You Should Make (and Eat) More Freezer Cakes.
I’ve always enjoyed a good church dinner. Not only do I appreciate the wide variety of food on offer at such an event, but I am always amazed at how these church ladies could cook delicious meals from seemingly unimpressive ingredients. Rather than brag about how “homemade” and “from scratch,” these women boasted about how easy, quick and cheap their meals were to prepare.
This is a completely different mindset than today’s average home cook. (Nobody cares if you whip the cream yourself, Barbara. Save time with the Cool Whip.) One of the dishes that came up frequently at these dinners was an ice box cake. Not only did this cake have excellent Cool Whip quality, but it also required no effort other than some distribution and folding.
In its simplest form, an ice box cake is made up of just two ingredients: a thin cookie and either whipped cream or a Cool Whip. I prefer using the latter both for nostalgia and because – thanks to the science – you don’t have to worry about Cool Whip crashing. Once you have these two pre-packaged miracles, you just need to layer them, starting with a few cookies.
The most iconic ice box cake cookies are not actually Oreos, but Famous Chocolate Wafers , which are essentially Oreos without a cream filling. For some reason I was unable to find them, but luckily the Oreo Thins exist and they work just as well. (I also like the creamy filling, so I totally agree with this substitution.) Outside of Oreos, any thin cookie will do, including graham crackers, ginger, or Biscoff cookies. Spread out the first layer of biscuits in any shape you want, then cover it completely with a layer of creamy frosting.
Continue alternating between cookies and cream until you reach your desired cake height. Finish with a final layer of whipped topping.
You can also freeze the sides, but I prefer to leave the contrasting layers unprotected. After assembly, all this is sent to the refrigerator for at least three hours, preferably overnight. The whipped filling will soften the cookies, resulting in a sliced, delicious cake that disappears with intimidating ease.
Before you start slicing, however, you will need some kind of sprinkling. I love to top mine with more cookies and whatever fruit is nearby. Isn’t it special?
Now that you’ve designed the simplest freezer cake, you’re ready to eat it. Once that is done, you are ready to level up and create ever more complex creations. Here are some fun ways to play with the format:
- Make your own whipped cream and spice it up: I’m happy with my Cool Whip, but you may be more attractive than I am. For the basic whipped cream, add two tablespoons of powdered sugar for each cup of heavy whipped cream to a bowl and beat until you just get some stiff peaks in there. For chocolate whipped cream, add a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder. For whipped cream with mint, add a teaspoon of mint extract between the soft and firm stages. (Actually it can be done with any extract, I just love mint.)
- Get a fruity flavor: Slice your favorite fruit and place the slices on top of a layer of whipped cream. Bananas, strawberries, whatever, it’s okay.
- Add some fun: Cinnamon, peach sugar , cocoa powder, citrus zest, roasted nuts, candied ginger, or even real sprinkles can be used to add flavor and texture.
- Use ice cream instead of whipped cream: this requires the ice cream to be soft enough, or you can cheat and just stack a bunch of ice cream sandwiches on top of each other . Obviously, this cake should be kept in the freezer and not in the refrigerator.
There is practically no wrong way to make an iced box cake and the only rule I would impose is to avoid the oven and resist the urge to make your own Oreos. Oreos is already the best there is, and baked goods defy the whole spirit of the ice box cake.