Super easy and simple four-ingredient no-bake Nescafe icebox cake! It’s so easy to make, it’s light, and requires no cooking or baking! This dessert can be made ahead and tastes even better the next day.
Nescafe cake is popular in Middle Eastern countries. In the Middle East, almost everyone knows what a Nescafe cake is. It’s one of these very easy, and quick recipes that are usually made in the summer. Think of American icebox cake, this is the same, it’s just a Middle Eastern version I guess.
So for all Nescafe lovers out there, I’m sharing this super simple and extremely delicious cake recipe with you today! The flavor is quite similar to the Italian classic tiramisu dessert, it’s just simpler without the addition of mascarpone or alcohol. This one is made with instant coffee, tea biscuits or graham crackers, heavy whipping cream and it’s very indulgent.
What I really love about this cake is the texture, after the crackers/biscuits are quickly dipped in coffee and the cake is left to set overnight, the biscuits absorb the cream and the Nescafe coffee, it becomes very soft and the texture really feels like you’re eating a cloud cake. This is seriously amazing!
How to Make Nescafe Cake
This is very simple. All you need to do is quickly dip tea biscuits or graham crackers in the Nescafe coffee solution (you have to work with this quickly as the biscuits become too soft a bit too quickly and might start breaking), and layer the ingredients alternating between soaked biscuits and whipping cream till several layers are formed. I usually make four layers, but keep making more layers until you run out of biscuits.
You can, of course, add sugar to the whipping cream instead of condensed milk, but I would really recommend going for the condensed milk. The condensed milk gives this creamy, smooth and distinctive flavour and texture while the sugar doesn’t dissolve easily in the whipping cream.
Nescafe Cake Variations
The recipe that I’m sharing with you in this post is the classic Nescafe cake. If you are looking to make a fancy version of this cake, there are many things that you can add to this.
- You can add crushed pistachios either to the layers of the cake or use them to top the cake for a Middle Eastern touch. The crushed pistachios will also give a nice color to the cake. You can also use other nuts such as almonds, or hazelnuts. Just make sure that you briefly toast them first.
- Top the cake with shredded coconut for a coconut-y flavor.
- Decorate the cake by creating different patterns on the top using crushed Oreos, just like I decorated this Carpet Dessert (this is also one of the most popular recipes on my site, so make sure to check it out!)
Cream Caramel Nescafe Cake
As I’m a huge fan of JELLO caramel pudding, I sometimes make this cake with caramel flavor by adding one packet of caramel pudding (unprepared) to the whipping cream before it’s whipped. The whipped cream will taste amazing with the flavor of caramel. You can also do other pudding flavors such as vanilla, cheesecake, chocolate, you name it!
If you love Nescafe, then definitely check out my easy whipped coffee recipe! All you need is 3 simple ingredients that you already have, and 5 minutes. IT’S THE BEST!
- 2 tablespoons Nescafe instant coffee dissolved in 1 cup of hot water
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy whipping cream whipped
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar or condensed milk
- 2 (7-ounce, 200g) packs tea biscuits or graham crackers
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cacao powder for dusting
- 9×13 inch dish
- Combine the heavy cream with powdered sugar or condensed milk, and using an electric mixer beat until medium peaks form.
- Dip tea biscuits into the coffee solution for a few seconds and remove them before they start breaking. Layer in a single layer in a 7×11 (2-quart) inch casserole dish, or in a 9×13-inch (3-quart) dish if doubling the recipe.
- Spread half of the cream over the first layer of the biscuits, followed by another layer of dipped biscuits, and finally top with the remaining cream.
- Cover with plastic wrap, and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
- Using a fine-mesh strainer, dust the top generously with cocoa powder right before serving. Cut into 9 or 12 pieces and serve.
- You can substitute instant coffee with espresso.
- Use any tea biscuits for this recipe, I usually use Le Petit Beurre (shortbread biscuits) and that’s what’s traditionally used and well known in France and Turkey. For the pictures, I used Shortcake biscuits that I got from Tesco UK. If you’re in the US, you can find Le Petit Beurre cookies in Walmart. Or you can use Lorna Doone cookies, and Gamesa and Marie cookies work too but they’re round so a bit tricky to work with. Graham crackers work fine too.
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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