Chocolate Ripple Cake No Bake Recipe

Recipe: Chocolate Ripple Cake Recipe »

This chocolate ripple cake recipe is a classic icebox cake that is so simple to make. But my version of this cake is different and fancies it up a little while still keeping it simple. We also use a stabilised cream to ensure that the cake stays firm plus we dip it in chocolate liqueur for some extra chocolatey flavour. Learn how to make this simple but visually effective chocolate ripple cake!

Chocolate Ripple Cake is such a classic Australian cake and is perfect for when you don't want to bake but want something delicious and elaborate looking. This icebox cake is made out of plain chocolate cookies called Choc Ripples which are plain chocolate cookies that have ripples on the top (hence the name). These are sandwiched together with whipped cream and left to sit overnight. The cream softens the cookies and it becomes an easy to slice cake with striking layers. It is such a popular cake because it is the easiest cake to make. My version of this cake takes it up a notch but in a simple way. I'll also show you how to make it so that it is a more stable cake so it can be transported easily and will last in warm weather.

10 Helpful Tips For Making Choc Ripple Cake

1 - How far in advance can you make choc ripple cake? This cake is best made 1 day ahead as the cookies need time to soften and absorb the cream (similar to tiramisu). But it can be made up to 2 days in advance and stored in the fridge but leave decorating it with fruit til on the day.

2 - What is a substitute for Arnott's chocolate ripple biscuits? You can use any sort of plain cookie that you like eg. Biscoff, butternut snaps or gingernuts. You could even scrape out the frosting from Oreos and use them too. Cookies covered in chocolate won't work as the chocolate provides an occlusive barrier for the cream so that it doesn't soak into the cookie sufficiently.

3 - The direction that the cookies sit determines the way it looks when you cut it. Traditionally choc ripple cake stands the cookies vertically on their side in a log shape and then you cut it at an angle but I like the way that it looks when they sit on top of each other and the striped effect. It also feels a bit more structurally sound that way too.

4 - I dip the cookies in some chocolate liqueur (Baileys chocolate) but use any liqueur that you like. Variation suggestions: Grand Marnier works for a chocolate orange effect or Frangelico works for chocolate hazelnut flavour. If you want to keep this cake alcohol free, try chocolate milk or you can skip the dip entirely!

5 - Make sure to sieve the icing sugar so that there are no lumps in your cream. Also adding in the cream in two lots ensures that there are no lumps in your finished result.

6 - I made my cake with a stabilised whipped cream as it was warm on the day that I made it and I would be transporting it to a picnic. But if it is cold and you can keep it in the fridge until serving, then you may not need to stabilise your whipped cream. Just replace the same weight of cream cheese with cream.

7 - Tip: I like to use a piping bag to fill in any gaps between the cookies. It makes it faster and less messy.

8 - When it comes to frosting your cake, if you want it to look pristinely white on the outside, scoop out around 1 cup of cream and keep it in the fridge for the final coat. Then I do a rough "crumb coat" with the rest of the cream and then freeze the cake for 30 minutes. Then spread the reserved cup of cream for the final coat. This should ensure that your cake doesn't have any chocolate flecks in it. This isn't strictly necessary and you can of course coat the cake all in one go.

9 - How to decorate a chocolate ripple cake? Fruit like raspberries, blueberries, cherries or strawberries with fresh mint leaves are often used. You can also crumble a Flake or Peppermint Crisp chocolate bar on top. You can also add toasted coconut or shaved white chocolate to it as I have done.

10 - This cake keeps in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.

If you're in the mood for an easy cake (because sometimes that's all you have the bandwidth for!) then try this Venezuelan Chocolate Marquesa Cake Recipe or this 3-Ingredient Biscoff Cake Recipe. This is a bit of a blast from the past but my Simple No Bake Snickers Pie has some very big fans from back when it was first posted too almost 15 years ago!

Chocolate Ripple Cake

An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott

Preparation time: 20 minutes plus 30 minutes freezing time

Cooking time: 0 minutes

This cake is best made 1 day ahead of time

• 250g/8.8ozs Choc Ripple Biscuits
• 180g/6ozs cream cheese, cubed
• 50g/1.7ozs icing or powdered sugar, sifted
• 500ml/1 pint thickened or pure cream, chilled
• 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs chocolate liqueur or milk (optional)
• Raspberries, toasted coconut and white chocolate shards to decorate

Step 1 - First beat the cream cheese with the beater attachment until smooth and there are no lumps. Then add half of the cream and beat until smooth. Then add the other half of the cream and beat until smooth. Switch to a whisk attachment and add the sieved icing sugar and whisk until you get firm peaks. Remove 1 cup of the stabilised cream and place in the fridge.

Step 2 - Take a cake board and spread cream on the board in the shape of your cake. I made mine into a heart shape (sort of!). Dip the cookie into the liqueur very briefly and let excess drip off. Spread some cream on the bottom of the cookie and place on the cake board. Then stack cookies spread with cream on top. Repeat until you've used all of the cookies.

Step 3 - Spread the remaining cream around the cake filling in any gaps. I find it easiest to do this using a piping bag to get into any nooks. Smooth over the top and place in the freezer for 30 minutes. Then spread the remaining cup of cream on top smoothing it out. Place in fridge overnight or for 6 hours.

Step 4 - Before serving, sprinkle toasted coconut and add raspberries and white chocolate shards on top.

I'm bring this chocolate ripple cake to a Mother's Day picnic coming up this weekend where we will have Mr NQN's mother Tuulikki and his sisters who are mothers as well as me (dog mum). Speaking of mothers, Queen Viv who has been mistaken for my mother in the past, recommended a movie to us to watch with Teddy and Milo. It's called Flow and is a Latvian cartoon where there is no dialogue and features animals. It has won a lot of awards including an Academy Award. She hooked me in by saying that apparently some animals love watching it and there's a capybara in it who is the hero and well I absolutely love capybaras. The animation style is quite unique and looks like early gaming and she described it as the opposite of Pixar animation which is much more detailed. And she hooked Mr NQN in because it was made using open source software.

One night we sat down after dinner to watch it; Teddy was by Mr NQN's side and Milo by mine. They were both very intrigued and even sat in front of the television to watch it closer. However after half an hour Teddy started to nap and Milo wandered off. He came back towards the end at the climax of the movie. And not to spoil anything but when the capybara was in a bit of strife I was worried and it showed in my body language. I guess I have never really been upset in front of Milo before because he sprung into action. He looked around at me alarmed and started pawing at me as if to say "Mummy are you ok?" Dogs are really so emotionally connected to us and I tried to explain to my sweet Milo that I was worried about the capybara more than anything else. He watched the rest of the movie with one eye on me and the other eye on the action.

So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever seen Flow? And have you ever tried making a choc ripple cake?