Chocolate Peanut Butter Icebox Cake

Growing up my mom would make a traditional icebox cake for my brother’s birthday. Do you know the one? Chocolate wafers between layers of whipped cream and then placed in the refrigerator to get soft and cake like. I recently purchased the wafers to make a Zebra Cake for our Zoo Week only to realize they are filled with awful ingredients like hydrogenated oil so I got to work making my own. The results were a delicious new and improved icebox cake. Then late one night the concept of peanut butter whipped cream popped into my head and, oh so yummy, the most delicious cake was born! You can make this cake for our Happy Birthday Theme Week or try one of my other favorite cake recipes.

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Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

6 hours

Total time

6 hours 30 mins

Author: Meredith @ Homegrown Friends

Serves: 12

Ingredients

CHOCOLATE WAFER COOKIES
½ cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
¾ cup sugar
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM
1 quart heavy cream (or whipping cream)
1 tablespoons sugar
½ tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup natural peanut butter (don't buy the kind with added sugar or hydrogenated oil!)

Instructions

MAKE CHOCOLATE WAFER COOKIES
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined.
Add the milk and mix.
Make balls about the size of a walnut.
Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatten with your palm.
Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes than transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
MAKE PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM
Begin by whipping ½ quart of heavy cream, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Be careful not to over whip or you will have sweet butter!
You know the whipped cream is ready when it is thick and clings to the whisk, but is still airy.
Add ¼ cup peanut butter with ½ cup of whipped cream.
Whip again until combined to keep as much air in the whipped cream as possible.
Add the rest of the peanut butter and another ½ cup of whipped cream and whip again.
Add the other ½ quart of heavy cream and whip until thick, but still airy.
Again, be careful not to over whip!
Time to assemble the cake.
Put a generous amount of whipped cream on a cookie and place another one on top.
Add more whipped cream and another cookie until you have stacks of about 6-10 on your plate.
Keep adding cookie stacks to create a rectangle shape.
Generously cover the cake with whipped cream.
I added chocolate chips (flat side up) to make it a polka dot cake (optional).
Cover with tinfoil and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (best if you can leave it overnight). This gives the cookies time to get nice and soft.
To serve cut slices on a diagonal to make the cake look like a multilayer cake.

TIME TO MAKE THE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER ICEBOX CAKE

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. Add the milk and mix.

Make balls about the size of a walnut. Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatten with your palm.

Bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes than transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

TIME TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER WHIPPED CREAM FOR CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER ICEBOX CAKE

Begin by whipping 1/2 quart of heavy cream, 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Be careful not to over whip or you will have sweet butter! You know the whipped cream is ready when it is thick and clings to the whisk, but is still airy.

In a separate bowl combine approximately 1/4 cup peanut butter with 1/2 cup of whipped cream. Mix together only until combined to keep as much air in the whipped cream as possible. Add the rest of the peanut butter and another 1/2 cup of whipped cream and mix again. Scoop the peanut butter whipped cream mixture back into the large bowl of whipped cream, add the other 1/2 quart of heavy cream and whip until thick, but still airy. Again, be careful not to over whip!

Time to assemble the cake. Put a generous amount of whipped cream on a cookie and place another one on top. Add more whipped cream and another cookie until you have stacks of about 6-10 on your plate.

Keep adding cookie stacks to create a rectangle shape.

Generously cover the cake with whipped cream. I added chocolate chips (flat side up) to make it a polka dot cake (optional). Cover with tinfoil and place in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours (best if you can leave it overnight). This gives the cookies time to get nice and soft.