In the realm of culinary creations, icebox cake stands as a timeless dessert, captivating taste buds with its symphony of flavors and textures. Its name, however, poses an intriguing question: why is it called icebox cake? To unravel this culinary enigma, we embark on a journey through history, exploring the origins and evolution of this beloved dessert.
Tracing the Roots: Iceboxes and the Birth of a Dessert
The genesis of icebox cake lies in the early 20th century, a time when refrigeration was gaining widespread adoption. Prior to the advent of electric refrigerators, iceboxes reigned supreme, providing a means to preserve food and beverages in the absence of modern cooling systems.
The Role of Advertising: Marketing Iceboxes and Promoting a New Dessert
Enterprising food manufacturers, recognizing the growing popularity of iceboxes, seized the opportunity to promote their products and introduce new culinary delights. Nabisco, a prominent cookie manufacturer, played a pivotal role in popularizing icebox cake. By printing recipes on the back of their Famous Chocolate Wafers boxes, Nabisco effectively transformed iceboxes into culinary canvases, inspiring home cooks to create their own frozen masterpieces.
The Simplicity of Icebox Cake: A Culinary Canvas for Creativity
Icebox cake’s enduring appeal stems from its inherent simplicity. Unlike elaborate desserts that require hours of preparation and specialized skills, icebox cake empowers home cooks of all levels to create delectable treats with minimal effort. Its versatility allows for endless variations, encouraging experimentation with different flavors and ingredients.
The name “icebox cake” serves as a testament to the dessert’s historical roots, paying homage to the iceboxes that played a crucial role in its creation. Today, icebox cake remains a beloved dessert, enjoyed by generations of families and celebrated for its nostalgic charm and timeless appeal. Its simplicity and adaptability continue to inspire culinary creativity, ensuring its place in the hearts and kitchens of dessert enthusiasts for years to come.
From 1920s housewives to TikTok creators, bakers continue to embrace this cold treat.
Making a homemade version of an icebox cake in my kitchen over summer break when I was nine is my earliest memory of one. The only way to cool off during the sweltering months in my native India is to indulge in a bowl of shaved ice, a frozen alphonso mango, or, that particular summer, a homemade icebox cake.
Unlike the other desserts, icebox cake is not a staple in Indian summer cuisine, but I do recall the first time I attempted—and failed—to combine cake and ice cream. While the adults were sleeping, my cousins and I got together at the kitchen counter to make a dessert that one of my cousins proudly claimed, “My mother learned it from a Martha Stewart cookbook and I learned it from her.” ”.
Yes, what could go wrong with carefully stacking vanilla ice cream and market-bought chocolate cake loaves and chocolate wafer biscuits? The stash was frozen for a few hours after being dusted with local chocolate, then it was cut into neat little portions and served to everyone on paper plates as a pre-dinner treat. That’s when I realized that this is the stuff that summer crushes are made of.
According to Jessie Sheehan, author of Icebox Cakes: Recipes for the Coolest Cakes in Town, “the National Biscuit Company—now known as Nabisco—first put their famous chocolate wafers in the market and included a recipe for an icebox cake on the packaging,” icebox cakes initially appeared in the kitchens of American housewives in the 1920s. Sheehan assembled this collection of recipes in 2015. It features everything from cakes made with traditional biscuits like Trader Joe’s Meyer Lemon Cookie Thins to cherries from Black Forest.
A century ago, Marie-Antoine Carême’s charlotte was the first example of a cold layered dessert, long before Sheehan wrote her cookbook or NBC put icebox cakes on the back of their box. He used lady fingers and custard to make a chilled dessert that was consumed in its entirety.
Sheehan affirms, “It does have a lot of icebox cake vibes.” The elaborate French cooking style known as grande cuisine, of which the charlotte was one of Carême’s creations, is credited to the trailblazing chef.
Naturally, with the popularity of Baskin-Robbins and Carvel ice cream cakes in the 1940s and 1950s, the icebox cake continued to become a mainstay of American households. The dessert spread so widely that cooking schools all over the nation began to teach it.
“Back in culinary school, when we made genoise sponge for the first time, we had to cut the sponge into circles, and with the leftover cake, we were asked to make a family meal dessert,” says Solanki Roy, executive chef at Cut by Wolfgang Puck. “That was the first time I made an icebox cake. I layered it with vanilla ice cream, chocolate ganache, and cherry syrup. Topped it with loads of chocolate shavings.”
Roy is the former head pastry chef at Gaggan Anand, one of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and chef de partie at the three-Michelin starred Eleven Madison Park. She also has a deep affinity for icebox cakes.
The dessert’s simplicity is what draws Solanki and the majority of her generation’s icebox cake enthusiasts in. It’s a generation’s go-to favorite because of its unpolished, do-it-yourself style. She claims that “Gen Z likes it because it’s not intimidating to make.” “It’s just a simple method of layering. Apart from the fact that TikTok viewers find icebox cake videos to be visually appealing and highly watchable,
The pair suggests pairings like coconut and pandan, graham crackers and marshmallows, chocolate and malt, honey and ginger, and hibiscus and lemon. However, before you begin your own experiment, bear the following in mind.
Tips for making an icebox cake
According to our experts, don’t ever use soft cookies. Use crispy ones at all times so they can absorb the pudding or cream without getting mushy. Do beat your whipped cream to stiff or medium peaks and add cocoa powder, liquor, or zest to taste it.
To improve its unmolding, use Pam spray or cling wrap on the box. Always let the cake rest for sometime before eating it. Before layering, soak the cakes in your preferred simple syrup to keep them from drying out.
Ina Garten’s 5-Star Mocha Chocolate Icebox Cake | Barefoot Contessa | Food Network
FAQ
Why are they called icebox cakes?
Why were icebox cakes popular in the 1920s?
What does icebox mean in baking?
How long does cake last in the icebox?
What is an icebox cake?
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.
How did icebox cake get its name?
As you may have suspected, icebox cake gets its name from the icebox, a non-mechanical form of refrigeration that was popular during the early 20th century. Fun fact: iceboxes were called refrigerators before mechanical, electricity-powered refrigerators surfaced.
What is a Nabisco icebox cake?
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 ).
Does icebox cake need to be baked?
Layers of crisp chocolate cookies and sweetened cream soften in the refrigerator, resulting in what you’d swear were slices of tender chocolate cake covered in fluffy whipped cream frosting. It’s the simple yet elegant dessert you can make all summer long. The best part: It requires no baking at all. Why Is It Called Icebox Cake?