Summer has arrived!
Right on cue, summer arrived over Memorial Day weekend here in New England. Temperatures promise to get up into the mid-30sC/90sF this week. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even want to look at an oven when it gets that hot. Enter Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes with Mascarpone and Maraschino Cherries.
Icebox cakes are classic summer magic
A classic summer dessert, icebox cakes are magic. Take some cookies, and a whipped cream frosting, throw it all together and chill it in the fridge overnight, and you have a rich, wonderful cake that tastes like you did a project bake. This is a small-batch recipe, giving you two individual icebox cakes, so you’ll have just enough of a good thing. My kind of dessert!
Icebox cake, as the name implies, rely on the refrigerator instead of the oven to work their alchemy. The old-fashioned names harkens back to their origin in the 1920s and the popularization of the refrigerator in the US.
Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers are no more
Icebox cakes in part became so popular, because Nabisco printed a recipe for them on the box of their Famous Chocolate Wafers. While other recipes using graham crackers and other such cookies (one using Biscoff wafers is wildly popular), until this year, the Famous Chocolate Wafer was the go-to for a classic icebox cake.
When I decided to make individual icebox cakes, I went to find the chocolate wafers and couldn’t. No one had them, and it wasn’t until I came across this Spruce Eats article that I learned why: Nabisco stopped making them. Why, I’ll never understand, and I hope that they bring them back.
Substitute Dewey’s Bakery Brownie Crisp Cookie Thins
If you want to truly re-create the Famous Chocolate Wafers, here’s a recipe, but I think that belies the principle of icebox cake. I didn’t feel like using Oreo Thins or chocolate graham crackers, so I went off in search of something different and found Dewey’s Bakery Brownie Crisp Cookie Thins at the grocery store (you can get them on Amazon if your store doesn’t carry them, though they are a bit pricey—affiliate link). I didn’t miss the old standby one bit, and I don’t think you will, either.
Good cocktail maraschino cherries
Going along with the theme of an easy dessert, I decided upon using good maraschino cherries—the kind used in cocktails—and their syrup. If you love a good Manhattan as much as I do, you have a jar of these hanging about. Currently I have cherries from Zadar, Croatia (you can also get these on Amazon—affiliate link). The tart cherries and syrup contrast beautifully with the whipped mascarpone cream and cookies.
I liked the idea of using cocktail cherries, because sometimes it’s just so hot, you just want to use whatever you have on hand. You could substitute jam if you wished, or even some macerated fresh berries, though you would want to adjust the sugar in the whipped mascarpone cream and probably add a drop or two of vanilla.
Whipped cream with mascarpone for the frosting
Adding a bit of mascarpone to the cream adds a bit of heft and, along with the confectioner’s sugar, brings the topping more into frosting territory, which I find ideal. I love the flavor of mascarpone and what it brings to desserts (I also love spreading a bit on some toast with fruit). If you can’t find it, you could substitute a bit of cream cheese, but, again, make sure to taste and adjust the sweetness as needed.
Small-batch Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes
One thing about icebox cakes—they are one rich dessert. The classic recipe for an icebox cake serves about eight people, which is a lot. Icebox cakes keep for a couple of days in the fridge, but they don’t last forever.
If you’re cooking for just yourself, you’re either going to a) eat an entire icebox cake all by yourself, possibly standing in front of the fridge, or b) waste a bunch of cake. Both scenarios are tragic, so here’s a recipe for Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes. You get two ramekins of rich, delicious, icebox cake, which is just enough to justify the effort.
Remember to let your Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes chill!
If you’re like me, you might have had a cookie with the cream while as you assembled your cakes and find that the chill time taxes your patience, but please do let your Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes chill! Chilling in the fridge turns those crips chocolate wafer cookies into cake, and the chill time is the price for not having to so much as glance at your oven and still get cake.
In a pinch, you could whip these up in the morning and enjoy for dinner dessert, but letting them chill overnight is really best. I will not tell if you eat one for breakfast.
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Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes with Mascarpone and Maraschinio Cherries
Equipment
- 1 handmixer optional, but very helpful
- 2 ramekins, small or a small loaf pan
Ingredients
For the Whipped Mascarpone Cream
- ½ cup heavy cream keep very cold
- 1 ounce mascarpone, softened slightly 28.3 grams
- 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
For the Icebox Cake
- 1 batch Whipped Mascarpone Cream
- ¾ sleeve chocolate wafer cookies, such as Dewey's Bakery Brownie Crisp Cookie Thins think about 16-20 wafers
- 2 cocktail maraschino cherries, chopped use quality maraschino cherries, not the bright-red ones
- 2 tbsp cocktail marachino cherries syrup
- chocolate shavings to serve, optional
Instructions
Make the Whipped Mascarpone Cream
- Add the cream, mascarpone, and confectioner's sugar to a heavy-bottomed bowl. Whip, using a handmixer, until soft peaks form½ cup heavy cream, 1 ounce mascarpone, softened slightly, 1 tbsp confectioner's sugar
Assemble the Icebox Cakes
- In a small ramekin, add a bit of the Whipped Mascarpone Cream, and spread in a layer. Don't worry about making it perfect1 batch Whipped Mascarpone Cream
- Take a chocolate wafer, and spread it with a dollop of the Whipped Mascarpone Cream. Place it in the ramekin. Continue to stack cookies, alternating their position until you're about halfway up the ramekin. Don't worry too much if it looks a bit sloppy--it will get sorted out as the cake chills¾ sleeve chocolate wafer cookies, such as Dewey's Bakery Brownie Crisp Cookie Thins
- Add half of the chopped maraschino cherries, and then one teaspoon of the syrup to the cookies, and spread it around to coat evenly2 cocktail maraschino cherries, chopped, 2 tbsp cocktail marachino cherries syrup
- Continue the wafer stacking process until you've reached the top of the ramekin. Spread generous amount of the Whipped Mascarpone Cream on top, covering the ramekin
- Repeat with the second ramekin
- Cover and chill for at least 12 hours in the fridge to allow the wafers to absorb the cream and become cakelike
Serve the Individual Chocolate Icebox Cakes with Mascarpone and Maraschino Cherries
- To serve, remove from the fridge and uncover. Top with shaved chocolate. Enjoy!chocolate shavings
Video
Notes
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Julia
This will be fun to try with my girls. We’ll probably skip the maraschino cherries because they are incredibly difficult to find here.
Sara Scott
They are yummy! Replacements are simple (jam or fruit works). You just might want to adjust the sweetness of the whipped mascarpone.