July 17, 2014

Summer is sweeter with this 1950s Jell-O Ice Cream Pie recipe


It's scarcely a secret that this time of the year and frozen desserts go together like bread and butter, pencil skirts and seamed stockings, and kittens plus balls of yarn. Ask any child - and many of that are still young at heart - what one of their favourite (if not very favourite!) food of the season is and chances are, ice cream will top their list.

I'm no stranger to a passion for this scrumptious treat either (as you may recall from previous posts such as this one about how to throw a vintage ice cream party), so as soon as the last of the Easter candy is polished off (and sometime even before! :)) and the mercury starts showing double digits again, my mind turns to thoughts of ice cream recipes.

Today's is so incredibly simple and easy that it can scarcely be called a recipe, but by definition it still is, and so I present to you an endlessly versatile Jell-O Instant Pudding Ice Cream Pie from 1957.



{A mere four ingredients and an hour is all it takes to create a colourful, delicious vintage pudding and ice cream pie of your own this spring or summer. Image source.}


You can use any appropriate store bought or homemade pie crust that you fancy. I've made this recipe numerous times and often use a fairly thick butter and (gluten-free, if I'm going to be having any) graham cracker crust instead of a pastry one, but have tried the original approach with great success as well. One fun trick is to make a chocolate pie crust if you're going to be using an ice cream flavour (such as mint, black cherry, peanut butter, coconut, or mocha) that partners especially well with the taste of cocoa.

Speaking of GF ingredients, while Kraft currently maintains they will always declare the presence of gluten or any other common allergen in their ingredient lists, I know for past experience with various Kraft products that did not specifically include gluten, that it’s still possible for cross contamination to occur and for you to get sick with some of their products. If you’re looking for a bona fide gluten-free instant pudding mix (that is also Vegan, thus making it egg and dairy-free by default), I highly recommend Natural Desserts.

This pie has so many of the hallmarks of a classic fifties summer dessert to it. Jell-O, a pre-made pie crust, no baking, and cheerful, beautiful pastel colours that look as though they could mirror those of some fabulous kitchens from that era itself.

You can further adorn, as the three examples here show, your ice cream pie with tasty toppings such as nuts, fresh fruit, mint leaves, curls of citrus peel, as well as other things like chocolate curls or shavings, mini cookies, candies, marshmallows, pretzels, candied fruit, candied ginger, or a drizzle of your favourite ice cream topping such as caramel, chocolate, cherry, strawberry, pineapple, or butterscotch (just make sure it's at room temperature or colder when you pour it over top so as to not risk melting the pie at all).

This dessert is awesome not only because of how it tastes, but because it's a not terribly hard on the wallet and is a (summer) breeze to whip up on even the most sizzling, energy zapping of days of the season, when you'd rather juggle live snakes than turn on the oven for the sake of making dessert.

26 comments:

  1. It's currently winter here and this adorable recipe has made me long for summer even more!

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  2. the man and i have to go back into vintage baking ... but spending a summerday in front of the hot ofen isn't the best idea ... mabe this ice cream pie can bring us back. ;)

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  3. Now that's a 50s recipe that sounds good. :-)

    Jessica, if you ever come across a recipe for "Campbelled Eggs", don't make it. I did and it was not a success. It was basically scrambled eggs made with Campbell's Cream of XXXXXX Soup. I had to try it cuz I thought the name of the recipe was such a corny play on words.

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    1. Thank you very much for the thoughtful head's up, dear Dawn. That's very sweet of you and I will be sure to proceed with caution if I encounter a soup + scrabbled eggs recipe.

      Wishing you a fabulous weekend!
      ♥ Jessica

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  4. I have never heard of an ice cream pie before but it sounds very tasty and I love the colours in the illustrations on the advert. I might have to give it a try.

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    1. Kate dear, I think you would adore it! They're so tasty and easy to make. I know that powdered flavoured gelatin and instant pudding can be tricky to find in Europe (I couldn't find them anywhere when I lived in Ireland and had them, along with a few other Canadian nonperishable foods, sent over by kind relatives when I was there), so if you ever need me to ship a few boxes your way for this, or any, recipe, just say the word and I'll happily do so.

