Thanksgiving Zebra Cake

I’ve been thinking of a dessert suitable for a small Thanksgiving celebration for one person or two. This one literally “takes the cake”! (The sweet young things with a gelled green Mohawk hairstyle, an eyebrow piercing, and a skull tattooed on their arms won’t know what that phrase means, and nor will their male friends. Live with it! I’m struttin’ my advancing years, Dollinks.)

I’ve been writing about small Thanksgiving celebrations, this week. Not everyone has a large family - and if they do, not everyone is able to visit. This dessert is ideal for your small celebration! It’s also inexpensive and very, very easy to make. It requires just three  ingredients: Whipped cream, confectioners’ sugar, and chocolate wafers. Important! Prepare this cake at least three hours ahead so the whipped cream softens the wafers, turning them into cake. 

A tip: Because it’s Thanksgiving, use thin, plain ginger cookies instead of the chocolate ones. 

Another tip: Whip the cream in the kitchen sink to minimize splashing. I’ve done that for years, with the result that my kitchen’s semi-clean.

I’ve published this excellent recipe before. You can make it large, or you can make it small. Treat yourself: Don’t use a whipping cream substitute when you make this outstanding little cake! Here’s where you’ll find it on my blog: 

http://nicoleparton.blogspot.ca/2013/09/zebra-cake.html

Just before serving, garnish the cake with one or two finely crumbled wafers. As the hair-color ads used to say: You’re worth it! Even if you do wear a gelled green Mohawk and celebrate Thanksgiving on your own.

Zebra Cake

This gorgeous make-ahead dessert is also known as an “Icebox Cake” because you can very quickly prepare, chill and serve it. There are many types of Icebox Cakes: This one’s my favorite!

How the Zebra Cake got its stripes, below!

Some people press mini-marshmallows onto the cream topping, or pour on a little Chocolate Sauce (see the Index under Sauces), but I enjoy this easy cake exactly as the recipe directs. I also like this cake because you can make it as large or small as you wish. I used half a package of wafer cookies when Ron and I recently had a single dinner guest. In theory, the full package of cream-frosted cookies serves 8, but I’ve never seen that happen, because everyone wants seconds and even thirds!

Zebra Cake:

7-oz. (200 g) pkg. thin chocolate wafer cookies
1-½ c. whipping cream (heavy cream)
1-½ tbsp. icing sugar (confectioners or powdered sugar)

Carefully remove wafers from package, reserving broken ones. Using an electric mixer, beat cream until soft peaks form. Add sugar, beating until moderately stiff. 

Frost one side of cookies with cream, making five or six stacks of five or six cookies. Lightly press stacks together, frosting top and sides with remaining cream (see Note). Using a heavy rolling pin, finely crush a broken wafer in a small plastic bag, sprinkling the crumbs over the top of the cake. 

Chill at least three hours before serving, cutting slices on a sharp angle to produce a dramatic “layered” effect of zebra “stripes.”

Note: Chilling beaters and bowl will increase the volume of whipped cream on hot-weather days. Alternately, use fewer wafer cookies or a little more cream.

Frost each wafer with about 2 tsp. whipped cream.

Press stacked wafers together before frosting top and sides.

Trust me on this: A sample is not ample!