Chef notes
Making an impressive summer dessert shouldn’t require you to use your oven! This simple icebox cake comes together in minutes, and you won’t even have to heat up your kitchen. The wafer cookies will soften slightly in the fridge as the dessert sits. The small addition of almond extract brings out the pistachio flavor. This recipe truly comes together faster than you could place a delivery order for ice cream.
Technique tip: Place cake in the fridge to soften cookies.
Swap option: Try it with your favorite flavor of pudding such as vanilla or even caramel.
Kitchen equipment required: 8-by-8-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant pistachio pudding
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
- pinch kosher salt
- 1 (8-ounce) container Cool Whip
- 3 (6-ounce) packages vanilla crème wafer cookies
- chopped pistachios, for garnish
Preparation
1.Follow pudding package instructions for cold preparation. Whisk together the whole milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened.
2.Add extract and salt to the pudding mix. Whisk to combine.
3.Fold Cool Whip into pistachio mixture.
4.To layer: Place about 16 wafer cookies in the bottom of an 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Depending on your dish, you may use a few more or less cookies for this portion. Top cookies with 1/3 of the pistachio mixture. Repeat layering process 2 more times, ending with the remaining 1/3 of the pistachio mixture on top. You should have 3 layers of the wafer cookies.
5.Smooth top of cake and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill and soften the cookies for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
6.Garnish with chopped pistachios before serving.
