Icebox cake

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Icebox cake
Icebox cake is chocolate pudding and Graham crackers in layers.jpg
An icebox cake in a glass, made of graham crackers and chocolate pudding, topped with whipped cream
Alternative nameszebra cake, chocolate ripple cake, refrigerator cake, graham cake
Course Dessert
Main ingredients Whipped cream and chocolate

An icebox cake (also known as a chocolate ripple cake or log in Australia) is a dairy-based dessert made with cream, fruits, nuts, and wafers and set in the refrigerator. One particularly well-known version used to be printed on the back of boxes of thin and dark Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers. [1] [2]

Contents

History

The icebox cake is derived from similar desserts such as the charlotte and the trifle and made to be more accessible to prepare. [3] It was first introduced to the United States in the 1920s, as companies were promoting the icebox as a kitchen appliance. [4] Its popularity rose in the 1920s and 30s, as it used many commercial shortcuts and pre-made ingredients, such as pre-packaged cookies instead of sponges or ladyfingers that people had to bake at home. [2] In response to the dish's popularity, companies that manufactured ingredients for the cake, such as condensed milk and wafer cookies, began printing recipes on the backs of their boxes, [5] including those of Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers. [2]

Regional variations

America

The Nabisco version of the icebox cake indicates that the wafers are stacked to form a log with whipped cream cementing them together, and then the log is laid on its side. A second log is formed and the two are set side by side and more whipped cream covers the exterior. The cake is then left overnight in the refrigerator (or icebox). The wafers absorb moisture from the whipped cream and the whole can be served in slices. The dessert is usually served by cutting it into slices at a 45-degree angle, so bands of chocolate and cream are visible across each slice.

A variation of icebox cake is made using pudding (usually chocolate) and graham crackers or vanilla wafers layered in a square or rectangular baking dish. Additional variations include alternating layers of chocolate and vanilla pudding, or the addition of sliced bananas or pineapples between the layers. While this can be done with cold instant pudding, if given ample time in the refrigerator, the best results come from assembling the dessert with still-hot, stove-cooked pudding, and then refrigerating overnight.

Australia

In Australia the cake is made from Arnott's Chocolate Ripple biscuits, hence the name in that country of Chocolate Ripple cake. The biscuits are covered in sweetened whipped cream, and placed in a log formation. This dessert is typically made the day before serving and kept in the refrigerator overnight. It is often decorated with crumbled chocolate, fresh berries or grated Peppermint Crisp.

Philippines

Mango float from the Philippines, an icebox cake variant of crema de fruta Mango float (Cebu City).jpg
Mango float from the Philippines, an icebox cake variant of crema de fruta

In the Philippines, mango float [6] is a popular icebox cake variant of the traditional crema de fruta layered dessert. It is made with graham crackers or broas (ladyfingers) in between layers of whipped cream, condensed milk, and fresh mangoes. [7] [8]

United Kingdom

A biscuit cake is an icebox cake commonly served as a tea cake in the United Kingdom. At the request of Prince William a chocolate biscuit cake was served as a groom's cake at his wedding. [9] [10] It is made by heating butter and chocolate and whisking in eggs or condensed milk. Some versions also include golden syrup. After the mixture is cooled, crumbled digestive biscuits are incorporated into the batter. Optionally other dry ingredients may be mixed in as well such as assorted dried fruits, nuts and candies. [11] [12] [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cookie</span> Small, flat and sweetened baked food (biscuit)

A cookie, or biscuit, is a baked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat, and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, or nuts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trifle</span> Custard dessert

Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of sponge fingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element, custard and whipped cream layered in that order in a glass dish. The contents of a trifle are highly variable and many varieties exist, some forgoing fruit entirely and instead using other ingredients, such as chocolate, coffee or vanilla. The fruit and sponge layers may be suspended in fruit-flavoured jelly, and these ingredients are usually arranged to produce three or four layers. The assembled dessert can be topped with whipped cream or, more traditionally, syllabub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemon ice box pie</span> American custard pie

Lemon ice box pie is an icebox pie consisting of lemon juice, eggs, and condensed milk in a pie crust, frequently made of graham crackers and butter. It is a variant of key lime pie; in both, the citric acidity sets the egg yolks, with minimal baking. There are also no bake versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swiss roll</span> Sponge cake formed in a spiral roll, with filling

A Swiss roll, jelly roll, roll cake, cream roll, roulade or Swiss log is a type of rolled sponge cake filled with whipped cream, jam, or icing. The origins of the term are unclear; in spite of the name "Swiss roll", the cake is believed to have originated elsewhere in Central Europe, possibly Austria or Slovenia. It appears to have been invented in the nineteenth century, along with Battenberg cake, doughnuts, and Victoria sponge. In the U.S., commercial snack-sized versions of the cake are sold with the brand names Ho Hos, Yodels, Swiss Cake Rolls, and others. A type of roll cake called Yule log is traditionally served at Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banana pudding</span> Dessert made from banana

Banana pudding is a pudding generally consisting of layers of sweet vanilla flavored custard, vanilla wafers and/or ladyfingers and sliced fresh bananas placed in a dish and served, topped with whipped cream or meringue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte (cake)</span> Icebox cake

