Keto Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake - Only 5 Ingredients

Keto Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake - This recipe is a sugar-free, gluten-free and low-carb copycat recipe of everyone's favourite Old-Fashioned Icebox Cake! Layers of crispy keto chocolate chip cookies along with freshly whipped cream create an easy and delicious no-bake dessert that has been loved for generations. And since you only need 5 ingredients, this keto dessert recipe comes together in a flash!

Keto Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake

You can't beat a classic icebox cake when you need a simple, crowd-pleasing dessert.

When I was finally able to get back to Canada to see my family, I needed to whip together a quick dessert for our family gathering. Finding Ina Garten's recipe on Food Network, I knew this dessert would be feasible after a straight 26-hour car ride!

Feasible AND delicious! Everyone loved it so I knew at some point I would have to come up with a keto, gluten-free and sugar-free recipe.

Chocolate icebox cake is an easy, and decadent chocolate chip cookie lover’s dream dessert. Made from simple ingredients and a bit of time, this no-bake cake is going to be a huge Holiday, summertime or anytime hit!

Chocolate is the answer to almost anything and always hits the spot. And every so often, a no-bake dessert like my Creamy No-Bake Keto Strawberry Lasagna Dessert and my No-Bake Coconut Strawberry Bars are a welcomed recipe after all the holiday baking.

This recipe comes together in a matter of minutes so it is perfect for those occasions where you are looking to make a dessert with minimal effort. Plus, since the cookies can be made up to 6 weeks ahead of time, this dessert takes about 10 minutes to put together. One more GREAT thing about this Keto Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake recipe is that it is meant to be made ahead of time which means one less thing to get done the day of a gathering!

What is an Icebox cake?

Here is what I found on the internet.

Supposedly, the icebox cake is derived from similar desserts such as the charlotte and the trifle, but made to be more accessible for housewives to prepare. It was first introduced to the United States in the 1930s, as companies were promoting the icebox as a kitchen appliance

An Old-Fashioned Icebox Cake is a dessert that's typically made by layering cream, fruit, nuts and wafers, and then set in the refrigerator. No baking required!

The classic Icebox Cake became popular in the 1920s and 1930s, as housewives began using the "icebox" (a compact, non-mechanical refrigerator) as a kitchen appliance. Companies like Nabisco started printing icebox cake recipes on the back of boxes of Nabisco chocolate wafers, and the dessert took off!

There are now endless variations of these no-bake cakes, some that add sliced fruit in between the layers, or use pudding instead of cream.

So, I decided that it was high time for me to create a sugar-free, gluten-free and keto version of this amazing icebox cake.

This particular recipe includes the classic flavours from the old-fashioned Nabisco recipe, but removes the gluten and sugar to create a Keto Chocolate Chip Icebox Cake version of the original recipe.

5 Ingredients needed for this Keto Icebox Cake

Heavy Whipping Cream -  Make sure that your heavy cream is well chilled before trying to whip it into a mousse. I actually like to place my mixing bowl and mixer whisks in the freezer for about 20 minutes to help to keep the cream cold while whisking. Also, make sure that you use Heavy Whipping Cream and not plain Whipping Cream. According to the labeling standards of the Food and Drug Administration, heavy cream is a cream with no less than 36% milk fat. It may also be called heavy whipping cream. In contrast, whipping cream has a slightly lower milk fat content, 30–36%.

Cream Cheese - I like Philadelphia cream cheese as it has limited additives. Some cream cheese companies add emulsifying agents that will not create the silky smooth texture that we are looking for in this dessert recipe.

Sweetener - This recipe calls for allulose as the sweetener of choice. Allulose is 70 % less sweet than other keto sweeteners but is does not crystalize when cold. Since this recipe is served cold (hence the term "icebox") erythritol sweeteners will create a grittier and grainier texture. You can try to replace the allulose with monk fruit or pure stevia but you will need to adjust the quantity listed in the recipe card.

Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies - I used my Keto Crispy Thin Chocolate Chip Cookies to make this recipe but you can use any cookie you have already made or bought. Just make sure that the cookie is crunchy and not soft as the soft cookie will become too mushy in this dessert. I used 3 rows of 7 cookies which means you will need 21 cookies in total. If you have more or fewer cookies, you can simply add more whipped cream between the cookies or less whipped cream.

Vanilla - I used imitation vanilla in this recipe as it has less of an alcoholic taste. However, if you want to use Homemade Vanilla Extract you can absolutely use it. I actually would suggest that you use real vanilla extract if you are planning on storing any leftovers in the freezer. Alcohol lowers the freezing point, so the frozen whipped cream will stay creamier and smoother because it will not freeze as solid and therefore it is less likely to form ice crystals.

HOW TO MAKE AN ICEBOX CAKE:

As I mentioned above, this easy no-bake dessert is so simple that it can be assembled by a child! The hardest part is waiting for the cream to set since you'll need to let it refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

STEP 1: MAKE THE WHIPPED CREAM

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the cream chees with the allulose and vanilla until the cream cheese is nice and smooth. Next, add in the cold heavy cream, and whip the mixture until stiff peaks form.

