Tempting Black Forest Icebox Cake

By: Icebox Desserts by Lauren Chattman

Here's a delicious black forest cake recipe... with a twist! Using snack cakes as cake layers makes this Tempting Black Forest Icebox Cake simple-as-can-be to throw together at the last minute! Be sure to cut the cake so that you slice through the snack cakes the short way so you get a nice spiral pattern in each piece. To make a bakery-worthy decoration, take a block of chocolate and run a vegetable peeler over it, working directly over the cake. Youâ€™ll get pretty chocolate curls with very little effort!

Serves8

Ingredients

16 Yodels snack cakes
1/3 cup cherry preserves
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream, chilled
1 1/2 ounce block bittersweet or milk chocolate

Instructions

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange 4 Yodels side by side on the sheet. Place another 4 Yodels next to the first four, end to end, so that you have a square layer consisting of 8 Yodels. Spread the preserves over the cakes in an even layer. Top with the remaining 8 snack cakes, arranging them the same way as the first layer. Press the cakes back into a neat square shape if they have shifted. Place the baking sheet in the freezer until the cakes are firm and the preserves are slightly hardened, about 1 hour.
Combine the cream cheese, confectionersâ€™ sugar, and vanilla extract in a medium-size mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until the cream cheese is very smooth and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl several times as necessary. Add the cream and mix on low until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix on medium-high until the mixture is thick but spreadable.
Remove the cake from the freezer and cover the top and sides with the cream cheese frosting. Lightly drape with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day. Using two large spatulas, carefully transfer the cake to a serving platter. Let stand at room temperature for 1â„2 hour before serving.
Just before serving, use a vegetable peeler to make chocolate curls, dropping them directly on top of the cake.