Nescafe Cake

Dessert | Middle Eastern | Ramadan

January 22, 2019October 12, 2023

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Nescafe cake is the Arab version of the beloved Italian Tiramisu but even easier to make! Instead, you enjoy layers of dipped tea biscuits in Nescafe instant coffee, sweetened whipped cream, and cocoa powder to finish. As you can see, you only need a handful of ingredients and a little time to make this popular coffee icebox cake. It’s so light and tastes even better the next day!

What is Nescafe Cake?

Nescafe cake is a popular no-bake cake in the Middle East. Everyone there knows this dessert. The name comes from the instant coffee brand, Nescafe, which is commonly found in everyone’s pantry in the Middle East. It is the leading instant coffee brand and you will find people will enjoy Nescafe almost daily overseas. Often, we dip tea biscuits in our tea or coffee which is usually mixed with milk. The idea to layer a cake with the dipped biscuits and fold the cream in between is just genius. This dessert is essentially an ice-box cake meaning it requires no baking and is served cold. It makes sense that it became so trendy given how hot the Middle East is!

Ingredients needed for Nescafe cake:

Tea Biscuits: This is a must. It is essentially the foundation of the cake. You can find tea biscuits, digestive, or maria cookies almost in any supermarket. I personally purchase my tea biscuits from the local Arab store. For this recipe, you will need 2.5 sleeves of tea biscuits.

Nescafe Instant Coffee: Although the name suggests you must use Nescafe brand instant coffee; you technically don’t need to if you cannot find it. However, it is suggested to use Nescafe but any instant coffee will work. The flavor of Nescafe is distinct and distinguishes this dessert. You should be able to find this brand in any supermarket.

Heavy Whipping Cream: You can use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream; either will do here. This along with the sweetened condensed milk will comprise the filling between the layers of dipped tea biscuits. The cream is whipped until soft peaks form for a smooth touch.

Sweetened Condensed Milk: This is what will offer sweetness to the dessert. Most sweetened condensed milk is sold in 14 oz cans. For this recipe, you only need to use 10 oz for what I think is the perfect amount of sweetness. However, you can always add a bit more if you prefer a sweeter dessert. You can also sweeten the cream with powdered sugar instead but sweetened condensed milk is much more preferred.

Cocoa Powder: This is the finishing touch that you should definitely not skip. I use unsweetened cocoa powder to dust the top of this dessert heavily. The flavor of chocolate with coffee and cream is just perfection.

How to make Nescafe Cake:

Stir the instant coffee with the hot water in a shallow dish and set to the side.
Make the cream filling by whipping heavy cream until soft peaks have formed and then fold in the sweetened condensed milk.
Dip the tea biscuits quickly in the warm Nescafe liquid and add a flat layer of the biscuits to a 9×13 baking dish.
Follow by adding a thin layer of cream spread out on top of the biscuits.
Repeat this step another two times. All in all, you should be left with 3 layers of biscuit and 3 layers of cream. Starting with biscuit first and ending with cream to be dusted with cocoa.
Cover the baking dish and refrigerate for at least 4-6 hours, preferably overnight. This dessert tastes best the next day and is refrigerated for up to 5 days.

Other No-Bake Desserts to try:

No-Bake Lotus Cake
No-Bake Biscoff Cheesecake
Panna cotta with berries
Easy Chocolate Mousse
Vegan Mango Coconut Mousse

As always, I would love to hear what you think of my No bake Nescafe cake recipe. If you give it a try, please leave a rating and review below! Feel free to send remakes over to my Instagram page. I love to see your creations and hear your feedback. Thank you!

Print Recipe

5 from 53 votes

Prep Time30 minutes mins

Ingredients

Biscuit Layer

2.5 Sleeves of Tea Biscuits
3 tbsp Nescafe Instant Coffee
1.5 cups Hot Water

Cream Layer

1 pint Heavy Whipping Cream
10 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk about 3/4 of a 14 oz can

Topping

Cocoa Powder

Instructions

To start, chill your stainless bowl and whisk in the freezer that will be used for whipping the cream.
Meanwhile, mix the hot water with the Nescafe instant coffee in a shallow dish big enough to dip the tea biscuits in. Set this to the side.
In the chilled bowl, add the heavy whipping cream and start whipping the cream until you achieve soft peaks. This can take several minutes. You can either use an electric whisk or the whisk attachment to whip the cream.
Once whipped, gently fold in the sweetened condensed milk. Set the cream filling aside.
Dip the tea biscuit for a few seconds in the nescafe then start lining the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.
Once there is a flat layer of dipped tea biscuits, add a thin layer of cream.
Top with dipped biscuits again followed by cream and keep repeating. You will most likely have 3 layers of biscuit and 3 layers of cream. The final layer being cream.
Top that final cream layer with a heavy dusting of cocoa powder. Cover the nescafe cake and place in the fridge to chill for at least 4 hours if in a hurry. However, this is best enjoyed chilled for at least 24 hours. It tastes even better as it sits in the fridge. You can enjoy this for up to 4 days refrigerated. Just slice and enjoy!