Take-out Tuesday, Chocolate Chip Kahlua Icebox Cake

Need a dessert for a party or special occasion? You can make this in minutes, stick it in the fridge overnight and be ready for a slice of heaven!
This doesn’t look like a cake does it? I am trying to distract you because the cake is insanely fabulous and easy to make but it’s kinda like the old personality joke, you know, not very good looking but has a great personality?
Super Boy and his daddy HHjr surprised me with this on Mother’s day, isn’t it adorable!
They brought the stunning white hydrangea blooms over and found the pitcher and added some roses from the backyard. The black & white bowl was on the island and HHjr found the black and white pitcher to match! Be still my tablescaping heart! I would have never thought to use that pitcher, or add the roses! That to me was the best part, the artistic arrangement! Made my heart sing! They are sooooooo sweet!
Ok, sorry to get carried away, now that you’re thinking all these happy thoughts…
I know, right, what is that exactly?!?!?!? No, it’s not the Super Dome, but yes it does look like it…
When you cut into it there are layers upon layers of creamy chocolate goodness
I warned you this cake isn’t pretty!
Yikes! You are going to need more distractions…
How about a tablescape? We’re having a birthday party! I wanted to set a fun table to celebrate my grandsons May birthdays, they are turning 1 & 5. I saw Ina Garten make this cake on the Barefoot Contessa Show, {Food Network}, the other day and was looking for an excuse to make it~
Chocolate chip cookies, Kahlua, whipped cream, how can that NOT be fantastic???!!!
I want you to know that Ina is one of my favorite chefs, I have made many of her dishes and totally trust her. It’s important to trust the source of your recipes.
She didn’t even make her own cookies for this recipe, she bought some already made from her favorite bakery! I went the extra mile, step, effort, way of using Pillsbury ready bake cookies because I’m just gourmet that way~
Now I must say, her whipped cream on TV did not have this lovely grayish brown color…but hey, I don’t have a camera crew in my kitchen and professional lighting so let’s overlook that shall we?
Who cares what color the whipped cream is right?
Cookies, whipped cream, cookies, whipped cream, cookies, whipped cream, cookies, whipped cream. Refrigerate overnight.
Then garnish it to make it look slightly better! Ina suggested garnishing with chocolate curls and shavings but I just couldn’t pull the trigger to add anything else, this thing is loaded as it is! I dusted it lightly with cocoa powder and sparkle sugar.
The springform pan is not really necessary, it just insures the shape and is easy to unmold the next day.

CHOCOLATE CHIP KAHLUA ICEBOX CAKE
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold heavy cream
- 12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese*
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup coffee liqueur such as Kahlua
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened dark cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 36-40 chocolate chip cookies Pillsbury ready to bake
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, coffee liqueur, cocoa powder, and vanilla. .
- Mix on low speed to combine and then slowly raise the speed, until it forms firm peaks.
- To assemble the cake, arrange chocolate chip cookies flat in an 8-inch springform pan, covering the bottom as much as possible. (break some cookies to fill in the spaces.)
- Spread a fourth of the Kahula whipped cream evenly over the cookies.
- Place another layer of cookies on top, lying flat and touching, followed by another fourth of the cream
- Continue layering cookies and cream until there are 4 layers of each, ending with a layer of cream.
- Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
- Run a small sharp knife around the outside of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate, cut into thin wedges, and serve cold.
Notes
*Marscapone substitute
12 ounces cream cheese
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
Blend all three ingredients together until smooth.
There are tons of ways to shortcut this recipe too, you can use ready made cookies and coolwhip to really make quick work of this…in might not be quite as good as making whipping cream yourself, but it’s bound to still be divine! If you don’t want to use Kahula, substitute coffee, or eliminate all together
IMPORTANT NOTE: The marscapone cheese in this really makes it rich and the dark chocolate cocoa cuts a lot of the sweet taste so this is sort of an adult version. To make it more “kid palate” friendly I would eliminate the Kahlua and dark cocoa and make a simple whipped cream with sugar and vanilla or use cool whip. Use CRISP chocolate chip cookies, soft baked ones will get too mushy.
Jenna, this cake sounds really tasty — you sold me with the kahlua! 😉 And the flowers and pitcher from Mother’s day are so lovely!! Well done boys!
Kenley
Jenna, I loved this post, so sweet, love their vignette! And the cake, yum! xo
The cake looks really good. Pretty tablescape and vase with flowers! Hope you had a great Mother’s Day!?..Christine
That cake looks decadent!…always looking for different desserts to try and this definitely is one to try!!…Beautiful flowers and a great pitcher!!…Glad you had a great Mother’s Day!
Oh my word, this cake looks amazing! I’m gonna try this very soon as I have a birthday coming and this looks perfect! The pitcher is lovely, along with the flowers. Thank you for your visit, you made my day! Big hugs,
FABBY
Chuckling at your commentary Jenna 🙂 That cake looks wonderful! I attempted a version of a stacked cookie cake from Martha Stewart a year ago for our cookie exchange, it was an epic failure. The springform pan would have helped tremendously! I can only imagine how wonderful it is with the addition of mascarpone and the kahlua!
OMG!!!! My mouth is watering. just sent your link to my non-blogging Sista!
Oh me, oh my – this looks and sounds amazing! I’m glad you had a lovely Mother’s Day.
Looks absolutely delicious! I would love it if you linked up to my Create It Thursday post…it’s live now! http://www.lambertslately.com/2013/05/create-it-thursday-2-plus-features.html
Brown things are difficult to photograph, don’t ask me how I know, but this cake is to die for. Ina is queen. And the tablescape is darling.