Yankee Whipped Cream Cake

Hi, it's Joy here, with my all time favourite cake! :) This is a fun one to make for the autumn and winter.

My Nana (from Maine) taught my mother (who has taught me) to make this cake, which she made as often as she could in Texas. (You need to be in a cool climate to whip the cream!)

Whipped cream cake is easy to make - another great project for kids - but the ingredients require some creativity.

You will need graham crackers (try ebay or UK-US online food stores), Hershey's chocolate syrup (ebay or UK-US food distributors), icing sugar, and double cream. You could substitute digestive biscuits for graham crackers, but if you can find them, the graham crackers do make the cake amazing!

The ratio rule of thumb is 1/4 cup (@57 grams) powdered (confectioner's) sugar to 1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream. A medium cake that would serve 16 or more people (sliced lengthwise, then crosswise) would probably require two pints of cream, one cup (@227 grams) of icing sugar (powdered sugar for any US folks) sugar, and maybe two portions of a three portion box of graham crackers. The only other ingredient is Hershey's syrup. This is a no-bake cake. You whip the cream and syrup and build up layers with the graham crackers. The secrets are: do not to pack down the sugar when measuring, do not build the cake too high (it will slide sideways), and use plenty of cream between cracker layers . Another tip: too much chocolate syrup will make it too sweet to eat. For a medium bowl of whipped cream, a couple of squirts of Hershey's will do. Taste-test it and adjust as you wish. The colour should be barely beige. Whip cream and sugar until the mix is fluffy and stiff enough to frost the crackers. This takes about seven minutes for a big bowl. Add Hershey's chocolate syrup and mix a little more. It helps to put a little whipped cream on your platter before placing the graham crackers to build the cake. It helps the crackers stay in place. I usually use a three-cracker base, layer it with the cream, add three more crackers, layer with cream, and continue layering to desired height (probably no more than five inches). Cover sides of the cake with cream. I use a generous amount between layers. Refrigerate overnight. Easy! Enjoy the next day. xxx Joy