Icebox Desserts, Part One: Parfaits
My grandmother used the term, and possibly yours did too: icebox, to connote interchangeably either the original home refrigeration unit that was, in fact, a box housing a block of ice or the modern kitchen fridge. She remembered when home refrigeration was still relatively new, and while not uncommon, it was not yet ubiquitous. In her depression era kitchen, having an icebox was such a luxury as to raise a neighbor’s eyebrow. It was highfalutin but fascinating at once, in a time and place when home refrigeration just as often meant root cellar or spring house as it meant icebox.
We can easily forget how much sheer physical labor homekeeping was even just a few generations ago. Almost any item we take for granted as contemporary homekeepers was unheralded upon its introduction. We think nothing of bopping to the supermarket to fill our cart with groceries, but not that long ago, grocers were street corner small businesses that sold basics such as flour and soap to customers who often paid through barter. That barter might include a few jars of canning from homesteaders who grew and preserved their own food. Housewives strained their backs through the homekeeping cardio of heavy implements, from iron horse vacuum cleaners to bales of laundry hand-wrung and ready for the clothesline. But going back as far as the soda fountain and even before, refrigeration had its own special cachet. Food spoils, and refrigeration and freezing revolutionized the kitchen by drastically retarding that process. Before refrigeration, something as simple as ice for your drink, while not unheard of, was a treat. Refrigeration’s practicality was revolutionary, and its increasingly common availability was a godsend.
As home appliances became ever more readily available in the marketplace, obtaining them became an emblem of success for the homekeeper; indeed for the entire family. When we see in an old movie or tv show neighbors gathering to ooh and aah over a new household expenditure, from side by side refrigerator to console television set – that really happened. It may sound trite to modernites who readily visit a big box store choose a new gaming console or washing machine, but not that long ago, it was not routine and it often was an achievement. That is one reason some downtown mercantiles, evolving with the times, started specializing in home appliances. Most town squares had a store where one went to choose a new, frequently first, item for the household, from hand mixer to toaster, from deep freezer to hi-fi setup. It is why the then largely mail order purveyor Sears started opening stores in the then new phenomenon of the shopping center, and the success of that is what led to such competitors as Montgomery Ward. It is why Sperry and Hutchinson started offering small appliances as premiums, and why housewives – first on radio, then on television – swooned over game show prizes from electric brooms to steam irons.
As they do in what was becoming a lifestyle market, entire practices developed around the seemingly neverending bonanza of wonders for the modern home. The barbeque grill begat an entire culture of practices and the goods to support it, including cookbooks, implements, serveware, even the food itself. Likewise the percolator became a market for the coffee klatsch, the ice cream maker for the ice cream social, and so forth. People have always socialized, but just as we had long gathered around the blue ribbon jam and pickles ceremony at the county fair, now we had new pursuits circulating around new introductions. And that takes us to icebox desserts. Icebox desserts are a self-explanatory family of sweets that includes gelatins, puddings, pies, cakes, and variations thereof. They are prepared counter- and sometimes stove-top, but instead of being finished in the oven, they are finished by sitting in the icebox – to us spoiled modernites, the refrigerator.
Icebox desserts go to the lunch counters of that same town square, where along with the ham sandwiches and the eye-squint coffee, the proprietor served slabs of cream pie. Because of the home icebox, homekeepers began making and serving icebox desserts as special treats. The original icebox desserts remain diner staples: fluffy parfaits stacked high in the glass, cream pies topped with billows of whipped cream, humble cups of pudding. For the homekeeper, icebox desserts initially became the vogue due to the availability of another modern convenience: packaged cookies. Home economists were quick to devise ways to utilize them, from the crumbles atop a scoop of ice cream to the crust under a cheesecake.
