If you’re my age (I hit a milestone birthday recently and am now officially feeling “old”), then you’ll remember back in the 50’s ice box cakes were all the rage. They were made with the new (then) box cake mixes and new (then) boxed pudding mixes or Jell-O and Cool-Whip. At the time, everyone, just about, was making them. Originally they were somewhat plain, but as months went by some innovative cooks came up with different combinations, but still using all of those boxed products. I have an old community cookbook from the early 60’s, and it’s got a couple dozen variations on the box-mix-box-pudding or Jell-O ice box cake. The one I remember most was one with pineapple in the topping. My mother must have made it because I was mostly too young to do much cooking.
Back then these cakes were known for being easy. And moist. And transportable – you can take them along to a barbecue, the church social, or a picnic. This recipe you’re seeing today, though, is NOT a typical 1950-era ice box cake. I read about it at The Weekly Dish back in 2008, and she credits the recipe to April Fulton, on a 2007 episode of NPR’s Kitchen Window. If you go read the Kitchen Window blog piece you’ll be pulled into her story about inheriting her grandmother’s 3×5 recipe box and the nostalgia that goes along with that. I could identify. Totally.
What’s different about this ice box cake? Several things: (1) the white cake is a homemade one; (2) instead of pudding or Jell-O, she uses freshly made lemon curd, although this version is a looser lemon curd than usual – so it will seep down into the holes you poke all over the cake; and (3) the frosting, instead of Cool-Whip, is a mixture of mascarpone cheese and whipped cream. And if that wasn’t enough, I’ll certainly tell you that it takes a whole lot more time to make than the box mix versions! I was lucky, though, our daughter Sara and our granddaughter Sabrina (and grandson John) all contributed their labors to make this cake. I was swamped with things to do for our birthday brunch, and they were happy to make it.
The cake is sturdy. Maybe sturdier than I’d hoped – I thought it was going to be more like a sponge cake (in fact, if or when I ever make this again, I think I’ll search out a similar batter-size sponge cake recipe). It’s just a plain white cake. Maybe it’s white wedding cake type, to stand up to a goopy filling (the lemon curd) and a frosting. There’s nothing wrong with the cake, it’s just more dense than I’d hoped. The lemon curd, using some of the very last of my 2011 Meyer lemon crop, was easy enough, although Sara and I both thought the curd didn’t thicken as much as we expected. It wasn’t creamy colored, either, but clear. Although it did meet the test of coating the back of a spoon, so we finally decided it must be “done.” Lemon curd always thickens some once its chilled, but it never did get creamy colored. We thought that was odd.
The frosting is easy enough to make (mascarpone and whipping cream with more lemon juice) and it’s spread over the top. It doesn’t have much quantity to it, but it does give it a little tart topping to just add to the sweet lemon curd part. The original recipe suggested you wouldn’t use all of the lemon curd, but we did. In fact the holes we made (probably about 20) weren’t filled up – that’s what I expected. A few were, but most were not. Some of the lemon curd oozed down the sides – which was okay since that gave each cut slice with an outside edge a bit of the extra tart lemon curd.
What I liked: oh, the lemony, tart flavor – from the lemon curd. And the frosting for sure.
What I didn’t like: well, the cake part wasn’t memorable. Maybe I should have uses a boxed white cake after all. Not exactly what April Fulton had in mind, trying to update an old boxed-mixture that contained all kinds of food additives, but am sure the cake would be lighter, fluffier. I just found the cake to be too dense.
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Lemoniest Lemon Ice Box Cake
Recipe By: April Fulton’s program on NPR’s Kitchen Window via Weekly Dish blog, 2008
Serving Size: 12
NOTES: My 9×9 pan is 2 1/2 inches high. If yours is any shorter, I suggest you not use all of the cake batter (leave out 1/2 cup, perhaps). The cake came almost to the top of my pan. Next time I may try using a white box cake mix – only because the cake part is rather dense. Or, I’d make a real sponge cake – and probably not use all the lemon curd.
CURD:
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
4 large eggs — beaten
2 tablespoons butter — diced
CAKE:
3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter — room temp
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 whole eggs
1 cup buttermilk — or whole milk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
TOPPING:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese — room temp
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1. CURD: Whisk together the juice, sugar, zest, and eggs in a small saucepan. Stir constantly over medium-low heat, until the mixture thickens and coats a spoon. This makes a loose lemon curd (so it will ooze down into the holes). Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. When the cake has cooled slightly (it’s fine if it’s still warm, just not oven-hot), poke holes all over it with the bottom of a wooden spoon – a smaller diameter one, if possible. Poke holes of varying depths – for some, go all the way through to the bottom, for others, just a prick in the top, and then, some in between. Pour the curd over the punctured cake, allowing it to seep into the holes. Let the cake stand while you whip the topping.
2. CAKE: Preheat the oven to 325°. Stir together the flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. In an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat until the mixture has doubled in volume. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and with a rubber spatula, fold in the flour mixture and the buttermilk, alternating by thirds, until both have been incorporated. Stir in the juice and zest. Pour the batter into a greased 9×9 tall cake pan, and bake for 30-35 minutes (set pan on a baking sheet in case it spills over), or until just moist (not wet) in the center. Set the cake on a rack to cool.
3. TOPPING: Whip the cream on high until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar, zest, and mascarpone; beat on medium-low until just combined. With the mixer running, slowly pour in the lemon juice. Spread the topping over the whole cake. It doesn’t make a thick frosting. If you beat the mixture too long, the mascarpone will curdle, although it will smooth out some when you spread it on. And if it gets really lumpy and ugly, it will still taste good, but if you’re concerned about the appearance, whip some extra cream by itself to spread on top. You can serve it warm — straight from the pan — or refrigerate and serve it cold. It’s good both ways. It cuts into neater pieces once it’s been chilled. The cake is very rich, so you won’t eat very large pieces.
Per Serving: 619 Calories; 33g Fat (47.7% calories from fat); 9g Protein; 74g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 228mg Cholesterol; 427mg Sodium.
hddonna
said on September 10th, 2011:
Carolyn, this looks delicious! I like to avoid using boxed products, especially pudding mixes (why should I pay inflated prices for what amounts to nothing but starch, sugar, artificial flavorings, and additives, when I have starch, sugar, and natural flavorings always at hand?), so I am always glad to see a recipe for this sort of thing adapted to use homemade components. Now, I’ve been trying to decide how best to use a cake in my freezer left over from experimenting with cake recipes for my grandson’s baptism. It was baked in a cross pan and has been cut up to fit a square Tupperware container. This would be a perfect way to turn it into a wonderful dessert! It won’t matter at all that the cake is in pieces. Now I just need an occasion–I’d never be able to leave this alone if it was in the house! That is perplexing about the lemon curd not turning creamy–but I bet it tastes fantastic! Thanks for a super idea.
You’re welcome, Donna. I hope it works for you – it should! . . .carolyn t
James
said on December 4th, 2013:
Carolyn, as much as I enjoy baking from scratch, a white cake is something I’ve always relied on a box mix for. I’ve just never found an adequate recipe for it, though I might try this one. As a child of the ’60’s I recall icebox cakes very well. Plus I’m always looking for an excuse to use lemon curd. For this one I think I’ll do a simple boiled icing with coconut.
I agree with you about the tenderness and ease of a boxed mix, but I just wanted to make it from scratch without all the icky additives that come part and parcel with the boxed mix. I’m with you about the lemon curd! . . . carolyn t