Local Snacks: Ice Cake

I grew up across the street from Sheridan Park in Makiki , where they just happened to make the quintessential local, small kid time snack treat. It could be had, back then for just .10 cents. I’d pay my dime, peel back the paper wrapping along the top edge and bite down, my entire mouth immediately stained a bright red. Have you guessed this local children’s treat, yet? It’s the ice cake!

More humble than its glorified cousins—the shave ice and the icee— the ice cake was, a popular kid-time treat because anyone could make it at home without any special equipment or ingredients. The simplest concoction imaginable, ice cake is most commonly a mix of strawberry Malolo Syrup and water, poured into a disposable paper cup and positioned on the door or on the plastic bottom shelf of the freezer, so as not to tip over.

Back in the 1970’s, many of the mom-and-pop stores carried this icy treat in their shops. What made this simplest of Hawaii snacks so endearing was its innocence, its simplicity, and the fact that it was accessible to all, with nearly every child being able to easily pay its asking price. Today, the ice cake doesn’t seem as prevalent as it once was, or perhaps, I just don’t know where to look for it. So, if you have a special place to buy homemade ice cake let us know about it, here, on Hawaii Traditions!

Photo Credit: Rebekah’s healthy lifestyle