That remains the practical base of most icebox recipes, but their spirit is pure nostalgia. Here is the first of three in a series of recipes for icebox desserts: parfaits. At the American table, parfaits are stratas of glop in tall glasses, lined up in a cold case next to saucers of gelatin. They are typically three or six layers of pudding, crumbled cookies, and whipped cream. But they are called "parfait" from the French word for "perfect" indicating their heritage as a classic of the patisserie. Le parfait is an elegant quiver of pastry cream or custard, perhaps flavored with praline, dressed with macerated fruit, chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of syrup. American parfaits are the result of home economists working on behalf of packaged food consortia, to devise ways to incorporate such convenience foods as canned fruit cocktail, flaked coconut, instant pudding. They are especially welcome during high summer, not just because they come from the icebox but because they are fun. Try one for a special change of pace to cap a summer weeknight dinner or Sunday Supper with this cool legacy from the history of American homekeeping.
Parfaits
For the pastry cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream, well chilled
Rinse and hull one pint fresh strawberries. Place the strawberries into a heavy saucepan. Measure 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract into the pan. Cook the mixture on low, mashing the berries with a potato masher or wooden spoon, until thick and spreadable. Transfer the strawberry topping to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Strawberry-Banana Parfait
Build a parfait using the strawberry topping above, substituting one recipe banana pudding for the pastry cream above. Top with a round slice of banana touched with a swirl of whipped cream.
Pineapple Parfait
Place the contents of 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with its juice into a heavy saucepan. Measure 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon brandy or rum into the pan. Cook the mixture on low until thick and spreadable. Transfer the pineapple topping to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Peach Parfait
Defrost one bag of frozen peaches.
When peaches are workable, use a potato masher to mash the peach flesh until it is thick and chunky.
Measure 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon brandy into the peach mash. Mix together.
Transfer the peach topping to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
We can easily forget how much sheer physical labor homekeeping was even just a few generations ago. Almost any item we take for granted as contemporary homekeepers was unheralded upon its introduction. We think nothing of bopping to the supermarket to fill our cart with groceries, but not that long ago, grocers were street corner small businesses that sold basics such as flour and soap to customers who often paid through barter. That barter might include a few jars of canning from homesteaders who grew and preserved their own food. Housewives strained their backs through the homekeeping cardio of heavy implements, from iron horse vacuum cleaners to bales of laundry hand-wrung and ready for the clothesline. But going back as far as the soda fountain and even before, refrigeration had its own special cachet. Food spoils, and refrigeration and freezing revolutionized the kitchen by drastically retarding that process. Before refrigeration, something as simple as ice for your drink, while not unheard of, was a treat. Refrigeration’s practicality was revolutionary, and its increasingly common availability was a godsend.
As home appliances became ever more readily available in the marketplace, obtaining them became an emblem of success for the homekeeper; indeed for the entire family. When we see in an old movie or tv show neighbors gathering to ooh and aah over a new household expenditure, from side by side refrigerator to console television set – that really happened. It may sound trite to modernites who readily visit a big box store choose a new gaming console or washing machine, but not that long ago, it was not routine and it often was an achievement. That is one reason some downtown mercantiles, evolving with the times, started specializing in home appliances. Most town squares had a store where one went to choose a new, frequently first, item for the household, from hand mixer to toaster, from deep freezer to hi-fi setup. It is why the then largely mail order purveyor Sears started opening stores in the then new phenomenon of the shopping center, and the success of that is what led to such competitors as Montgomery Ward. It is why Sperry and Hutchinson started offering small appliances as premiums, and why housewives – first on radio, then on television – swooned over game show prizes from electric brooms to steam irons.
As they do in what was becoming a lifestyle market, entire practices developed around the seemingly neverending bonanza of wonders for the modern home. The barbeque grill begat an entire culture of practices and the goods to support it, including cookbooks, implements, serveware, even the food itself. Likewise the percolator became a market for the coffee klatsch, the ice cream maker for the ice cream social, and so forth. People have always socialized, but just as we had long gathered around the blue ribbon jam and pickles ceremony at the county fair, now we had new pursuits circulating around new introductions. And that takes us to icebox desserts. Icebox desserts are a self-explanatory family of sweets that includes gelatins, puddings, pies, cakes, and variations thereof. They are prepared counter- and sometimes stove-top, but instead of being finished in the oven, they are finished by sitting in the icebox – to us spoiled modernites, the refrigerator.
