Icebox cake

Icebox cake

An icebox cake (American), zebra cake (British), or chocolate ripple cake/log (Australian) is a dessert consisting of whipped cream and chocolate wafers. The back-of-the-box recipe on Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers indicates that the wafers are stacked to form a log with whipped cream cementing them together, and then the log is laid on its side. A second log is formed and the two are set side-by-side and more whipped cream covers the exterior. The cake is then left overnight in the refrigerator (or "icebox"). The wafers absorb moisture from the whipped cream and the whole can be served in slices. The dessert is usually served by cutting it into slices at a 45-degree angle, so bands of chocolate and cream are visible across each slice. The traditional wafers are the Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, but they can be hard to find so other cookies are often substituted.

American variations

A variation of icebox cake is made using pudding (usually chocolate) and graham crackers layered in a square or rectangular baking dish. Additional variations include alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla pudding, or the addition of sliced bananas or pineapples between the layers. While this can be done with cold ("instant") pudding, if given ample time in the "icebox," the best results come from assembling the dessert with still-hot stove-cooked pudding, and then refrigerating overnight.

Australian version

In Australia the cake is made from Arnotts Chocolate Ripple biscuits, hence the name in that country of Chocolate Ripple cake.

External links

• Washington Post article, July 27, 2004