This foolproof no-broil chocolate cake is perfect for any celebration. My dad's been making it my entire life.

Celebration cake after being refrigerated for a day

My dad'southward commemoration cake is an easy, no-bake dessert perfect for every family.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider
  • I learned how to make my dad's celebration cake, which he's been whipping upward since I was a kid.
  • It includes layers of Nilla Wafers and chocolate whipped cream filling, plus chocolate chips.
  • My dad's delicious no-broil recipe is quick and foolproof, and I think whatever family unit would love it.

As a food writer, sometimes I get inspiration from the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Ina Garten. And, sometimes, I get it right from my dad.

My dad is the mastermind behind some of my favorite recipes.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Certain Ramsay's breakfast sandwich is unbeatable, and no one makes a 9 a.chiliad. cosmo quite like the "Barefoot Contessa." Simply sometimes the best food comes with a side of nostalgia.

My dad is behind 1 of my favorite pasta dishes with his incredible pastitsio, which I truly believe is better than lasagna.

After sharing that dear family recipe, I asked my dad to teach me some other ane of his classics. And this time we're making dessert.

This easy, no-bake cake is something my dad makes for all of our birthdays — and information technology's perfect for any commemoration.

The celebration cake is foolproof, and super quick to brand.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

We've dubbed information technology the Konstantinides Torte for as long as I can remember, merely y'all can call information technology whatever y'all want (don't worry, my dad gives you lot permission).

This foolproof recipe barely takes 15 minutes to make. And you tin easily modify the ingredients to satisfy any taste.

Our family's celebration cake only needs a few simple ingredients.

The celebration block includes Nilla Wafers, semi-sweet chocolate, and heavy whipping cream.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

To whip upwardly the original version of my dad's cake, you'll need:

  • 1/2 box Nilla Wafers
  • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
  • 1 cup milk
  • ⅓ cup brandy
  • 1 4-ounce semi-sweet chocolate bar
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • Semi-sweet chocolate fries

If you'd rather brand a strawberry and whipped cream version of this cake, yous tin skip the chocolate bar and supplant the chocolate chips with strawberries — or any other fruit — instead.

"You could also do the chocolate whipped cream with strawberries if you want," my dad added. "And if yous still want to put chocolate chips, nobody's stopping y'all from putting chocolate chips!"

My dad, every bit you may have gathered, is very into chocolate.

The offset step to making the commemoration cake is melting the chocolate.

Beginning we melted the chocolate with an improvised bain-marie.
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My dad does this with an improvised bain-marie, which is a fancy French term for putting a pan within another pan to avoid burning the chocolate.

Starting time, fill a pot with simply enough h2o and then that the second pot touches it when you place information technology on top. Then, break the semi-sugariness chocolate bar into smaller pieces and throw them in the 2nd pot.

If that sounds like besides much piece of work, my dad said y'all can also only melt the chocolate in the microwave.

The chocolate should take nigh five minutes to cook.

The melting chocolate in action.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Don't forget to stir!

Then it was time to make the whipping foam.

We added two tablespoons of powdered sugar to sweeten the whipping cream.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

First we added the two cups of heavy whipping cream (which amounts to one sixteen fluid-ounce bottle) to our stand mixer.

Then we added two tablespoons of carbohydrate to the foam and turned the mixer to high speed.

Simply earlier the mixer began forming soft peaks, we added the melted chocolate.

After two minutes, we added the melted chocolate.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

The consistency of the whipping cream should look like the picture to a higher place. It'll take most 2 minutes of mixing in total.

My dad said this is also a great time to bank check if your filling is sweet enough.

"If you lot want more sugar, this is your time to add it," he told me.

Once you lot see the soft peaks, your whipping cream is ready.

This shows how potent yous want the peaks of your whipping cream to be.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

The entire process takes less than five minutes.

Then information technology was time to prep the cookies.

Nosotros mixed milk and brandy to add to our cookies.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Beginning, we added the milk and brandy to a bowl and gave it a little swirl.

(If y'all desire to go booze-free, that'southward totally fine! This recipe is completely customizable).

When nosotros were ready to start edifice the cake, we threw a few Nilla Wafers into the bowl.

Only soak a few of the Nilla Wafers in the mixture at a fourth dimension then they don't get soggy.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

My dad said this step not only infuses the cookies with more flavor, information technology likewise softens them — giving the cake a consistency and texture that'due south very similar to tiramisu.

