For months, I’ve been wanting to make this dessert. First, for Christmas, I got The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook, which includes the recipe. Then, I was even more sold on it when Deb made it. So, what took me so long? Finding those chocolate wafer cookies. Seriously, those are not easy to find. They do sell them at Amazon, but I didn’t have great faith that they would arrive intact, not to mention the fact that you’re buying a whole case of them. Nevertheless, I didn’t give up hope. I searched every grocery store to no avail, until finally I found them at a Fresh Market about 90 miles from here.
So, for my Memorial Day dessert contribution, I got out my cookbook and relished finally being able to make this cake. Now, I’m the first to admit that this is one of the easiest things that I’ve ever made. Seriously, there are four ingredients. However, everyone’s enjoyment of eating it was inversely proportional to the effort put into it. Unanimously, everyone loved it.
I opted to add some chocolate shavings to the top layer, more for aesthetics than anything. I debated adding some toasted, chopped hazelnuts, but didn’t in deference to my brother-in-law who doesn’t like nuts. With a dessert this simple, you can do all kinds of things to make it your own.
I highly recommend this cake, especially for these impending summer months. It’s not too heavy, yet it’s so rich and delicious. I do think it would be interesting to experiment a bit with some flavors. A little bit of Kahlua or Frangelico in the whipped cream mixture might just make it even better. With or without augmentation, don’t be surprised if it’s so big of a hit that you’ll end up making it again and again.
A side note: I’m sure I’m not the only one with limited access to chocolate wafer cookies. Making your own is certainly an option. I might suggest these that I made a while back. I’ve not tried it with those, but it’s probably worth a shot.
23 responses so far ↓
1 Ivonne // May 30, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I could just jump right in. It looks delicious!
2 Meeta // May 31, 2007 at 12:38 am
Ivonne, make some room for me too LOL! That does look gorgeous.
3 jenjen // May 31, 2007 at 3:12 am
Oh my!! This looks amazing, you are convincing me by the second that this should be next on my list of things to make. Looks like it is quite a bit of work, but definitely worth it in the end.
4 SAWII // May 31, 2007 at 3:35 pm
That’s the recipe from the back of the wafer cookies box just laid out differently. It is delicious!
5 Mindy // May 31, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I always had trouble finding those darn chocolate wafers, too, then one day when I was buying caramel ice cream topping, they were right there…along with the ice cream toppings, sprinkles and cones. Go figure!!! And they were there all along. I would never have thought to look there.
I made this exact recipe a few years ago, and it’s very tasty. And simple to make, too. Hmmm…maybe it’s time to make it again.
6 Mo // May 31, 2007 at 10:19 pm
That looks so delicious! One question — how do you go about slicing/serving it?
7 jennifer // Jun 1, 2007 at 10:15 am
Thanks for the compliments, y’all!
Mo, believe it or not, you just slice it up like a regular cake. It gets very firm in the refrigerator, so that makes it a bit simpler.
8 Mo // Jun 1, 2007 at 12:09 pm
Awesome, thanks! I’m headed out to get the ingredients — sounds like just the ticket for the beginning of a sweltering DC summer.
9 Margaret // Jun 5, 2007 at 8:32 am
Have you tried substituting chocolate graham crackers or oreos with filling removed when a recipe calls for crust made with chocolate wafers? If so, I’m just wondering your opinion of the substitution.
10 jennifer // Jun 5, 2007 at 1:11 pm
Margaret, I haven’t tried either of those, but my mother-in-law says she has used chocolate graham crackers in this recipe with much success. For other recipes, I have used Oreos instead of chocolate wafers for a crust and that worked fine.
11 Mo // Jun 7, 2007 at 8:41 am
Just wanted to check back in and say, thank you again for this recipe! I took your suggestion and used about 2 Tbl of Frangelico instead of the vanilla. The whipped cream had just a faint essence of the Frangelico. It was delightful. And the whole thing firmed up just as you said. Amazing! The Washington Post just printed a similar recipe, with the suggestion to use vanilla and raspberry liqueur in the whipped cream, and to slightly blend/smash in ripe raspberries once the cream has already whipped up. Might be good to try! Thanks again!
12 Kristen // Jun 8, 2007 at 7:36 am
This is one of those recipes that I have been wanting to make for so long. Looks delicious!
13 Jann // Jun 11, 2007 at 6:13 pm
I am really happy you decided to make this~it is beautiful! I hope to make it soon….
14 Suganya // Jun 19, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Flawless photo!
15 Natalie // Jun 25, 2007 at 6:22 pm
I’m making this asap!
16 Apartment Therapy Food // Jul 10, 2007 at 10:34 am
Food Blog Roundup: 07.10.2007…
We’ve been exploring new (to us anyway) food blogs this week, and there’s a lot to appreciate and salivate over. The photos and ideas at Cloudberry Quark are truly inspiring. This Noodle Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing looks refreshing, and……
17 joanh // Jul 10, 2007 at 10:57 am
wow! this looks amazing and decadent to try. thanks for including the link to the wafers too!!
18 Nadia // Jul 10, 2007 at 7:13 pm
Hi there Jennifer, the cake looks absolutely scrumptious!
I’m most certainly going to try it soon.
I have a question though.
I’m a huge fan of cream cheese.
I was wondering if it’s alright to use that instead of heavy cream?
19 jennifer // Jul 11, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Hmmm, Nadia. I don’t know if that would work or not. I think for this to turn out well you need just the right consistency, like what you get with the heavy cream. If you try it, let me know how it works.
Thanks, everyone, for the comments and compliments!
20 Mykarma // Jul 21, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I couldn’t find chocolate wafers either, so I made this using Pepperidge Farm Brussels cookies (very thin cookies with an even thinner chocolate layer in between). Yum, yum, yum!
21 Kelly // Aug 27, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Do you have problems when you spread the first layer of cream mixture over the firt layer of cookies? Meaning the cookie wafers stick to the other side of the spatula?
22 jennifer // Aug 29, 2007 at 12:08 pm
Kelly, it was actually surprisingly easy. The filling is very light, and I was able just to dollop it on and spread it around with relative ease. Let me know how it works for you.
23 ssk. // Sep 10, 2007 at 7:21 am
loved it! thanks so much for the recipe. next time i won’t “press” so much btwn the layers. my lower layers spread a bit too much and i missed the wafter parts in my slice.
next time maybe i’ll do every other layer brussels and the other layers the choco wafers!
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