above will be enough)
• 1 package of cream cheese, softened (250 g)
• 1/3 cup of granulated sugar (I used organic, unbleached sugar)
• Vanilla Bean or natural vanilla extract

Instructions...

1. Beat the cream cheese until softened (1 minute), turning off to stir with a spatula occasionally to incorporate all of it.

2. Add the sugar and beat until the whole mixture is soft and fluffy.

3. Pour in half of the whipped cream and beat for a few seconds to incorporate.  Then stir by hand to fold in the remaining whipped cream.

4. Place in a pastry bag with a Wilton 21 cake decorator tip (or go large and textured with a Wilton 2D tip) on the end.  Take your cake out of the fridge and then using your pastry bag, put the icing on the cake by making swirling motions, starting from the center of the 'swirl' and working out. First make circular swirls on top of each cookie in the stack, then fill in the spaces around the outside with swirls and rosettes of icing.

5. Use sprinkles, chocolate flakes, cookie crumbs, or candy pearls to decorate the cake however you like.

6. Let the whole cake set in the fridge for at least 6 hours, but up to 24 hours before serving is good too. Do not serve immediately after making it or the cookies will not have time to soften in order to cut the cake.

This cake is totally delicious, so enjoy!