And you don't demand to identify each cookie in the milk-and-brandy bath 1 past 1. I did this at beginning and my dad just laughed at me.

"This would take all dark if we did information technology that style!" he exclaimed.

But don't put too many cookies in the bath either. You don't want them to become as well soggy earlier you identify them on the pan.

Constructing the cake is super like shooting fish in a barrel. First nosotros added a layer of Nilla Wafers to the bottom of the pan.

Feel free to suspension the cookies to aid fit the empty spaces.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

We always use a 21-by-21 centimeter pan for the cake, only my dad said you lot could easily utilize a bigger pan as well.

"Information technology merely means you'll apply more than cookies and have a thinner layer of whipped cream with this recipe," he added. "Or you lot can simply make more whipped cream."

Then we added half of the whipped cream filling right on summit.

We used a spatula to spread and smoothen the whipping cream.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

We used a spatula to spread and polish the filling over the Nilla Wafers.

We sprinkled chocolate chips all over the top of the first layer.

Don't be shy when information technology comes to adding the chocolate fries.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

If you're opting for fruit instead, this would exist when yous add strawberries (or whatsoever fruit your heart desires). Simply brand sure you lot cut them into thin slices.

Then nosotros added another layer of Nilla wafers.

At that place will exist two layers total of Nilla Wafers.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Nosotros bankrupt some of the cookies to help fill up in the spaces.

Then nosotros added the rest of the whipped foam filling, plus more chocolate chips.

It barely takes 10 minutes to prep the ingredients and build the block.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

And that'south it, you're done! Simply don't forget the very important terminal stride — licking the bowl.

"It'southward the reward for the chef — and whoever helps — to lick the bowl," my dad told me sagely.

Nosotros then covered the pan with plastic wrap and stuck it in the fridge.

The block should sit down in the fridge overnight.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

The cake needs to sit overnight, so some patience is required.

The next mean solar day, we admired our latest commemoration cake.

My dad proudly shows off his latest celebration cake.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

My dad said that i of his favorite parts about this cake is that at that place's no baking required, which removes a lot of the stress that comes with making dessert for the family unit (don't ask him nearly the Great Souffle Disaster of 2001).

"Yous don't have to worry, 'Oh, is it ready? Did I overcook it? Is it going to raise?' like with other cakes" he told me.

Plus, the recipe is so simple. My dad didn't fifty-fifty have information technology written down until I asked him to for this article.

"Information technology'southward very like shooting fish in a barrel to retrieve," he said. "You don't even have to think the proportions, y'all tin just mix and match and put whatever you lot want there."

"It'southward always trial and mistake, and it'due south very hard to fail. If you lot put also much brandy? It'southward okay! And if you put too petty, yous know side by side time to put a petty more."

Information technology was finally time to dig in! And, as ever, the celebration cake was admittedly delicious.

The block is super light and fluffy — you'll want to eat the whole pan.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

What I beloved virtually my dad's cake is how fluffy information technology is. It'due south lighter than a tiramisu or Ina Garten'south similar no-broil mocha chocolate icebox block (which I've as well made), but it has this delicious crisis from the chocolate chips.

The chocolate in the mousse is sweet only subtle, and the Nilla Wafers add some great texture (plus who doesn't love a little boot from that brandy).

This cake is obviously great for the hotter months, simply information technology'southward besides perfect for any season. My dad makes this for my sister'south birthday in Nov, and for my mom (with strawberries swapped for chocolate) a calendar month later.

After all, chocolate and cookies taste good no matter the season.

Manifestly I'm biased, but I think my dad's celebration cake would fit in with every family.

The celebration cake works great volition all kinds of tastes.
Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

When I asked my dad what inspired the Konstantinides Torte, he told me it was actually his older sister who first taught him how to arrive. She used ladyfingers for the base, but when my dad moved to the U.s.a. from Greece he couldn't easily find them in the supermarket, then he went with Nilla Wafers instead.

It's such a unproblematic cake to pass down inside the family. And, since it'due south and then versatile, information technology's really easy to modify. As my dad told me, "One recipe can actually exist used for anything you want!"

But, mostly, this cake is super special to me because of its history, and I know I'll be making it for my own friends and family unit for decades to come.

I hope it brings you as much joy as information technology has for us.

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