In the summer, those of us who don't have air conditioning either put baking on hold or just sweat it out, dewy brows and all. But when you think about it, bakers were working their magic long before there were fancy appliances. Let's go back in time and talk about the icebox cake, an indulgent treat that can be made without turning on the oven.
This little beauty, made in the refrigerator, is perfect for when sweet cravings coincide with heat waves and peak summertime fruit. Icebox cakes have been around for close to 100 years. They were invented in the 1920s, when companies would give out recipes to promote their new kitchen appliance, the electric icebox.
Back then, the average home cook didn't have a huge refrigerator. Instead, they used an insulated box that held a block of ice delivered by truck. The icebox cake produced the desired cake-like consistency in this new appliance, without baking.
Even when modern refrigerators replaced iceboxes, the name stuck, adding nostalgic charm to the light and creamy dessert. The classic icebox cake is simply chocolate wafers layered with sweetened vanilla whipped cream. Nothing more and nothing less.
It was layered in a loaf pan, chilled and sliced, revealing a pretty pattern of cookies and cream inside. Home cooks would experiment with other types of cookies, boxed pudding, sweetened condensed milk and flavours of whipped cream. The variations are endless, and after one bite it's easy to see why this cake remains popular all these .