Classic Ice Cream Sandwiches | Serious Eats : Recipes
In case you wanted a lesson in Ice Cream Sandwich history:
The history of the ice cream sandwich can be traced to Renaissance-era English trifles and 18th century Charlottes, rich compositions of sweet cream and biscuits. Advances in freezer technology made ice cream available to many Europeans and Americans by the 18th century. Old favorites were transformed. Victorian-era cooks/chefs crafted fancy ice cream (molded ice creams with or without cake). They also specialized in cream-filled Victorias sandwich cakes. Freeze a sandwich cake and what do you get?
Ice cream sandwiches, as we Americans know them today, fall into the category of "novelties." According to the food historians, ice cream novelties were introduced in the late 19th/early 20th century. These were the treats of the "common folk." Cheaply priced items hawked by street vendors in cities, resorts & fairs. The origin of several popular period ice cream treats (ice cream cones, ice cream sundaes, banana splits, popsicles) are readily claimed by several people and places. Not so, the ice cream sandwich.
