Megan Moore’s White Chocolate Lavender Icebox Cake {With Gluten-Free Wafers}

White Chocolate Lavender Icebox Cake

One afternoon, my Hubby and I were taking the bus to see my parents in Bucks County. Since it was Mother’s Day weekend, it was quite full so we ended up sitting apart. Honestly, no big sacrifice since he goes to sleep three minutes into any trip.

I ended up sitting next to a lovely woman named Megan (pronounced MEE-gan). She struck up a conversation so I immediately figured she was from out of town. (She was from Montana to be exact.) You see New Yorkers are not a chatty bunch and since I had 2 1/2 hours ahead of me, I was more than happy for the conversation.

She said she was a portrait painter and was searching on her iPad for her work. I was filling up with dread since you never really know what someone’s artwork is going to be like.

Turns out she is fantastic! Whew relief! As an art history major, I have had more than my share of faking excitement. Check out her work at meganmoore.net.

Anyway, when she heard I was a baker, she enthusiastically told me about an icebox cake she made that was always a hit. Now while I had heard of icebox cakes, I had no idea what they were.

Basically, you alternate layers of cookies with whipped cream or mousse and put the whole thing in the refrigerator overnight. The cream or mousse seeps into the cookies and softens them so they become like cake. Apparently, icebox cakes were big in the 50s.

She uses Nabisco Famous Wafers and you should feel free to as well. I however cannot stand store-bought cookies. Any of them.

The Keebler elves are cute but I do not want anything that comes out of that tree no matter how many fudge stripes they put on them. So I developed a recipe for chocolate wafers made with rice flours.

Megan Moore’s White Chocolate Lavender Icebox Cake

Yields Approximately 112 wafers, one 9-inch round cake

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Ingredients

For the Gluten-free Chocolate Wafers:

Adapted from Chocolate Sugar Wafers M.S. Milliken & S. Feniger

Inspired by Nick Malgieri’s Crisp Chocolate Wafers

 

1 1/2 sticks of butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sweet rice flour

1 cup brown rice flour

1 cup Dutch process cocoa powder (also called baker’s cocoa)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

 

For the White Chocolate Lavender Mousse:

Adapted by Megan Moore from Just Get Floury

10 ounces white chocolate

4 cups heavy cream

8 tablespoons food-grade lavender (.33 ounces or 12 grams)

½ cup milk

 

Instructions

    For the Gluten-free Chocolate Wafers:
  1. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy, then gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
  2. Add the egg, vanilla, and milk, and beat thoroughly.
  3. Whisk the dry ingredients together for 2 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add to the mixture in 4 parts. Mix until incorporated. Tip: The dough will be very stiff.
  4. Divide the dough into 4 parts and wrap each in a sheet of wax paper. Press each into a disk and refrigerate the dough until it is firm -- about 1 to 2 hours.
  5. About 20 minutes before you intend to bake the cookies, set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees.
  6. Remove one disk from the refrigerator. Unwrap it and cover it with another sheet of wax paper. Roll the dough between the sheets of wax paper until paper thin. Tip: If the dough is sticking to the wax paper when you try to remove it, place the rolled dough (still in the wax paper) on a cookie sheet. Refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes and try again.
  7. Cut the dough into 2-inch squares using a pastry cutter, pizza cutter or paring knife. Place 14 squares on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (This equals one layer of the cake.) Cut 2 of them in half diagonally. Continue with the remaining dough. Each of the 4 parts makes about 28 cookies. Tip: Keep the dough you are not currently using in the refrigerator.
  8. Bake the cookies 10 to 14 minutes. Cool the cookies on the parchment. Tip: The cookies will be crisp when cooled and done. If they are not crisp, put them back in the oven for a couple of minutes.
  9. For the White Chocolate Lavender Mousse:
  10. In a large mixing bowl, add the lavender to 4 cups of heavy cream and refrigerate overnight.
  11. In a saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk to a simmer. Add the white chocolate and stir slowly and constantly with a spatula until melted. Remove from the heat and let cool. Set aside to cool completely.
  12. Remove the lavender cream from the refrigerator and strain out the lavender flowers. Whip the cream until soft peaks form. Tip: Use a low speed on your electric mixer.
  13. Gently fold the cooled chocolate into the whipped cream to form a mousse. Tip: If the mousse is too thin, refrigerate it until it’s spreadable. Also, if you’re not going to use the mouse right away, refrigerate it until you’re ready to use it. View a video on How to Fold an Ingredient into your Batter .
  14. To Assemble:
  15. Spread a thin layer of mousse on the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Tip: My icing spatula was too big for the pan so I used a regular silicone spatula.
  16. Cover with one layer of wafers (14 wafers: 12 squares and 4 triangle halves.). Break cookies where necessary to make them fit.
  17. Spread a 1/8 to 1/4-inch layer of mousse over the cookies.
  18. Repeat steps 2 and 3 as many times as needed to fill the pan. I made 7 layers. You should have enough wafers for 8 layers.
  19. Refrigerate overnight, preferably 24 hours.
  20. Remove from the refrigerator and remove the outer ring. Tip: If you have difficulty removing the outer ring, use a knife to cut between the cake and the pan to loosen it.
  21. Frost the outer edges with the remaining mousse.
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