How do you bake when it's 100 degrees outside?

Because all of my (five or so) readers are so nice and left such great comments in the last Quick Takes post, I decided I would give all of you a visual treat.

That, my friends, is a no-bake Chocolate Coconut Cake. And it is scrumptious.

Maryland is still in the middle of, what I'd call, a crippling heat wave. It's absolutely relentless. Ever since the thermometer passed up 100 degrees, Bogdan made the decision that until fall gets here, "oven" is a four-letter word in our household.

I completely agree with him. The thought of the oven simmering in at 400 degrees for 30 or more minutes makes my skin crawl. Unfortunately, that also means that I don't get to bake at all, which makes me sad. And hungry for cooler weather --- and cakes and pies.

But! The August issue of Rachael Ray had a whole section devoted on cooking in the heat, which was not only oven-free, but also minimized the time for cooking all meals at a very bare minimum.

Including a cake.

And yesterday I made my very first refrigerator cake. It's quite simple, actually. You whip up some heavy whipping cream with powdered sugar and cocoa powder. You layer the whipped cream with wafer cookies and coconut several times.

On a side note, when you read "chocolate wafer cookies" do you imagine the cookies pictured above or oreos? I think they meant oreos, but these were awesome too.

Next you shave some bittersweet chocolate on top to make it look all fanciful.

Then you shove it in the fridge for at least 4 hours. The wait is difficult. But the results are worth it.

Finally, you gobble it up faster than you can say "Refrigerator Chocolate Coconut No-Bake Cake."

 

The full recipe is on Rachael Ray's website. Enjoy!