When my kids were small, I knocked myself out on their birthday cakes. I tinted whipped cream with strawberry reductions so they could have pink frosting without the red dye. I assembled from-scratch cakes into bunnies and clowns. I decorated sheet cakes with tiny plastic toys to create carnivals, beach scenes and zoos. Then I came to my senses. What birthday cake had my mom always made for me? What was the cake I still craved? The Nabisco Famous Wafer Refrigerator Cake, of course.

For those unfortunate souls who have yet to encounter this confection, here’s what you do: Buy a box of Nabisco Famous Wafers. (Actually, buy two boxes, because the wafers are often broken. What’s up with that, Nabisco?) Then follow the recipe on the box. It involves spreading whipped cream over the wafers (don’t even think about using “whipped topping”) and forming them into a log, which is then refrigerated. This is now our “official” birthday cake. It is way better than the sum of its parts.

But I’ve always been a bit embarrassed about it. I mean, it’s not even baked; it’s assembled. Imagine my delight, then, when a sumptuous new cookbook “Absolutely Chocolate” (Taunton Press, 2009), from the editors of Fine Cooking magazine, featured not one but two recipes using Famous Wafers. If Famous Wafers are good enough for Fine Cooking magazine, I need to feel no shame. Validation at last!

FAMOUS CHOCOLATE WAFER REFRIGERATOR ROLL

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

1 tablespoon sugar

44 Famous Chocolate Wafers

1/4 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, toasted

1/4 cup crushed Famous Chocolate Wafers

Cook’s note: Crush any broken wafers into crumbs; use for ice-cream topping or sub for graham crackers to make a chocolate piecrust.

Lightly grease a 6-cup loaf pan, and line with two large pieces of overlapping plastic wrap, letting the excess hang over the edges.

In a bowl, combine the cream, espresso powder and sugar. Whip until the cream holds firm peaks. Spoon two-thirds of the whipped cream into the loaf pan. Tap the pan firmly on the counter to even the cream and eliminate any air bubbles.

Starting at the short side of the pan, arrange 11 cookies in the cream, standing them on their edges in a row. Do the same with a second row, slightly overlapping with the first row. Continue with remaining cookies for a total of four rows.

Press on the cookies gently. Cover with the remaining cream. Smooth with a spatula, pressing gently to make sure that any gaps between the cookies are filled. Tap the pan on the counter to eliminate air bubbles.

Cover with the excess plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, preferably 48 hours. When ready to serve, peel the plastic wrap from the top and gently tug to loosen the cake. Set a cutting board on top of the pan, and invert the cake onto the board. Lift the pan off, and gently peel away the plastic wrap. Mix the nuts and crumbs, and sprinkle over the top. Slice with a warm knife.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe from “Absolutely Chocolate” by the editors of Fine Cooking (Taunton Press, 2009)

CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY COOKIES AND CREAM

3 cups frozen raspberries, thawed

5 tablespoons sugar

few drops lemon juice

pinch salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup creme fraiche (see Cook’s note)

21 Famous Chocolate Wafers

6 mint sprigs

Cook’s note: Creme fraiche is sold in many supermarkets. But you can omit and use 1 cup of heavy cream.

Put 1 cup of raspberries in a small bowl, and sprinkle with 2 tablespoon of the sugar, mash with a fork and set aside.

Put the remaining 2 cups of berries and 2 tablespoons of the sugar in a food processor (or blender), and puree. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl, pressing down with a spatula. Add a few drops of lemon juice and a pinch of salt to the raspberries in the bowl. Taste, adding sugar and lemon if needed. The sauce should be thin enough to drizzle. If too thick, add a few drops of water. Cover and refrigerate. In a medium bowl, combine the cream, creme fraiche and the remaining tablespoon of sugar and whip until the mixture forms firm peaks. Gently fold in the mashed berries, leaving streaks.

Reserve six cookies for decoration, and crunch the rest into uneven pieces (not too small). Fold into the cream. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing to the surface of the cream, and chill at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

To serve, scoop out into a small bowl. Drizzle a ribbon of raspberry sauce around the cream, tuck a cookie into the cream, and decorate with a mint sprig.

Yield: 6 servings

Recipe from “Absolutely Chocolate” by the editors of Fine Cooking (Taunton Press, 2009)

Marialisa Calta is the author of “Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family” (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.