Updating An Old-Fashioned Cake
My mom was coming to town this past week and her one request for the time together was that we (I) bake. Two previously blogged recipes were on the agenda: the Lemon Raspberry Cake, because Mom had a few mishaps when she made it herself and Chocolate Peppermint Cocoa Brownies, because Mom was not able to find the perppermint crunch baking chips by the time she got around to making the recipe (they are sold only during the Christmas holiday season).
It was my pleasure to bake these two recipes for Mom, but that left me with a shortage of time to bake new recipes for this week’s blog. Fortunately for me, I had a double batch of Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies in the freezer, which meant I could make, “Not Your Mother’s Icebox Cake.” It is a bit ironic to make this for my mom, don’t you think, since she’s never made an Icebox Cake? But, this was the recipe of choice in spite of that.
I vaguely remember the traditional Icebox Cake. It was layers of the very thin chocolate wafer cookies in between layers of whipped cream. The cake sat in the refrigerator for a day, which softened the cookies and created a classic dessert.
Classic, but not my style. What is my style are desserts that have chocolate and/or coffee liqueur in them and are light enough to let me think I am, actually, eating flavorful ‘air.’ I say this with tongue in cheek, of course.
“Not Your Mother’s Icebox Cake,” uses the Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies in place of the thin chocolate wafers. The whipped cream gets a major boost with the addition of mascarpone, cocoa powder and other fab ingredients, two of them being Kahlua and Godiva Chocolate Liqueurs.
I find the longer the cake sits in the ‘fridge, the better the flavors work together. Because the cookies are loaded with chocolate chips, the cake also has a wonderful texture.
Are homemade cookies a requirement for this dessert? Definitely not! If you don’t have the time to bake cookies, buy the chocolate chip cookies from your favorite bakery. The end result will be a delicious and decadent cake that I assure you was not the slightest bit recognizable to my Mom as a spin off of the old-fashioned icebox cake.
| Not Your Mother's Icebox Cake | Print |
- 8 ounces mascarpone cheese
- 2¼ cups heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons Kahlua liqueur
- 2 tablespoons Godiva Chocolate liqueur
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 14-16 Jumbo Chocolate Chip Cookies (more than 1 batch, less than 2) or your favorite chocolate chip cookies
- 1 ounce chocolate chips (semisweet or bittersweet)
- For the cake:
- Set aside a 9” springform pan.
- Place the mascarpone, whipping cream, Kahlua, Godiva, sugar, espresso powder, cocoa powder and vanilla into a large mixing bowl fitted with a whisk attachment. Mix on low speed to combine the ingredients and then increase the speed to medium. Beat until stiff peaks form.
- Place chocolate chip cookies in the bottom of the springform. It will take between three and four cookies to accomplish this. The first cookie will lay flat and then the others will have to be broken apart to fit into the pan. Spread ¼ of the whipped cream mixture evenly over the cookie layer.
- Repeat the layering until you have four layers of cookies and four layers of the whipped cream mixture, ending with the whipped cream.
- Wrap the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 18 hours.
- Just before serving, release the latch of the springform pan. Use a small metal spatula to go around the side of the cake. Remove the side of the pan.
- Slide the cake onto a serving plate.
- Place chocolate chips into a hand grater. Grate the chocolate over the cake and serve.
- Betsy's tidbits:
- I prepare the cake the night before I am serving it so that it will sit at least 24 hours.
- I like baking my own chocolate chip cookies, as they are softer than most store bought ones and are delicious. I will sometimes bake the cookies ahead of time and freeze them until I am ready to put together this cake. I just have to remember to thaw the cookies out! If you prefer buying the cookies, make life easier and go for it.