A charlotte is a type of bread pudding that can be served hot or cold. It is also referred to as an "icebox cake". Bread, sponge cake, crumbs or biscuits/cookies are used to line a mold, which is then filled with a fruit puree or custard. The baked pudding could then be sprinkled with powdered sugar and glazed with a salamander, a red-hot iron plate attached to a long handle, though modern recipes would likely use more practical tools to achieve a similar effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sponge cake</span> Type of cake

Sponge cake is a light cake made with egg whites, flour and sugar, sometimes leavened with baking powder. Some sponge cakes do not contain egg yolks, like angel food cake, but most of them do. Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain. The sponge cake is thought to be one of the first non-yeasted cakes, and the earliest attested sponge cake recipe in English is found in a book by the English poet Gervase Markham, The English Huswife, Containing the Inward and Outward Virtues Which Ought to Be in a Complete Woman (1615). Still, the cake was much more like a cracker: thin and crispy. Sponge cakes became the cake recognised today when bakers started using beaten eggs as a rising agent in the mid-18th century. The Victorian creation of baking powder by English food manufacturer Alfred Bird in 1843 allowed the addition of butter to the traditional sponge recipe, resulting in the creation of the Victoria sponge. Cakes are available in many flavours and have many recipes as well. Sponge cakes have become snack cakes via the Twinkie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serradura</span> Portuguese dessert

Serradura, also known as sawdust pudding or Macau pudding, is a well-known Portuguese dessert, popular in both Portugal and Macau, as well as Goa, with a layered appearance alternating between whipped cream and crumbled Marie biscuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Batik cake</span> Malaysian cuisine

Kek batik is a type of Malaysian no-bake fridge cake dessert inspired by the tiffin, brought in the country by the British during the colonial era, and adapted with Malaysian ingredients. This cake is made by mixing broken Marie biscuits combined with a chocolate sauce or runny custard made with egg, butter/margarine, condensed milk, Milo and chocolate powders. The cake is served during special occasions like the Eid al-Fitr and Christmas.

<i>Crema de fruta</i> Filipino layer cake

Crema de fruta is a traditional Filipino fruitcake made with layers of sponge cake, sweet custard or whipped cream, gelatin or gulaman (agar), and various preserved or fresh fruits, including mangoes, pineapples, cherries, and strawberries. It is usually served during the Christmas season. It has multiple variations, ranging from changes in the fruits used to the addition of ingredients like jam, sago, condensed milk, and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mango float</span> Filipino dessert

Mango float or crema de mangga is a Filipino icebox cake dessert made with layers of ladyfingers (broas) or graham crackers, whipped cream, condensed milk, and ripe carabao mangoes. It is chilled for a few hours before serving, though it can also be frozen to give it an ice cream-like consistency. It is a modern variant of the traditional Filipino crema de fruta cake. It is also known by various other names like mango refrigerator cake, mango graham float, mango royale, and mango icebox cake, among others. Crema de mangga is another version that additionally uses custard and gulaman (agar) or gelatin, as in the original crema de fruta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ube cheesecake</span> Filipino cheesecake colored purple with yams

Ube cheesecake, also known as purple yam cheesecake, is a Filipino cheesecake made with a base of crushed graham crackers and an upper layer of cream cheese and ube halaya. It can be prepared baked or simply refrigerated. Like other ube desserts in the Philippines, it is characteristically purple in color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biscuit cake</span> No bake cake

Biscuit cake is a type of no bake tea cake, similar to American icebox cake, found in Irish, English, Danish, Arabic, Bulgarian and Jewish cuisine. It is made with digestive biscuits and is optionally prepared with a chocolate glaze.

Pie in American cuisine has roots in English cuisine and has evolved over centuries to adapt to American cultural tastes and ingredients. The creation of flaky pie crust shortened with lard is credited to American innovation.

Icebox pies are no-bake pies including ice cream pies, chiffon pies, and classic cream pies like key lime pie, lemon ice box pie, chocolate pudding pie, grasshopper pie and banana cream pie. The crust can be a crumb crust or blind baked pastry. They are associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States.

References

  1. Splawn, Meghan. "This 100-Year-Old No-Bake Cake Recipe Is as Easy as It Is Delicious". Kitchn.
  2. 1 2 3 Prichep, Deena (July 14, 2023). "Famous Chocolate Wafers are no more, but the icebox cake lives on". NPR . Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. Sagon, Candy. "Assemble, Chill And Serve Icebox Cake, a Dessert Anyone Can Make". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  4. Hill, Meggan. "Icebox Cake Recipe". Culinary Hill. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  5. Olver, Lynne. "Icebox Cake". The Food Timeline .
  6. Ed (11 December 2011). "The Best Mango Float Recipe". Pinoy Recipe at Iba Pa. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  7. Jane (5 December 2016). "Crema de Fruita a Festive Christmas Dessert". Maputing Cooking. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  8. Maryanne (15 June 2017). "Mango Royale (Mango Icebox Cake)". The Little Epicurean. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
  9. "Chocolate biscuit cake". The Star.
  10. "Queen Elizabeth II's Favorite Cake: Chocolate Biscuit Cake". Today.
  11. "Konditor & Cook's chocolate biscuit cake recipe". The Telegraph.
  12. "Chocolate Biscuit Cake". Connacht Gold.
  13. "Chocolate Biscuit Cake". Odlum's.