Yummy Christmas thing you make.
Prep time
This creation and I first crossed paths at a small office Christmas party back in the late '80s. After I took my first bite I knew I had to wrangle the recipe out of the person who brought it. I've seen similar cakes since but they are all constructed differently than this one. I've made this for office several of the Christmas parties I`ve attended and it always disappeared quickly.
The person I got the recipe from didn't tell me a whole lot of what went into making this other than the ingredients of which there are but a few. The important part I learned early on entails the construction, which is my reason for sharing it here. The other is a request from a former co-worker and friend. He asked me to make it the last Christmas we worked together. I was in no shape to pull it off then and I didn't get it done.
Over the years I've learned through much experimentation what really worked well for me when making this. Those experiments culminate here.
You'll need:
1. 1 Small electric hand mixer or an arm that won't get too tired
2. 2 mixing bowls - One must fit inside the other
3. 1 to 2 trays of ice cubes - the really cold brand, warm flavored ice cubes just don`t get it done.
4. 2 1/2 pints heavy or whipping cream (your choice) it works with either. The size of the cake matters too. One half pint is usually more than enough if you use just one deck. Don`t be surprised at the amount of whipped topping left. You can be surprised because sometimes more is just plain good. Nekkid works but that thought belongs at another venue.
5. 1 Box Honey Grahams Graham crackers - Full size. Get the real ones, its worth 1 to 2 bucks more for a better result. The store brands or the other national brands are too hard to make this work correctly since they don't wick well enough. No I`m not endorsing Honey Grahams.
6. 1 16-18 oz. jar preserves - Dumping the preserves in a small bowl makes them easier to dish out. I've found that preserves work the best. I'm partial to strawberry, but raspberry works well too. Jam is too loose, jelly just doesn't cut it. I`ve yet to try making my own preserve type filling. If you have a grandma that makes her own jams and preserves hit her up.
7. To flavor the whip : Add 1 - 2 tsp sugar or a dash of 2 vanilla or your favorite flavor extract, peppermint,spearmint, etc. This is to give the whip a little flavor since it's blah just plain.
8. A rectangle of cardboard about the same size (actually a little smaller) as a cookie sheet or a pizza pan .This will be used as your work surface after you cover it with wax paper or parchment paper.
9. 2 Flexible spatulas for spreading - one only for whip, one only for preserves
9a. This list consists of ingredients, 4 to 6, all the others (1-3, 7-10) are my tools to build this vacation cake getaway.
10. Read to the end first
Make sure you have enough room to spread out and gather all your ingredients. Dump at least 1 tray of ice into the big mixing bowl then set the next size bowl inside it and set the nested bowls aside. I usually let them sit until the cubes sweat. That takes 10-15 minutes depending on the temp of your work space or put the bowls together than popping them in the fridge works if you have to speed create.
Whip the cream until the top comes to stiff points
Now it's time to rock and roll. No rocks were harmed n the creation of this recipe.
I put a dab of whip on the surface your are using to make your cake on. This should be the length of the cracker and at least 2" wide to acommodate the edge of the long side.This helps stabilize the first few layers and if done rather quickly will help the rest of your build. A practice run won`t hurt. : )
NOTE:
*****The next part you'll have to work rather quickly with no breaks unless you can tag out to a helper if you have one since the whip starts to collapse as it warms up. *****
Butter your crackers with the preserves, then lay some of the whip over top of the that and lay it down on the skinny edge of the long side. The first 2 or 3 pieces can be a little messy to get standing up. Have a bowl of water or a roll of paper towels handy. Just keep building out from there until you get to the size you imagined your finished cake would be. One deck of crackers makes a cake about the size of the graham cracker box or a little longer depending how thick your layers are. (A practice cracker is worth a shot, because you may need a snack before you finish) : )
To finish: Any leftover preserves I`ll spread over the top to fill in any gaps. Then cover that with the remaining whip which should be more than enough to cover the top and sides.
Decorate the finished cake. Using jimmies or sparkly sugar gives a nice effect when it melts in the whip. Anything really as long as its not too heavy, so no bowling balls.
Cover and leave in the refrigerator overnight. Its great with breakfast or for breakfast. We are talking decadence incarnate here. Serves 1 because you'll want to eat the whole thing.
What makes this a nice cake for a party is the way you slice it and the reason for its manner of creation. Cut your slices at a 45 degree angle to see all the layers. The reason will be apparent after that one person who always wants the corner piece gets theirs.
I have one request; I`ve never made this for someone on a special diet so I wonder if anyone does tried to make this using ingredients that were ok for someone with diabetes or lactose intolerant or any other special diet I would love to know your results. Comment here since comments are open on all devices.
My hope for you is that this will be a hit at your holiday party and gives you more joy than I`ve had making it and sharing this with you.
I don`t remember making one this pretty though it is something to shoot for.
