Chocolate Banana Icebox Cake
- Total Time
- 45 minutes, plus chilling
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 to 10 servings
- ¾cup/150 grams granulated sugar
- ¼cup/30 grams cornstarch
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- 3cups/710 milliliters whole milk
- 6large egg yolks
- 2teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ¾cup/175 milliliters cold heavy cream
- 45thin, round chocolate wafers (from 1 9-ounce/255-gram package)
- 4large ripe bananas
- 1½cups/355 milliliters cold heavy cream
- 2tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
- Cocoa powder
For the Pudding
For Serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (10 servings)
505 calories; 29 grams fat; 16 grams saturated fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 39 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 308 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl, and set it aside.
- Step 2
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add the milk, little by little, while whisking to incorporate it fully. Whisk in the egg yolks. Heat the mixture over medium, stirring constantly, until it has thickened and just come to a low boil, about 4 to 5 minutes. Continue to cook the custard while whisking for another minute, then immediately pour it into the sieve, pushing it through with a small spatula. Stir in the vanilla.
- Step 3
Chill the custard until it reaches room temperature or colder, about 1½ hours. (To speed the process, you can spread the custard into an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Stir often until the custard has cooled, about 10 minutes. Transfer the custard back to the medium bowl.)
- Step 4
Whip the ¾ cup heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold the cream into the custard.
- Step 5
Add about ½ cup of custard to the bottom of a 2-quart serving dish, spreading it in an even layer. Top with a layer of cookies (about 15), breaking them as needed to fit the edges. Slice the bananas ¼-inch thick, and top the cookies with a layer of bananas.
- Step 6
Dollop ⅓ of the remaining custard on top of the bananas and, using an offset spatula, gently spread it into an even layer until the bananas are completely covered. Repeat the layering of cookies, bananas and custard two more times, finishing with custard.
- Step 7
Cover with plastic wrap and chill until the custard is cold and the cookies have softened, at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
- Step 8
To serve, whip the 1½ cups heavy cream and confectioners’ sugar to medium-stiff peaks. Top the pudding with the whipped cream, and sprinkle with cocoa powder, dusting it through a fine-mesh sieve. Serve cold.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Daniel
If you Google Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers, you'll see what the recipe is after.
Deborah Gaudette
A chocolate wafer is (in the US) a crisp, very thin, flat, light and dry cookie made from cocoa powder, sugar, butter, & flour and can either be homemade or bought in packs at grocery stores. 😊
zee
because i like to make more work for myself, i bake them from scratch. i use smitten kitchen's recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/03/homemade-chocolate-wafers-icebox-cupcakes/
Yannick
What exactly is a thin chocolate wafer? A wafer with chocolate spread? A chocolat covered cookie?
Drew
Regarding the wafer, any cookie that’s thin and uncoated (ie, no glaze/frosting) will work, because the point is that it will absorb liquid and become a mushy cake layer. I used a combo of chocolate graham crackers and thin gingersnaps, and they worked wonderfully. I also didn’t have ripe bananas, so warmed the unpeeled bananas in the oven at 300F for 15 minutes, and they worked perfectly.
XMason
I ignored the instruction to bring the custard to a boil because I worried about curdling. Turns out that with starch-based custard the boil destroys amylase in the yolks which otherwise turn the custard runny over time in the fridge. So...follow the instructions. However I also felt that the wafer/pudding ratio was off and might try doubling up the wafer layer if I make it again.
megmac
At Harris Teeter they keep the Nabisco Chocolate Wafers next to Ice Cream Condiments (Hershey’s Syrup, Caramel, ice cream cones. They’re often used as a parfait garnish.
Jessica
These might be a nice alternative to the Nabisco wafers: https://deweys.com/products/brownie-crisp-moravian-cookie-thins Dewey's Brownie Crisp Cookies.
DL Etheridge
Nabisco has (spring 2023) stopped making its Famous Chocolate Wafers - not that those are specified in the recipe. Commonly suggested substitures are Oreos or Oreo Thins with filling removed or chocolate "Maria" cookies (such as Goya's Galletas Maria de Chocolate.)
R. Penn
Unfortunately Nabisco discontinued Famous Chocolate Wafers this year. The current iteration was actually a change from the original recipe, which I believe had coconut in it. The Famous Chocolate Wafer cake was part of my childhood--so sorry to see it go. The recommendation now is to use Oreo Thins as a substitute. Haven't tried it yet.
emily
you can’t buy nabisco chocolate wafers anymore—they have been discontinued.
vic
Unfortunately, Nabisco chocolate wafer cookies have been discontinued as of April, 2023. Thankfully, other alternatives are listed in the comments, including the option of making them at home.
Susan Harris
Haven’t finished making this yet but the custard making process was interesting. The recipe calls for 1/4c corn starch and 3 cups of milk. When it didn’t thicken after 10 min I took it off the heat and made a slurry with 2T more corn starch. Wished that in and voila! Custard.
Anne C
This was way too rich for me. I only made it through three servings before throwing the whole thing away.
Erin
I included mini chocolate chips in the custard and it was great. I did not have to cool the custard quite as long as the recipe directed and the final was fine chilled after about 3 hours.
Nan
This is good, but I would make and eat my custard separately from my icebox cake. Buy Nabisco famous chocolate wafers (always on the top shelf in the cookie secion) and make the icebox cake recipe on the box. Simple and way more soft chocolate goodness thsn this recipe.
Pandora
The dessert was good, I like how the whipped cream balanced out the sweetness. I found the chocolate wafers at my local Hyvee.
Liz
Delicious! I made just as instructed and worked great. For the chocolate wafer, you could use any thin, crisp cookie of your choice. Or, you could make from scratch https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/chocolate-wafers-recipe
Katie
YUM. I’m so happy I saw this recipe right as my bunch of bananas started to turn overripe! My custard turned runny while it cooled the first time. I remade it with an extra egg yolk, a tad more corn starch and a slightly longer boil. It was probably overkill, but the second batch turned out perfect! Perfectly rich and decadent - and the first batch turned into delightful popsicles, so no harm done. I made without the chocolate chips and with plain Nilla Wafers - tasted like my 80s childhood!
Pandora
It was hard to find chocolate wafers. I eventually found them at HyVee.
megmac
At Harris Teeter they keep the Nabisco Chocolate Wafers next to Ice Cream Condiments (Hershey’s Syrup, Caramel, ice cream cones. They’re often used as a parfait garnish.
Drew
Regarding the wafer, any cookie that’s thin and uncoated (ie, no glaze/frosting) will work, because the point is that it will absorb liquid and become a mushy cake layer. I used a combo of chocolate graham crackers and thin gingersnaps, and they worked wonderfully. I also didn’t have ripe bananas, so warmed the unpeeled bananas in the oven at 300F for 15 minutes, and they worked perfectly.
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