      Big hugs & happy weekend wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. Thanks for you kind and lovely offer. I am going to investigate finding powdered gelatine, I know I can get it in leaf form here.

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    3. You're very welcome, honey. Always happy to help however I can! :)

      ♥ Jessica

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  5. That sounds delicious. I could see doing that with pistachio pudding (my favorite, I know it's weird).

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    1. Yay!!! Another thing that we share in common, dear gal! I massively adore pistachio pudding, too (as does my step-dad). It's such a lovely flavour with the most appealing scent to it - plus that colour is so pretty and channels a fun vintage-y vibe to boot.

      ♥ Jessica

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  6. Yum! That looks really good!

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  7. Oh wow! I think I might try this out before school starts =D
    Thanks for sharing, Jessica!

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  8. I love baking even if I burn stuff sometimes.... I am always in the mood to bake something new! This recipe is made for me - no burn effect! LOL

    HAPPY WEEKEND!
    http://balearaitzart.blogspot.com.au/

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  9. These culinary master pieces are perfect summer treats, I'm sure.
    We do make something similar. The only problem with it - it wanishes within minutes. :)

    Marija

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  10. thjis looks like it would be fun to make with my summer school students thanks for sharing

    retro rover

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  11. Love the old ads! Great blog xx

    www.roseandmuse.com
    www.roseandmusevintage.com

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  12. Oooo, the pistachio one—yum! One could even make a pistachio crust (though for non-fans, that is probably beyond overkill) or one of those gluten-free chocolate Chex crusts. Thank you for the celiac-safe product recommendation—I'll be looking into that brand. Whenever I've made pudding since being diagnosed, it has been from scratch, which is of course just fine, but sometimes even the most devoted bakers and kitchen-frolickers want something very simple.

    Have a beautiful weekend!

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    1. Oooohh, Chocolate Chex you say, I haven't heard of that variety here in Canada (though we do have the plain GF ones, which I adore, especially for maxing holiday snack mixes). It would be easy enough to add coco powder or melted GF chocolate to the plain one though and create your own, if the chocolate version doesn't hop over the border (it is always, always irksome how we so often get one or a few items from a US brand up here, but not necessarily all of them). Thanks for suggesting that option, I'll be giving it a spin one way or another for sure.

      Big hugs & happy weekend wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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  13. That is completely in the summer topic and dear how it made me want to taste it by this warmth today , brilliant !
    Xxx
    Love,
    Lorna

    Http://lornasharp.blogspot.com

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  14. oh, my! we've made this pie more than once when my sister and i were girls. so easy and so yummy!

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    1. That it is! One of my favourite things to do with this recipe is to crumble GF cookies into the pudding before it sets. Even more sweetness - and a great way to use up leftover cookies that might be kicking around.

      ♥ Jessica

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  15. And it looks very nice too. DH and son are celebrating their birthdays (the 6 and 7 of August), perhaps we should give it try on that occassion. Now I want to drive my vintage car to the the vintage Arne Jacobsen gasoline staion and buy myself an ice cream. Caramel is my favourite. :)

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    1. How awesome that your DH and son's birthdays are coming up - Tony's is the 6th of August as well, so both our households will be merrily celebrating that day.

      Just as I offered Kate-Em in the comments here, I know that instant pudding and Jell-O gelatine powder can be tough to come by in Europe sometimes, so if you ever need me to ship some over to you from Canada, please don't hesitate to ask.

      I adore caramel ice cream or caramel sauce on ice cream, too. It's usually the flavour of sundae I get when we go for ice cream at Dairy Queen (a fast food chain here in Canada and the States), who very thankfully have some gluten-free options that I can avail of.

      Big hugs & happy Thursday wishes,
      ♥ Jessica

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    2. Caramel is my absolute favourite too! Are you my secret sister? ;) Son's birth was 6th August, so now I can remember Tony's too. Wishing you a lovely weekend, dear. :)

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  16. I have never tried making this, I have made the yogurt+whipped cream filling, but your option sounds a lot more scrumptious, specially for our hot weather.

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  17. This recipe is so easy and so good.

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