This eggnog icebox cake has all of the classic flavors of eggnog mixed with cream cheese and pudding, with layers of crunchy cinnamon graham crackers.
Who doesn’t love eggnog during the holidays? I know I do!
Have you tried my Aged Eggnog? Or maybe my Eggnog Martini?
I love the flavors of eggnog so much that I’ve whipped up this delicious, cool, and creamy eggnog icebox cake!
This eggnog icebox cake has layers of crunchy cinnamon graham crackers, with sweet eggnog, creamy vanilla pudding, and tangy cream cheese filling.
I’ll be honest with you, the hardest part about making this cake is letting it set up in the fridge for 6 hours before getting to dive in!
Trust me, you can never have enough eggnog at your next party!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for eggnog icebox cake
For crust:
- Cinnamon graham crackers – These cinnamon graham crackers are sweet and crunchy with that extra special warm cinnamon flavor.
For filling:
- Eggnog – Feel free to use your favorite store-bought or homemade variety.
- Cream cheese – Cream cheese will give us a lovely tangy flavor to balance out all of the sweetness.
- Vanilla pudding – Using instant vanilla pudding makes this recipe come together super fast!
- Nutmeg – Nutmeg will give us a classic warm, nutty holiday flavor.
- Cool Whip – Using Cool Whip is another great time saver for this eggnog icebox cake and will give us a creamy, light texture and add a slight sweetness.
What is an icebox cake?
Icebox cakes are a layered dessert, and started in America around the 1920s, and were marketed toward housewives as an easy dessert they could put together, and also as a way to advertise the usefulness of an icebox (refrigerators).
Many icebox cakes use premade ingredients to really drive home the idea of ease and accessibility.
Make ahead
This eggnog icebox cake takes a minimum of 6 hours to set up in the refrigerator, so all of the flavors can marry together, and for the filling to chill and become firm.
So this makes a perfect no-fuss dessert to make the night before your big party! There’s no need to fuss with pie dough, or hot ovens.
Storage and leftovers
Any leftover icebox cake can be stored in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 days.
More eggnog recipes
- Looking for some eggnog with a kick? Try my Spiced Gingerbread Eggnog.
- Love all things eggnog? Try my Aged Eggnog.
- Craving something decadent? Try my Eggnog Martini.
- Want something yummy for brunch? Try my Eggnog Whipped Coffee.
Eggnog Icebox Cake
Ingredients
- Cinnamon graham crackers
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 cup eggnog
- 1 3.4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding
- 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 8 ounces Cool Whip
Instructions
- Line a 9×5 loaf pan with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Using a hand mixer or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whip the cream cheese until smooth.
- Add in the Instant vanilla pudding, eggnog, and nutmeg and mix on low until fully combined. I found that sometimes hand mixers are too fast for this step so I like to combine them with a whisk or use a very slow mixer.
- Fold in the Cool Whip gently with a spatula.
- Layer the bottom of the prepared pan with cinnamon graham crackers and top with 1/3 of the eggnog mixture.
- Repeat the graham cracker and eggnog layers 2 more times. You should have 3 layers of crackers and 3 layers of eggnog mixture.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for at least 6 hours.
- When you're ready to serve simply remove it from the freezer, pull it out of the pan, remove the plastic wrap, slice and serve frozen.
- Optional, top the icebox cake with whipped cream or nutmeg.