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Christmas Tree Ice Box Cake

A whimsical holidy twist a the classic ice box cake.
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Ingredients
  

  • 33 Cookies Baked (Recipe below) or Store Bought (Medium Cake)
  • 48 Cookies Baked (Recipe below) or Store Bought (Large Cake)

Espresso Cream:

  • 180 ml Heavy Cream ¾ Cup
  • 2 Teaspoons Instant Espresso Powder
  • 5 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar

Vamilla Cream:

  • 360 ml Heavy Cream 1 ½ Cups
  • 65 Grams Powdered Sugar ½ Cup
  • 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Chocolate Cookies:

  • 114 Grams Unsalted Room Temperature Butter 8 Tablespoons
  • 132 Grams Granulated Sugar ⅔ Cup
  • ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1 Large Egg White
  • 125 Grams All-Purpose Flour 1 Cup + 1 Tablespoon
  • ½ Teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 25 Grams Unsweetened Cocoa Powder ¼ Cup

Instructions
 

Espresso Cream:

  • The whipped cream can be made in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer.
  • Place about 1/4 cup of the cream and the espresso powder in the bowl and whisk until the espresso powder is dissolved.
  • Add the remaining ½ cup of cream and begin whisking. Add the powdered sugar and whip until you have soft peaks.

Assembly:

  • Take 3 cookies and sandwich them together with some of the espresso cream.  Place the stacked cookies on one end of a platter standing up.
  • Make the second row by sandwiching 6 cookies together with espresso cream and place them standing up centered below the first row.
  • For the 3rd row use 9 cookies.
  • For the 4th row use 12 cookies.
  • For the 5th row use 15 cookies. (For Large Cake)
  • Chill for about 10-15 minutes.

Vanilla Cream for Frosting

  • Whip the 1 ½ cups of cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla until you have soft peaks.  Don’t over mix or the whipped cream will not spread smoothly.
  • Cover the entire shape with the whipped cream.  Top and sides.
  • Place the remaining whipped cream in a pastry bag fitted with a 1M decorating tip and pipe a decorative pattern on top.
  • Sandwich together the remaining 3 cookies and place at the bottom center to represent the bark.
  • Decorate with colored sprinkles.
  • Cover and chill overnight in the refrigerator.

Chocolate Cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • In the bowl of an electric mixer cream together the butter, sugar and salt for 2-3 minutes on medium speed.
  • Add the egg white and mix until combined.
  • Whisk together the flour, baking soda and cocoa and add to the butter mixture and beat on low until the flour mixture is just combined.
  • Divide the dough in half. Roll each half between 2 pieces of parchment paper to a thickness of 1/8”. Place both sheets of dough in the freezer until solid.
  • Remove one sheet of dough from the freezer, peel off the top sheet of parchment paper, turn over and remove the other piece of parchment.
  • Cut the dough into 1 ½” squares.  Place the dough back in the freezer for 15-20 minutes.
  • Place the cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 10-11 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let the cookies cool for 10 minutes.  Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
  • The cookies can be made 2-3 days ahead and stored in an air tight container.