One of the best desserts I remember growing up with that my Mom used to make was Ice Box Cake. Basically you boil up some pudding, and then in a baking disk you start with a layer of graham crackers, then a layer of hot pudding, a layer of graham crackers, finishing up with a layer of pudding on top.
The part that made this extra super special fun was that you need to make about three boxes of pudding (using two boxes of graham crackers each with three packs of crackers. SO with such a big pot of pudding, I was stuck at the stove stirring the pudding for 35 minutes until it came to a boil.
At least with my back and leg pain I had the foresight to pull a chair up by the stove! While I stirred (and stirred, and stirred, and stirred, and stirred) Danielle was coloring in fashion pictures she had drawn at her Moms. It never ceases to amaze me the artistic talent Scott and Danielle have. My brother has that talent too, both in drawing and in his ability to play the bass guitar.
At least the pudding was done, and I began the process of making the Ice Box Cake. you have to do this very quickly because as pudding cools even a little bit it begins to set, and of course some cracker cutting is required to get a perfect fit. The cake ended up being six layers of graham crackers and pudding and then it was covered. You have to leave it out at room temperature, covered, for a hour so the heat and moisture from the cooling pudding makes the graham crackers soft like cake. Danielle enjoyed licking the big spoon I had used to stir (and stir!) the pudding and I put the pot and ladle into the freezer to cool.
I had covered the baking disk with another turned upside down on top of it, and this is where I got to play "Chris is stupid" and I rested the class of leftover pudding I had doled out. The top disk was wobbly and partially shifted sending the glass to the floor.
After the cleanup I asked Danielle if she wanted to enjoy so pudding pot. "Pudding Pot?" she said. I took the pot from the freezer (now nicely chilled and shot some whipped cream in it and we got it fairly clean with a spoon.
Back to the subject of Ice Box cake, you can use any kind of graham cracker, but my mom used to use honey grahams. Last night we decided to use chocolate graham crackers. Vanilla pudding and Cinnamon graham crackers is also a nice variation. However you do it you must use regular pudding with whole milk for the best experience! Do not dare to use instant pudding to make ice box cake! Anyone who really enjoyed pudding knows the instant is a poor substitute for real cooked pudding!
Finally, before serving the cake (which for best flavor must chill in the refrigerator for an hour) I put some imported chocolate candy into a cheese grater and grated chocolate shavings over the top. My mom never did that, but, it was an excellent touch!
The part that made this extra super special fun was that you need to make about three boxes of pudding (using two boxes of graham crackers each with three packs of crackers. SO with such a big pot of pudding, I was stuck at the stove stirring the pudding for 35 minutes until it came to a boil.
At least with my back and leg pain I had the foresight to pull a chair up by the stove! While I stirred (and stirred, and stirred, and stirred, and stirred) Danielle was coloring in fashion pictures she had drawn at her Moms. It never ceases to amaze me the artistic talent Scott and Danielle have. My brother has that talent too, both in drawing and in his ability to play the bass guitar.
At least the pudding was done, and I began the process of making the Ice Box Cake. you have to do this very quickly because as pudding cools even a little bit it begins to set, and of course some cracker cutting is required to get a perfect fit. The cake ended up being six layers of graham crackers and pudding and then it was covered. You have to leave it out at room temperature, covered, for a hour so the heat and moisture from the cooling pudding makes the graham crackers soft like cake. Danielle enjoyed licking the big spoon I had used to stir (and stir!) the pudding and I put the pot and ladle into the freezer to cool.
I had covered the baking disk with another turned upside down on top of it, and this is where I got to play "Chris is stupid" and I rested the class of leftover pudding I had doled out. The top disk was wobbly and partially shifted sending the glass to the floor.
After the cleanup I asked Danielle if she wanted to enjoy so pudding pot. "Pudding Pot?" she said. I took the pot from the freezer (now nicely chilled and shot some whipped cream in it and we got it fairly clean with a spoon.
Back to the subject of Ice Box cake, you can use any kind of graham cracker, but my mom used to use honey grahams. Last night we decided to use chocolate graham crackers. Vanilla pudding and Cinnamon graham crackers is also a nice variation. However you do it you must use regular pudding with whole milk for the best experience! Do not dare to use instant pudding to make ice box cake! Anyone who really enjoyed pudding knows the instant is a poor substitute for real cooked pudding!
Finally, before serving the cake (which for best flavor must chill in the refrigerator for an hour) I put some imported chocolate candy into a cheese grater and grated chocolate shavings over the top. My mom never did that, but, it was an excellent touch!
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