I had 90 minutes. At *best.*
At the end of that time, rest / reading time would be over. And as happy as I’d be to see my 3-year-old, uninterrupted baking time would be at an end. And once my 18-month-old was up from his nap, baking time would REALLY be at an end. What could I pull together in that timeframe? (Also, bear in mind cleaning up the mess counts as part of that time unless I want to make dinner prep way more stressful for myself.) I had Biscoff cookies and cookie butter on hand, and I love making cakes. But I also knew by the time I had the layers done and cooled most of that time would be up. Then it hit me - what if I made Biscoff parfaits?
There's the backstory...enter these easy Biscoff Parfaits!
(OR if you double the recipe below - you can make an incredible trifle!
Have done exactly that and it was easier, faster, and just as delicious. And holy moly were my coworkers thrilled. 😉 )
The supplies -
All I used was one vanilla cake mix and the 4 ingredients for the cake layer - plus cream cheese and heavy whipping cream. Okay, and a bit of powdered sugar to beat into the whipped cream. I layered them all up in cocktail glasses - and man did they look delicious! I even got to take a few pictures before the little guy was up (early) from his nap. (Score!)
And the best part?
Best part about this recipe - and the reason it can be done so quickly - is that the cake doesn’t technically HAVE to be cold. Try a layer cake with slightly-warm cake layers...? Ha. It's a surefire guarantee for a lot of frustration, and probably a decorating disaster. But when you’re adding cake to parfaits? You’re just cutting up the cake into cubes anyway – and layering it with cream cheese and whipped cream in a glass! Granted the cake cubes can’t still be hot. Unless you like runny whipped cream, anyway. But it won’t cause you a problem if they’re still a touch warm during the layering!
And the other best part?
Obviously, this is optional - but since I was layering into cocktail glasses I poked around in our liquor cabinet for a minute to see if there was anything in there I could use. Sailor Jerry spiced rum ended up being an AWESOME addition to the cake / cookie crumble layer! It added some extra spice and a bit of unique flavor punch that I really liked. Obviously, it won't be for everyone, but adding some spiced rum comes highly recommended by me! 😉
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Also of note...
You can also double the filling / topping section of the recipe and make a pretty awesome Biscoff Trifle!
I don't make a lot of Trifles, and I don't own an actual Trifle bowl. But one of these days I'll get one, and then this trifle will be up for a re-do! Maybe with whole Biscoff cookies around the sides of the bowl cause I've seen people do it with cakes and it looks cool. 😉
But I digress. Anyway, if you could use a recipe that serves more than 4, this is a super easy way to do it!
Don't forget to pin this recipe for later!
Biscoff Parfaits
Equipment
- 10x15 sheet pan
- 4 cocktail / clear glasses (really, you can use whatever you want, but clear glasses let the layers show ;) )
Ingredients
Cake layer
- 1 vanilla cake mix
- ½ cup oil
- ½ cup Biscoff cookie butter (melted; see instructions)
- 3 eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup buttermilk (room temperature)
- 20 Biscoff cookies (crushed – I used about ⅔ of a package)
Filling / topping
- 6 ounces cream cheese
- ¾ cup cookie butter (divided; see instructions)
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
- ¼ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ cup spiced rum (Optional but recommended; I used Sailor Jerry’s)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a microwaveable bowl, combine oil and ½ cup of cookie butter. Microwave in 30-second intervals until the cookie butter is melted. Add room temperature eggs and buttermilk and whisk. Add vanilla cake mix and mix until moistened, then beat with a mixer or whisk for 2 minutes. Fold in ½ cup crushed Biscoff cookies.
- Pour into a 10x15 pan prepared with oil / flour or Baker’s floured cooking spray. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until set in the center and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature (ish). Set in the fridge or freezer (or outside covered with a towel if it’s cold) to accelerate the cooling process if desired.
- When cake has cooled, cut into 1-inch cubes (for some reason, I always have an easier time doing this with a plastic knife). Or crumble it up if that seems easier; it doesn't exactly matter since it's getting layered into a parfait.
Filling(s)
- Soften cream cheese and beat together with ½ cup of melted cookie butter. (Reserve remaining ¼ cup to melt and drizzle between layers / on top of parfaits.)
- Beat whipping cream until stiff; scrape down the bowl and add powdered sugar. Beat until combined.
In each of 4 glasses, layer:
- (1) 1-2 inches of cake cubes + sprinkle of cookie crumbs
- (optional step 1.5) 1-2 Tablespoons spiced rum
- (2) cream cheese filling
- (3) whipped cream
- (4) crushed Biscoff cookies + drizzle of melted cookie butter (optional)
- (Repeat until filling runs out – this took 2 sets of layers for me. Finish with step 5 so the top looks decorated!)
- Refrigerate until ready to serve – and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did you make these Biscoff parfaits?
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