Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake

Nothing beats a summer ice box cake and this Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake is a crowd favorite! You only need a handful of ingredients, a loaf pan and a few hours of chilling time and dessert is served!

Prep Time30

Chilling Time6

Total Time6 30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate wafer cookies, ice box cake, peanut butter, peanuts

Servings: servings

Calories: 630kcal

Author: MaryAnn Dwyer

Ingredients

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups cold heavy cream
3/4 cup salted or unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped plus some extra for topping the ganache, if desired
36 chocolate wafer cookies

Chocolate Ganache Topping

3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 Tbsp. corn syrup

Instructions

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake

Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with a double layer of plastic wrap. Make sure enough of the plastic wrap hangs from the sides for easy removal of the cake. Set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, add the cream cheese and peanut butter until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and vanilla extract and whip at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the heavy whipping cream in a steady stream and continue to whip raising speed to medium-high speed until still peaks begin to form.
Spread a generous layer of the peanut butter cream cheese whipped cream evenly in the bottom of the loaf pan. Add a layer of 12 of the chocolate wafer cookies and some of the chopped peanuts. Continue to layer the whipped peanut butter cream cheese mixture, the wafers and the peanuts until you reach the top of the loaf pan. I had 3 layers total. End with a thin layer of the whipped peanut butter cream cheese mixture.
Cover the cake with plastic wrap and freeze 6 hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer an hour before serving and place in refrigerator to soften a bit. Uncover the loaf pan. Place a serving platter over the cake and invert the cake onto the platter. Peel away the plastic wrap. Pour the cooled chocolate ganache over the cake on the platter. Top with additional chopped peanuts, if desired. Cut into slices and serve immediately.

Chocolate Ganache Topping

Add the chocolate chips and butter to a medium bowl and microwave in 20 second intervals until the chips and butter are melted. Mix with a rubber spatula until smooth. Add the corn syrup and mix until well combined. Set aside to cool.

Notes

You can use any thin chocolate wafer cookie, store-bought or homemade. Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers will work, as well as Dewey's Brownie Crisp Cookies.

I used salted peanuts for this recipe. You can use salted or salt free. I enjoy the salty/sweet combination.

Make sure to line your loaf pan with enough of a plastic wrap overhang, so you can remove it easily from the pan.

I like to freeze my ice box cake, so it’s easier to cut. I freeze and then about an hour or so before serving I place it in the fridge to thaw a bit before cutting and serving.

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