Famous Icebox Cake

This cake is what most people know as Famous Chocolate Wafer Cake, made by sandwiching Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies in whipped cream and letting it sit for a few hours. I had never had this cake until my father married my stepmother, Donna. After that, it became the featured birthday cake at every household celebration. I don’t know how somebody couldn’t like this cake. It’s not too heavy, it’s chocolate and whipped cream together, it’s easy to make, and it’s delicious. I made one this week just to show my family how much I loved them.

While my stepmom always makes this cake free-form by stacking them vertically in rows, I decided to make mine inside a large loaf pan that was 10″ x 5″, but you can use any size you have on hand. You also don’t have to make it into a loaf shape, but can stack them into any pan you have. If you surf the internet you’ll see all kinds of variations of this cake, so you can get as creative as you’d like.

Famous Icebox Cake

2 boxes Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies (you’ll have extra)
4 cups whipping cream (you may need more, depending on the size of the cake you make)
1/4 cup confectioner’s sugar (or to taste)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whip the cream with sugar and vanilla to firm peaks. Line pan with plastic wrap, overlapping edges so that the plastic wrap hangs out over the sides of the pan on all sides. Line bottom and sides of pan with whipped cream covered cookies, icing both sides.


Start stacking cookies with whipped cream on one side, vertically, with the whipped cream side facing the same direction on each cookie. Continue stacking cookies and whipped cream until you fill the pan.


I filled in the spaces between the stacks with additional whipped cream and then put a final layer of cookies on the top (bottom) of the came. Ice this with a thin layer of whipped cream, lay the edges of the plastic wrap over the cake and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.


I used a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip because it’s a fast and easy way to make the cake look extra special You certainly don’t have to use a pastry bag and can simply put a final layer of whipped cream around the outside of the cake using a large offset spatula like my stepmom always does.


Because of the fresh whipped cream, this cake is best within the first day of making that, after that it may get a little weepy and soggy, but it will still taste good!