Simple, with a Twist

My uncle, the international corporate lawyer guy, has simple tastes. That, and his penchant for telling bad jokes, is part of his not inconsiderable charm.

He loves red wines (and will cheerfully try any bottle I give him regardless of price), makes delicious macaroni and tomatoes, when he mans the grill he flips epic burgers, and his favorite dessert (at least as far as I know) is icebox cake. So simple- a concoction of chocolate wafers and whipped cream that is mind-bendingly easy to make and after 6+ hours in the fridge tastes a lot like a chocolate cake. Mom makes it for family parties and it's delish. A rich, but not too rich, sweet to top off a great meal.

The other day in IKEA I bought a box of Anna's ginger wafers, telling myself I'd bring them to the farm for dessert, but I kept forgetting. Halloween was a low-key affair- dinner with Mom and a bit of the new Sherlock Holmes, while we waited for costume-clad munchkins to ring the bell. And since I never go to dinner empty handed, it was almost too easy to whip up a spicy, flavorful, icebox cake.

Uncle Mark's Spicebox Cake

(serves 4 to 6)

1 pkg (5.25 oz) of Anna's ginger thins

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream

3 Tbsp powdered sugar

a dash of vanilla

a pinch of freshly ground nutmeg

a sprinkle of ground cloves

a smattering of ground cinnamon, and more for decoration

a glass of milk or mug of tea (trust me)

1. Beat the whipping cream with sugar, vanilla, and spices until stiff peaks form.
2. Makes stacks of wafers, using a bloop! (rounded tsp?) of cream between each. Offset each by an inch or so. Put any broken wafers aside.
3. After you have several stacks, line them up horizontally and cover with the remaining cream.
4. Cover cake with saran wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours- longer if you like a cakier texture.
5. While you wait, take broken wafers and milk (or tea) and plunk yourself down on the couch for a snack.
6. Before serving, shake a bit more ground cinnamon on top.

Can be refrigerated another day and a half, or frozen if you don't plan on snarfing the whole thing down yourself.

Note: Log o' cake not your thing? Make a torte from the bottom up by placing 5 wafers on a plate, topping with a bit of cream, and repeating layer by layer until you're out of wafers. Cover with cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.