Best Recipe Blogs | Celebrity Chef Recipes

Courtesy Barefoot Contessa 

The Barefoot Contessa’s  Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake combines everyone’s favorite chocolate chip cookies or chocolate wafers with layers of  delicious mocha whipped cream. Is there anything that Celebrity Chef Ina Garten, better known as the Barefoot Contessa, makes that isn’t  a great dessert for entertaining?

SERVES  8

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cold heavy cream

12 ounces Italian mascarpone cheese

½ cup sugar

¼ cup Kahlúa liqueur

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Pernigotti

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 (8-ounce) packages chocolate chip cookies or chocolate wafers

Shaved semisweet chocolate, for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, combine the heavy cream, mascarpone, sugar, Kahlúa, cocoa powder, espresso 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. Ina breaks  some cookies to fill in the spaces.

Spread a fifth of the mocha whipped cream evenly over the cookies.

Place another layer of cookies on top, lying flat and touching, followed by another fifth of the cream. Continue layering cookies and cream until there are 5 layers of each, ending with a layer of cream.

Smooth the top, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.

 

PRESENTATION

Run a small sharp knife around the outside of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the top with the chocolate shavings, cut in wedges, and serve cold.  (If you heat the block of chocolate in a microwave for 30 seconds, you will get larger shavings)

 

NOTE

Almost everyone has fond memories of that old-fashioned dessert made with chocolate wafers and whipped cream. I decided to update that icebox cake with really good chocolate chip cookies and mocha whipped cream. WOW—and talk about easy! I use chocolate chip cookies from Tate’s Bake Shop in Southampton, New York, which are available nationally or at TatesBakeShop.com. If you can’t get them, use another thin, crisp chocolate chip cookie.

Tate’s Bake Shop cookies are 2 inches in diameter, thin, and crisp. You will have cookies left over from 3 packages, which never seems to be a problem here.

– The Barefoot Contessa

 

This is one of many fabulous recipes from Ina Gartner’s new Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That cookbook published by Random House. Check out Ina’s website for more inspiration.

 

– The Gourmet Review

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