Welcome to this week’s edition of “Why the heck have I never made this?!”, where I wonder what in the world I was thinking when I wasn’t making incredibly easy delicious things. Other “what the heck” recipes include homemade almond milk, iced coffee, and homemade vegetable stock. But really, this one takes the (sorry) vegan icebox cake.
I’ve seen countless recipes being pinned, tweeted, and shared involving the simple combo of wafers, whipped cream, and some freezer time, but for some reason just never took the time to try it myself. I think part of my problem is when I am looking for a dessert to take to an event or party I want it to be “special” or I have to wow everyone there with something that totally took me 12 hours of prep time, 4 cabinets of special tools and oh yeah I didn’t sleep for 3 nights to make this. But let’s be honest, no one really cares about the process it took for you to get that crazy dessert together, they just care it it is good and if there is enough for seconds!
This is definitely a prep ahead dessert, but it doesn’t involve any crazy anything to get it in the pan and chilling in the freezer. Waiting is the name of the game for this loaf and the wait is completely worth the end result. I assembled this dessert over a few days, pulling together the components during little bits of free time throughout the week. I deem this perfectly acceptable to knock the shorts off of your guests at a party or gathering, easy peasy and a good way to ring in the end of summer blues that seems to be popping up around here.
Tell me if there are any other “Why didn’t I make this before?!” recipes you have, I’ll take them!
Creamy Icebox Cake with Homemade Chocolate Wafers
Ingredients
- For the chocolate wafers:
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup powdered sugar or 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- For the whipped cream:
- 1 can coconut cream or full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons rum (optional)
Instructions
- To prepare the wafers:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. Gradually add in the cold water, almond milk, and vanilla extract, mixing until dough is formed.
- Remove dough from bowl and form into a log about 12 inches long and 1-1 1/4 inches in diameter. Roll the log of dough in parchment paper or plastic wrap. Chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- After dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove dough from refrigerator and slice into 1/8-1/4 inch slices to make the wafers. Place onto 2 greased cookie sheets.
- Bake for 13-15 minutes, or until cookies are crispy. Set aside to cool.
- To prepare the whipped cream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whip attachment, place the can of coconut cream, powdered sugar, and rum. Whip on high until mixture becomes thicker, about 3-5 minutes.
- To prepare the cake:
- In a greased loaf pan, place a layer of chocolate wafers on the bottom, top with 1/3-1/2 cup whipped cream. Repeat layers until all wafers and whipped cream are used.
- Freeze for at least 24 hours or until firm. Remove from pan and slice with a large, sharp knife.
Karis says
I’m addicted to Pinterest, yet somehow I missed this cool concept. Can’t wait to try it myself. Might make the Miami heat, as in weather not the basketball team :), more tolerable.
The Frosted Vegan says
Haha, agreed!
vegainvianen says
I could totally make this! And I probably should too… By coconut cream you mean that thick stuff you get when refrigerating a can of full fat coconut milk, right? I have seen that a million times but I never tried it.
The Frosted Vegan says
Yes, ma’am! It’s the best! : )
veganmiam.com says
Wow, I love chocolate wafers, and so lovely that these are homemade! Looks like a gorgeous creamy ice-box cake! Love the name!
Janet Sclar says
Since I just made a mess in my kitchen hoping against hope that my can of 18 grams fat coconut milk would turn into whipped cream, I had to find another blog to help me with that little detail. I think other readers might benefit from it to: http://www.oneingredientchef.com/coconut-whipped-cream/
Mary says
Hello, How many chocolate wafer cookies does one batch make? Thanks!