Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake

The building blocks of dessert greatness.

Recently, I was watching an episode of the Barefoot Contessa, and learned how to make a stunningly easy and decadent cake. Check out the ingredients: whipping cream, marscapone cheese, kahlua, cocoa powder, espresso, and…….chocolate chip cookies! Icebox cake–it’s brilliant; like a more interesting version of tiramisu.

You can use store bought cookies, as long as they are fairly large and somewhat chewy. I baked my own, using the Tate’s Bake Shop recipe, which Ina Garten recommends. One batch, about 30 large cookies, was perfect. They need to be completely cool, so I made them the day before I was ready to assemble the cake.

I was so convinced that I had to make this cake once I saw it on tv, I even went out and bought a new springform pan. In Ina’s recipe, she uses an 8″ pan and does 5 layers of cookies and mocha cream. The recipe for the mocha cream can be found here. My pan was 10″, and I was able to do 3 layers, but my cookies were somewhat thick, so I think they took up extra space.

The assemby is pretty easy, start with a layer of cookies, cover that with mocha cream, keep going, and make sure to end with mocha cream. The consistency made it really easy to spread, the marscapone gives the whipped cream a great texture. I think this would be amazing way to ice a chocolate layer cake as well.

The cake needs to chill overnight, so that the cookies can soften and the cake can set. When it’s time to serve, just remove the springform edge and you’re set.

I made this cake for a girl’s night, and I must say the slices disappeared fast! The cake is soft, creamy and decadent, with the chocolate chips adding a bit of crunch to the experience. The bottom layer of cookies stayed somewhat crisp, which made a perfect natural crust to the cake. Make this cake when you have a crowd to serve it to, because it’s so rich, you’ll never finish it yourself.