Icebox desserts go to the lunch counters of that same town square, where along with the ham sandwiches and the eye-squint coffee, the proprietor served slabs of cream pie. Because of the home icebox, homekeepers began making and serving icebox desserts as special treats. The original icebox desserts remain diner staples: fluffy parfaits stacked high in the glass, cream pies topped with billows of whipped cream, humble cups of pudding. For the homekeeper, icebox desserts initially became the vogue due to the availability of another modern convenience: packaged cookies. Home economists were quick to devise ways to utilize them, from the crumbles atop a scoop of ice cream to the crust under a cheesecake.
That remains the practical base of most icebox recipes, but their spirit is pure nostalgia. Here is the first of three in a series of recipes for icebox desserts: parfaits. At the American table, parfaits are stratas of glop in tall glasses, lined up in a cold case next to saucers of gelatin. They are typically three or six layers of pudding, crumbled cookies, and whipped cream. But they are called "parfait" from the French word for "perfect" indicating their heritage as a classic of the patisserie. Le parfait is an elegant quiver of pastry cream or custard, perhaps flavored with praline, dressed with macerated fruit, chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of syrup. American parfaits are the result of home economists working on behalf of packaged food consortia, to devise ways to incorporate such convenience foods as canned fruit cocktail, flaked coconut, instant pudding. They are especially welcome during high summer, not just because they come from the icebox but because they are fun. Try one for a special change of pace to cap a summer weeknight dinner or Sunday Supper with this cool legacy from the history of American homekeeping.
Parfaits
For the pastry cream
1/2 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whipping cream, well chilled
- Measure whipping cream into a metal mixing bowl and place in the refrigerator.
- Measure the sugar into a heavy saucepan. Add the water. Cook on low, whisking gently and constantly, until a clear syrup forms, approximately 2 minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Break the eggs into a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to whip the eggs until thin and pale, approximately 2 minutes.
- Working carefully to avoid burns, use one hand to continue whipping the eggs with the hand mixer while using the other hand to pour the syrup in a thin stream into the egg mixture. Carefully measure the vanilla extract into the mixture.
- Continue beating the mixture until it is thick and pale, approximately 5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl and chill the mixture 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove both the vanilla cream mixture and the whipping cream from the refrigerator. Use the hand mixer to whip the whipping cream until it is airy and doubled in volume, approximately 5 minutes.
- Scoop out 1/4 cup whipped cream; set aside.
- Scoop the whipped cream into the vanilla cream. Use the hand mixer set to low to mix them together just until incorporated.
- Build each parfait by filling a parfait, Irish Coffee, or wine glass with a scoop of pastry cream and a scoop of one of the fruit fillings below, alternating to make 3 or 6 layers with a fruit layer as the top layer.
- Before serving, crown each parfait with a swirl of whipped cream.
Rinse and hull one pint fresh strawberries. Place the strawberries into a heavy saucepan. Measure 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract into the pan. Cook the mixture on low, mashing the berries with a potato masher or wooden spoon, until thick and spreadable. Transfer the strawberry topping to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Strawberry-Banana Parfait
Build a parfait using the strawberry topping above, substituting one recipe banana pudding for the pastry cream above. Top with a round slice of banana touched with a swirl of whipped cream.
Pineapple Parfait
Place the contents of 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple with its juice into a heavy saucepan. Measure 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, and 1 teaspoon brandy or rum into the pan. Cook the mixture on low until thick and spreadable. Transfer the pineapple topping to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Peach Parfait
Defrost one bag of frozen peaches.
When peaches are workable, use a potato masher to mash the peach flesh until it is thick and chunky.
Measure 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon brandy into the peach mash. Mix together.
Transfer the peach topping to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.
Parfait Shots
Fill shot- or cordial glasses with a teaspoon or two of pastry cream topped with a teaspoon or two of one of the fruit toppings above, lemon curd, or raspberry jam. Top with a dot of whipped cream.
Fill shot- or cordial glasses with a teaspoon or two of pastry cream topped with a teaspoon or two of one of the fruit toppings above, lemon curd, or raspberry jam. Top with a dot of whipped cream.
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