For your Noche Buena at home, let’s stay safe by spending it with our immediate family members. Doctors advise us that because we are still not safe from Covid-19. Prepare the yummiest desserts to cap your Noche Buena feast. If you like peanut butter flavor, check out these two recipes for peanut butter icebox cake for your frozen desserts.

• Related: Tips for Spending the Holidays Safely During the Pandemic

Frozen Desserts: Peanut Butter Icebox Cake

Last time, I have featured Zoe’s Homemade Peanut Butter made in Talisay City, Negros Occidental. I love how they use only pure peanuts and butter for their peanut butter plus it’s so affordable.

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There are so many uses for peanut butter than just sandwich spread or for kare-kare sauce. Last time, I also made peanut butter cookies with the kids. Just click the link in the previous sentence for the recipe.

So now, I am going to share with you two kinds of Peanut Butter Icebox Cake. In these two recipes, I used Graham crackers but with different flavors plus I made it using different processes.

But the common thing is, I used a hand mixer for the cream because I wanted to incorporate some air.

Kitchen Hack
Using the hand mixer, it’s much like making ice cream, so that the cream may be easily sliced. Check out my Homemade Gelato Recipe. This is because, if you just lightly mix the cream by hand, no air bubbles are incorporated. If you freeze your icebox cake, it becomes too hard to slice. And I don’t like that because I am usually tasked to slice and my hands and fingers get numb from exerting too much effort.

• Related: Home Remedy for Stiff Fingers

Peanut Butter Icebox Cake Recipe

This recipe for peanut butter icebox cake is kinda sweet. You may want to adjust the thickness of the peanut butter that you spread on the Grahams.

Remember to chill your condensed milk and all-purpose cream for at least 3 hours before making this recipe. For best results, chill overnight. You will get more volume.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tbsps. butter, melted
• 1 bag of La Pacita Peanut Butter Sandwich (individual packs)
• 3 boxes All-purpose cream, chilled for at least 3 hours
• 1 can condensed milk, chilled for at least 3 hours
• 1 tub of homemade peanut butter
• ¼ cup Reese peanut butter chips, optional
• Whipped cream as topping, optional
• Sliced chocolate cake bars, optional

Procedure:

1. Dip the graham cracker sandwiches in butter and line a 10×10-inch square pan. Pour over excess butter and spread. Chill.

2. Pour the cream and condensed milk into a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes until mi1xed. Increase the speed and beat for another 7 to 10 minutes or until it has increased in volume and appears fluffy.

3. Take out the pan from the fridge and spread some peanut butter on top of the graham crackers. By now, the butter has already solidified and the crackers are set in place.

Pour in the cream mixture and spread all over. Sprinkle the Reese peanut butter chips all over the cream.

Get the remaining graham cracker sandwiches and spread some peanut butter on one side. Arrange the crackers, peanut butter side down, on the cream.

If you have whipping cream, you can cover the entire top part with piped cream. In my case, I used sliced cake bars as topping for contrast.

Cover the pan with cling wrap or foil and freeze for at least 8 hours before serving.

Serving Tip
If it’s too frozen, you may dip the pan in a basin of hot water for several seconds to loosen the icebox cake from the pan.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ice Box Cake

So here is the second one I made, though I have to admit, I would rather if the peanut butter was spread on the crackers than mixed in the cream. But, it’s entirely up to you.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 Tbsps. butter, melted
• 1 pack of chocolate graham crackers
• 3 boxes All-purpose cream, chilled for at least 3 hours
• 1 can condensed milk, chilled for at least 3 hours
• 1 ½ cup homemade peanut butter
• ¼ cup Reese peanut butter chips, optional
• Whipped cream as topping, optional

Procedure:

1. Dip the graham cracker sandwiches in butter and line a 10×10-inch square pan. Pour over excess butter and spread. Chill.

2. Pour the cream and condensed milk into a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes until mixed.

3. Mix in the peanut butter. Increase the speed and beat for another 7 to 10 minutes or until the cream mixture has increased in volume. It should appear a bit fluffy.

4. Take out the pan from the fridge and spread some peanut butter on top of the graham crackers. By now, the butter has already solidified and the crackers are set in place.

Pour in the cream mixture and spread all over. Coarsely crush the remaining chocolate Grahams and spread on top.

Sprinkle the Reese peanut butter chips all over the crushed grahams. Or you may do it the other way around.

Cover the pan with cling wrap or foil and freeze for at least 8 hours before serving.

Tip: If you like it more chocolatey, it would be best to crush chocolate cookies on top instead of Grahams. The chocolate Grahams are not very chocolatey.

Choose Your Wild

Actually, there is really no right or wrong thing with a Peanut Butter Icebox Cake. It’s so simple and versatile. It depends upon your creativity. You may add cinnamon, add more chocolate, or drizzle with chocolate syrup.

Instead of graham crackers, you might want to use lady fingers (brojas) as your base.

• Related: Creamy Peach Mango Ice Box Cake Recipe with Brojas

There are so many things you can do. I just like using homemade peanut butter because it is more spreadable with all the natural oils of peanut. Plus, I get to support local producers and sellers.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

• Another Noche Buena suggestion: Boneless Lechon Belly