18 Amazing Icebox Cakes That Anyone Can Make

The term “icebox cake” hearkens back to a time when refrigerators were still a novel invention, electricity and coolant replacing insulation and a regular delivery from the ice man to bring cooling power to homes nationwide. And the “cakes,” which certainly began as recipe suggestions in the pamphlets that accompanied a refrigerator purchase, and came to a head when in the 1920s, Nabisco introduced Famous Chocolate Wafers and suggested that they be layered with whipped cream and refrigerated, boomed in popularity from then through the convenience-obsessed mid-century. For that reason, they do have a certain retro appeal, but that’s not the only magic of the form. Just like a cake undergoes a transformation in the oven, the time spent in the fridge truly makes this no-bake dessert more than its sum of parts, with cookies going a little soft and melding together with creams and fillings. And though you can certainly layer whipped cream and cookies together and call it a cake like the OG icebox cakes, you can also get as fancy as you like with alternative fillings and layers. Let us inspire you with these ideas, although with preparation this simple, you can also take them in any direction.

Yes, it definitely calls to mind one of those frosty summertime iced frappes from the coffeeshop that needs not be named. But do you also get a Vienetta (RIP) vibe off this layered, sliceable delight? (IYKYK.) Chocolate wafer cookies, ladyfingers, dulce de leche and espresso combine to give a Europe-meets-Latin America air to this 6-ingredient wonder.

These might be the perfect ending for a barbecue. They’re so cute, and everyone gets their own! Plus, they give berry shortcake without your having to make shortcakes, since crushed shortbread stands in for those.

Sure, simple wafer cookies are traditional in icebox cakes, but leave it to Ina to ask, “What would happen if you used chocolate chip cookies instead?” A thin brand works well, like the Tate’s Bake Shop called for here. Layered with a homemade mascarpone coffee cream, this cake eats like a mocha dream.

Go ahead and queue up that “(Lime in the) Coconut” song—and add on some other tropical stars, too. Mangos add their unmistakably island-y floral sweetness, and macadamia, that nut of the tropics, is always an unexpected treat. Coconut flakes, too, ensure that once everything melds in its creamy way, that there will be tons of fun texture.

This icebox cake might just be the chocolate chip-lover’s fantasy come true. The “cake” layers are homemade chocolate chip cookies. The whipped cream is topped with additional chocolate chips, so that the final product is reminiscent of those craveable chocolate chip ice cream sandwiches—but so much more special.

If you’ve ever made Brooklyn blackout cake from scratch, you will just marvel at the ease of this, its icebox incarnation. Chocolate wafer cookies become the cake layers that you no longer need to bake, and store-bought chocolate pudding becomes, well, the pudding that you don’t need to cook on the stovetop. Simply layer, and then spend that time that it’s chilling…chilling.

The proportions here are on point, with many thin layers of graham crackers and maple mascarpone cream. The walnuts are toasted, to intensify their nuttiness, and the crackers, indeed, will go soft and cakey with chill time. And when the time comes, it will slice beautifully, just like the best kind of maple walnut cake.

This is a true celebration of the pink lemonade flavor—and of all things pink. The cookies are lemon, which will already take the cake in a lemony direction. Freeze-dried strawberries are an excellent kitchen cheat; their flavor is intense and will not water out your whipped cream the way fresh berries could if used in this way. They are pulverized and folded into the cream for a very-berry flavor plus pink hue. But fresh sliced strawberries, too, add to the freshness of the cake, and help it arrive at just the right texture.

You’ll be amazed at how these supermarket ingredients, combined just so, truly suggest the flavors of baklava—plus peaches! Layers of unctuous whipped cream, given a little tang by folding in some yogurt, plus honeyed peaches and graham crackers(!) make up this cake. The cinnamony crackers, particularly once topped with pistachios, really transform into everything you love about baklava.

Maybe it’s too hot to make a bonfire to toast marshmallows—or maybe you just want an incredible hot weather showstopper dessert. This is it. Toasted marshmallows get folded into the whipped cream that you layer with graham crackers and homemade chocolate ganache; then after the cake’s chill time, you top it with another drizzling of that ganache and a final crown of broiled marshmallows. Jaws will drop when it comes out, and more importantly, the first bites will live up to the hype.

Pumpkin people, you know who you are. We see you, buying a few extra cans of pumpkin puree in fall, just in case there’s another pumpkin shortage. You know that it doesn’t have to be a fall holiday to enjoy this iconic flavor—but a pumpkin icebox cake also makes an excellent make-ahead option for those fall holidays, too.

We’ve got the flavor of cheesecake here but with no baking and no hot water bath! Speculoos cookies and their creamy counterpart, cookie butter, lend their buttery spice to the layers, along with drizzles of apricot preserves. These ingredients add up to nothing short of spectacular, and thread just that needle of pleasing kids but having a subtle sophistication, too.

This cake blurs the defining line with that of two beloved English desserts: trifle and fool. The former layers all its goodies with lots of whipped cream and cake cubes; the latter is simply fruit, some of it deliberately smashed, and whipped cream, folded together and chilled until they become their own glorious thing. There’s no need to really nail down what category this cake falls into, although its sliceability makes us call it cake. It still has that fresh, fruit-rich lushness that will end any lunch or dinner with delight.

We can’t take credit for the genius of this one. Mango float is a classic no-bake dessert from the Philippines, which besides reveling in the creamy floral goodness that is mango, also ups the ante by folding sweetened condensed milk into the cream. There is no better end to a hot summer dinner.

This cake plays up the amazing combination of coconut and ginger, with coconut milk standing in for the whipped cream and crystallized ginger amping up the flavors of the cookies. Molly Yeh provides a recipe for homemade gingersnaps, and we recommend trying the whole recipe as written (you’ll surely make just the gingersnaps again when you have a cookie hankering). But store-bought can also cut down the prep time when you’re in a pinch.

This might be the mic drop of icebox cakes. No one can resist animal crackers, an underutilized cookie classic when it comes to desserts. Their hint of vanilla transforms the cream in this cake, which also picks up the fresh banana flavor, to make a ne plus ultra sort of banana pudding. Plus, it is just so stupidly easy to assemble. One bite, and you’ll be wondering why you’ve been making anything else all these years.

Store-bought chocolate hazelnut spread is your shortcut to infusing a whole cake with this incredible flavor profile. Fold it into some mascarpone cream, and alternate with layers of vanilla cream. Chocolate graham crackers are a great find for layering in icebox cakes—and for snacking on!