STEP 2: LAYER THE KETO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES AND WHIPPED CREAM

Spread a very thin layer of whipped cream in the bottom of the dish (just to hold down the chocolate chip cookies). Next, take one cookie and spread whipped cream on both sides of the cookie. Place the cookie upright along one side of the pan. Take another cookie and only spread 1 side of the cookie. Line the cookie so that the whipped cream is facing away from the first cookie. Repeat until there is no more room left for any more cookies in that row (I used 7 cookies per row). Repeat 2 more times to form 2 additional identical rows.

Finally, place the remaining cream cheese in a piping bag and pipe the whipped cream into any gaps along the sides and in between the cookies. Add a top layer of whipped cream. Smooth out the top.

STEP 3: GARNISH WITH TOPPINGS

Garnish the top of the cake with crushed cookies, chocolate sprinkles, funfetti sprinkles or shaved or grated sugar-free chocolate or sugar-free chocolate syrup, if desired.

STEP 4: REFRIGERATE THE ICEBOX CAKE

Cover the cake loosely and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight. Then it's time to slice and serve!

You can also place this cake in the freezer to make it easier to slice and then allow each slice to come to warm slightly at room temperature for about 5-10 minutes.

What are the best store-bought Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies?

In today's world, finding gluten-free, sugar-free and keto chocolate chip cookies is not as hard as it use to be.

So, if you don't want to make your own homemade keto chocolate chip cookies, here are my top choices when it comes to store-bought keto cookies:

• Kiss My Keto Chocolate Chip Cookies - These are a little on the softer side but I still think they should be firm enough to hold up in this keto chocolate chip icebox cake recipe.
• HighKey Chocolate Chip Cookies - These cookies are good and crispy but a bit thicker and smaller in size. If you want to use these cookies, you may want to stack the cookies in layers instead of lining them up like I did.
• Eat Diffferent Chocolate Chip Cookies - I found these on Amazon and although I have not tried them yet, they look super interesting as they contain Lion's Main Mushroom powder which has been show to improve brain function while supporting mental health & overall well-being
• Lakanto Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix - You could also buy a keto cookie dough mix kit and simply make the chocolate chip cookies in that manner. Just make sure that you only use about 1 tablespoon of cookie dough as well as flatten them out to make sure that they are the right size. Worse case, if you make the cookies and they are not the right size, simply crumble them and sprinkle them between layers of whipped cream.

TIPS AND KETO ICEBOX CAKE RECIPE VARIATIONS:

• The cream needs to be very cold when you whip it, so keep it refrigerated up until the last minute. I also like to chill my mixing bowl and whisk attachment (or rotary blades) in the refrigerator for at least 15-30 minutes before using them to whip the cream.
• Cream the cream cheese and the allulose first to make sure that the cream cheese becomes smooth. If you whip the cream cheese directly with the heavy cream, you may end up with small chunks of cream cheese. It will still taste delicious but not as pretty.
• Icebox Cake with Sugar-free TruWhip: I stuck with the old-fashioned version and used homemade whipped cream here, since it only requires a few extra minutes of prep. That said, you can also make the cake using thawed sugar-free TruWhip. You'll need about 7 total cups. Slightly soften the TruWhip and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
• Use any type of crunchy keto cookie. I used chocolate chip a classic taste, but feel free to mix it up different flavor combinations.
• Add chopped berries to the whipped cream for a nice added twist. If you do add berries, just remember that the berries contain water so you will want to eat this within a day or two. For a spring twist, spread some Lemon Curd before spreading the whipped cream.
• As for the pan, I used a Silicon loaf pan. I love using these for all my icebox or fudge recipes since I do not have to line it and I can literally pop my desserts right out of it. If you don't have a silicone loaf pan, make sure that you use a parchment sling or cling wrap so that you can lift the dessert out of the pan.
• If your cookies are all different sizes, feel free to layer then like a lasagna instead of the perpendicular way that you see in my pictures.
• To get a really nice clean cut, warm your knife in hot water, wipe it clean and then slice sections of your keto chocolate chip icebox cake. I actually put mine in the freezer before slicing to get really clean slices but this is purely optional.
• You may have some leftover whipped topping - I always prefer to have too much than too little! If this is the case, you can store it in the freezer or add some peanut butter or cocoa powder for a simple dessert.
• You can also make this dish in a small 6-inch spring form pan. For a larger pan, you may need to double the number of cookies and whipped topping.

More Easy Keto Dessert Recipes

• Easy Keto Cranberry Pie Dessert - Perfect for Leftover Cranberries!
• Keto Creamy Strawberry Layer Dessert
• Easy Keto Crispy Cereal Treats - Only 4 Ingredients!
• Keto Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Recipe- Low Carb, No-Sugar-Added
• Keto Edible Cookie Dough - 3 Protein-Packed Healthy Flavours

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