I can still remember the first time I tried an icebox cake, or what in Australia is more commonly called a chocolate ripple cake.

Chocolate Ripple is the brand name of a deep, dark, rich, rippled chocolate biscuit, and the back of the packet has forever had a recipe for icebox cake on it. I’m not sure anyone actually buys the biscuits unless they are making some version of the cake.

When I was young, maybe 12, my friend told me all about how she and her grandma layered cream and Chocolate Ripple biscuits to make a log-shaped cake for her birthday. I thought she was kidding, I couldn’t imagine how crunchy biscuits topped with cream could ever make a nice cake.

And then her birthday party rolled around, and I tried it. Oh, my.

The biscuits soak up moisture from the cream, and go soft, but soft in a good way, between all that sweet, thick cream, and it all blends together to make a cake!

So when it was my cousin’s birthday recently, and we were having out traditional weekly family dinner, I thought I would make a dressed up Chocolate Ripple cake, a mocha version, a prettier version. And oh how delicious it was!

MOCHA ICEBOX CAKE
Inspired by the recipe on the Chocolate Ripple packet.

600ml heavy cream (21 oz)
1 tbsp caster sugar
500g Chocolate Ripple biscuits or chocolate wafer biscuits (18 oz)
100ml strong coffee (3.5 oz)

Whip the cream and caster sugar until stiff peaks form.

Spread a little cream in a circle in the center of your serving plate.

Brush each biscuit with coffee, and arrange them in a circle over your cream. Spread a decent layer of cream over the top of the biscuits. Repeat with layers of coffee-brushed biscuits and cream until all the biscuits have been used up.

I topped mine with Nutella ganache truffles rolled in chocolate shavings, but you could just grate some chocolate over the top or finish the cake with a single biscuit.

Refrigerate overnight before serving. Serves 10.