ISSUE 73, 20-TH CENTURY CREATIONS, Part 2: Icebox Cake
Icebox Cake
Culinary temperature control came gradually to kitchens. The cook stove improved upon the precision of low temperature cooking necessary for making sauces from hearth cookery in skillets and Dutch ovens. It became widely available in the United States in the 1840s. Controlling the cold depended upon several developments: bulk ice supply, something greatly variable by region in the United States until late in the 19th century, development of an understanding of insulation, and the availability of cheap insulating materials (seaweed, sawdust. charcoal) as well as more expensive insulating materials—slate or zinc for instance. The principle of the icebox was simple: create a self contained chamber that is insulated, with a shelf or compartment at the top or side to place a block of ice, a drain hole in the floor of the chamber, and a drip pan beneath the icebox. Within the icebox there are shelves upon which to store items. There is an insulated front door or doors. While the icebox was invented early in the 19th century, it wasn’t mass produced until the 1890s. D. Eddy & Son of Boston was the company largely responsible for putting efficient and modestly priced iceboxes into the kitchens of Americans.
By 1910 there were enough refrigerators in the hands of urban and suburban Americans that dishes that depended upon the congealing power of cold began to developed. Householders interested in cutting edge food began to popular cold confections. In 1916-1917 icebox cake became the country’s New dessert.
The idea of these cakes was straightforward. Have an already prepared batch of lady fingers or a sponge cake. Use them to line a greased mold. In the interior of this shell of cake put layers of jam, or lemon curd, or whipped cream, or soft merengue, or custard, or chocolate mousse and put more lady fingers/sponge cake as layers upon which put more of the cream/jam/custard filling. But into the icebox for a number of hours for the thing to firm up. Take out, flip the mold over and remove.
Chicago Daily News (May 21, 1917).
These fell into the category of “company cakes”—confections that had a visual wow factor when brought to the table. They had the additional attraction of having a decidedly contrasting texture and temperature to the hot dishes that made up hospitality feasts. Women’s magazine, cookbook, or newspaper recipes column from the 1920s through the 1950s published hundreds of variations on the basic concept.
When the electric refrigerator supplanted the ice box after World War 2, the name icebox cake did not vanish. The confection had become so beloved, that cooks would not abandon it or rebrand it. Even now recipes cites offer “classic icebox cake” or “old fashioned icebox cake” imbuing the dish with the charm of nostalgia.