Chocolate Icebox Pie – Learn to make Chocolate Icebox Pie topped with whipped cream and nuts from a vintage cookbook.
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I love old cookbooks and cooking magazines; on weekends, I scour antique stores and flea markets looking for books that pique my interest. I’ve gathered quite a collection… some of my volumes date back to the early 1900’s.
I can’t tell you why I choose certain books over others. Sometimes I pick based on the title, or the subject matter. Other times it’s the feeling I get holding the book in my hand—the smell of the old pages, the smudge of frosting the previous owner left as they cooked.
I have a particular fondness for old community cookbooks published by church groups, junior leagues, and civic groups. I actually read through them for fun, like novels. They make me feel connected to the people who wrote them– the families and housewives and volunteers who compiled them.
But the best part is recreating the recipes. Sometimes they are a disaster, but more often than not I end up with a delightful dish that is also a slice of the past… like today’s recipe, Chocolate Icebox Pie.
This Chocolate Icebox Pie comes from a cookbook called Recipes from Old Virginia. Published in 1958, the book was compiled by “The Virginia Federation of Home Demonstration Clubs.” According to the cookbook, this particular recipe was contributed by Mrs. Elwood Harris of Sussex County, Virginia.
The directions of this recipe were a bit sparse, and there was no crust or whipped cream recipe included, so I had to clarify things a bit. I chose the cream topping option because I had some heavy whipping cream in the fridge.
For the graham cracker crust, I chose a recipe from another cookbook published the same year, Good Housekeeping’s Party Pie Book (1958). It’s a baked crust, as opposed to the unbaked crust the Chocolate Icebox Pudding calls for. In my experience with custard pies, baked crumb crusts tend to hold up better and be less soggy than unbaked.
I followed the crust recipe closely, but found it a bit dry, so I added another tablespoon of butter and this made it the right consistency. I used the entire amount for the crust (rather than sprinkling some on top), but my pie dish is likely deeper than a 1950’s pie plate.
The crust baked up beautifully, and really complimented the Chocolate Icebox Pie. Delicious!
For the whipped cream, I used a simple mixture of heavy whipping cream and sugar. Simple and scrumptious. As Julia Child said, “If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”
It proved to be the perfect topping to this luscious pie.
Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
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Chocolate Icebox Pie
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Filling
- 2/3 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons flour
- 1 3/4 squares unsweetened chocolate
- 12 ounces evaporated milk or ½ cup heavy whipping cream (1 can)
- 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
- 2 cups small marshmallows
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Semisweet chocolate for grating
- 2 tablespoons chopped pecans
Instructions
Make Crust
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar. Stir to blend ingredients until all crumbs are evenly moistened by the butter.
- Pat the graham cracker mixture evenly into a pie plate or dish using the back of a spoon, covering the bottom and sides of the dish completely to form a crust.
- Bake the crust for 8 minutes in the oven till crust hardens. Cool before filling.
Make Filling
- Combine 2/3 cup of sugar, salt, and flour in a small saucepan. Melt chocolate squares (the easiest way is to melt it in a small dish in the microwave), then add the melted chocolate to the dry mixture along with the evaporated milk or cream. Whisk together to blend ingredients.
- Add 1 cup of water and beaten egg yolks, whisk again. Turn heat to medium low and continue to whisk for 10-15 minutes. The mixture will heat slowly and take on a thicker consistency and become a custard. Don’t leave the pan alone for very long or the custard will burn/congeal to the bottom of the pan. Continue whisking until the custard thickens and begins to stick to the whisk in small lumps. Remove from heat.Melt in the butter, then whisk in the marshmallows, which will melt into the custard. Let mixture return to room temperature.
- Fill cooled graham cracker crust with the custard.Place pie uncovered in the refrigerator and chill for at least 6 hours till set (preferably overnight).
- At least 1 ½ hours before serving, combine 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 tbsp sugar in a medium mixing bowl. Whip on medium high for a few minutes until the cream is light and fluffy.Spread the freshly whipped cream on top of the pie with a spatula. If you have more time and want a more elegant presentation, you can pipe the cream across the top of the pie with a star tip.
- Grate semisweet chocolate into 2-3 tbsp of chocolate shavings.
- Sprinkle the chocolate shavings onto the top of the pie, along with 2 tbsp chopped pecans.
- Chill for at least 1 hour longer before serving.
NOTES
Nutrition
Oh my I’d walk a mile on crutches go a slice of chocolate silk pie! *v*
great, now I want pie #pregnantlady
oh thank you, I will pretend eat it and hope for no calories to add to my hips!
My grandmother used to make an Icebox Cake with Lady Fingers and chocolate and cream. It was my favorite dessert that she made.
Yum… I wish we were neighbors
yummy
Looks delicious!
This sounds so delicious….as we don’t have Graham crackers here what could be substituted?? Thanks for the post
Good question Kezz… I see from your email that you’re in Australia? If that’s the case, I think digestive biscuits would make a good substitute. Not exactly sure what else is available in your part of the world. Vanilla Wafers will work well too (the round ones from Nabisco– not the square wafers), or crushed Oreo cookies (the cookies themselves, not the cream). Good luck!
Yum
Great recipe.
Think that Fran Vogelman Friedman is my cousin.
I Live in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Looks great; but, i don´t bother much with dairy pies
My grandmother used to make these. Thank you so much for the sweet reminder, and recipe.
What got me was the name of the recipe, not the recipe per se.
I recall many *ice box* desserts my mother made in the 1950’s – and this was waaay after most people moved on to electric, or gas (Yes!) refrigerators. I didn’t research this – but I’m guessing the demise of the ice box was in the 1930s.
In the late 30’s or early 40s my grandmother had a Servel Gas Refrigerator that I recall. And, Yes!, there’s a website for those – and there are collectors as well!
Interesting, the memories a vintage recipe brings up.
Agreed… one of the many reasons I love these old recipes so much.
My mother called this “mandel bread with liver” — but I think she was just trying to fool us. Lol.
I want some!
Can´t wait to try to make this for my family. 🙂
Oh I remember this!
Loved this pie…no nasty Cool Whip in those days.
oh you are tempting me to make this now, but i have to resist. will be glad to share your page
Let us know when u go retail!!
mmm french silk