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Set these crowd-pleasing desserts in the fridge or freezer before any gathering or celebration.
Modeled after classics like charlotte russe and English trifle, the ingenious icebox cake emerged with the invention of the refrigerator a century ago — first as a way to market the appliance, and soon after to promote the packaged cookies used in its layers. In 1929, Nabisco began printing a recipe for its now-iconic Zebra Cake — a simple combination of Famous Chocolate Wafers and sweetened whipped cream — on the back of the cookie box. Today, the chilled dessert has evolved into countless creative forms, including pies.
This collection highlights low-lift icebox cakes and pies with impressive presentations and flavors. Some come together with little more than whipped cream and store-bought cookies, while others feature a briefly baked press-in crust or a quick stovetop custard. In every case, time in the refrigerator or freezer transforms the layers into a cohesive, sliceable treat. Whether you opt for an ice cream cake stacked with black and white cookies, a tangy no-bake cheesecake, or a creamy crumb-crust pie, these desserts are as easy as they are irresistible.
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01 of 20
Peanut Butter Chai-Spiced Pie
Silky and near-effortless, this pie blends peanut butter, cream cheese, and whipped cream with honey and warming chai spices. We especially like it with our walnut-date piecrust, which keeps it in the icebox pie category, but you can pair it with whatever shell you fancy.
02 of 20
Bourbon-Peach Icebox Cake
Buttery pecan cookies, homemade or store-bought peach jam, and a tangy, bourbon-spiked mix of cream cheese, crème fraîche, and whipped cream come together for an impossibly delicious, showstopping dessert.
03 of 20
No-Bake Chocolate-Cherry Cheesecake
Use fresh or frozen sweet cherries to make a jammy compote for draping over slices of dense, velvety double-chocolate cheesecake for a gorgeous, no-fuss dessert that’s easy to prepare in advance.
04 of 20
Lemony Sumac Pie with Ritz Cracker Crust
2021 F&W Best New Chef Paola Velez uses Ritz cracker crumbs as a salty, buttery foil to puckery lemon. Sumac, a tart spice that adds a floral aroma and pops of red color, complements fresh lemon juice in the sweet-and-sour filling.
05 of 20
Black and White Cookie Icebox Cake
Strategically cut and layer black and white cookies with your favorite ice cream flavors — we like the classic trio of vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate — into a loaf pan and top with lightly sweetened whipped cream for an easy no-bake dessert sure to garner lots of ooohs and ahhhs.
06 of 20
Blueberry-Banana Cream Pie
Line a graham cracker crust with silky custard and sliced fresh bananas, add a layer of cream cheese–bolstered whipped cream, and top with a jammy blueberry compote for this fruity take on a classic icebox pie.
07 of 20
Maria Cookie Icebox Cake
For an easy, no-bake dessert that pulls out all the stops, look no further than this pretty number that leans on toasty Maria cookies, gently spiced whipped cream, and store-bought dulce de leche. Decorate it with strawberries and edible flowers for an extra-special touch.
08 of 20
Chocolate-Raspberry Icebox Cake
This sweet-tart frozen dessert is creamy, dreamy, and a breeze to prepare. Crushed cookies, fresh raspberries, and layers of raspberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream transform into a gorgeous marbled layer cake in about 15 minutes — no frosting required.
09 of 20
Mango Pie
Bursting with sunny mango flavor, this pie’s creamy filling comes together easily in the blender using canned mango pulp, cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and a touch of gelatin to make it sliceable. Adding ground black cardamom to the graham cracker crust provides warmth and additional depth of flavor.
10 of 20
S’mores Icebox Cake
This no-bake dessert channels all the best parts of the campfire classic with graham crackers, chocolate fudge, and toasted marshmallows swirled into store-bought vanilla ice cream. It takes just over half an hour to put together, plus additional freezer time; make it up to three days in advance.
11 of 20
Chocolate-Hazelnut Matzo Cake
Pastry chef Rochelle Cooper’s Passover-friendly icebox cake layers espresso liqueur–soaked matzo with chocolate ganache and toasted hazelnuts. A nonalcoholic version can be made by substituting lightly sweetened coffee in place of the liqueur.
12 of 20
No-Bake Peaches-and-Cream Cheesecake
With a perfect graham cracker crust and two layers of peach puree, this no-bake dessert is a summertime hit. The ideal ratio of cream cheese to ricotta gives the cake an extra-creamy texture.
13 of 20
Espresso Martini Pie
This chilled pie channels the flavors of the caffeine-spiked cocktail with a French silk–style chocolate filling infused with instant espresso and Kahlúa — and spiked with vodka — inside a chocolate cookie crust.
14 of 20
Gingerbread Icebox Cake
2022 F&W Best New Chef Caroline Schiff’s holiday-ready no-bake cake stacks pumpkin-spiced whipped cream with crisp gingersnaps, which soften into plush, cake-like tiers as the dessert chills.
15 of 20
Banana Pudding Pie
Skip the meringue and flaky crust for this banana pudding–banana cream pie mashup. Instead, you’ll press a mixture of buttery roasted macadamias and crushed vanilla wafers into the pan, layer it with bananas, homemade custard, and whole vanilla wafers, then top with a cloud of freshly whipped cream and more cookie crumbles.
16 of 20
Lemony Layered Cheesecake
Creamy and sophisticated, this tangy icebox cake is the ultimate low-lift treat. The recipe calls for only six ingredients — mascarpone cheese, heavy cream, prepared lemon curd, kosher salt, graham crackers, and blueberries. Once it’s assembled, all that’s left to do is throw it in the fridge.
17 of 20
Strawberry Icebox Cake with Maple-Ginger Cream
This no-bake icebox cake riffs on the flavors of a classic strawberry shortcake — and it has some personality all its own. Buttery store-bought shortbread cookies make an easy foundation for layers of sliced strawberries and a whipped cream–crème fraîche mixture sweetened with maple and spiced with fresh ginger.
18 of 20
Tangy Key Lime Pie
This airy, fluffy version of Key lime pie is light rather than dense, and the filling feels more like mousse than custard. Adorn the pie with freshly whipped cream and lime zest strips for a delicate finish.
19 of 20
Tiramisu Icebox Pie
Pastry chef Mathew Rice rearranges the components of classic tiramisu into a cool, refreshing icebox pie, crushing the ladyfingers for a press-in crust and making a quick gelatin-thickened coffee custard for the filling. Whipped mascarpone and a homemade coffee cookie crumble top it off.
20 of 20
Icebox Chocolate Cheesecake
For her three-ingredient dessert, former F&W senior test kitchen editor Grace Parisi beats cream cheese with chocolate syrup until light and fluffy, then layers the mixture with packaged chocolate wafer cookies, patting extra cookie crumbs onto the side of the cake after it’s chilled overnight. Nabisco no longer makes its Famous Chocolate Wafers, but Oreo Thins make an excellent substitute.
Read the original article on Food & Wine
