As a Chinese American kid growing up in San Francisco, I would peer into our family freezer to spy not only bamboo leaf-wrapped sticky rice dumplings and on-sale bags of shrimp for future stir-frys, but plenty of Swanson Salisbury steak dinners, boxes of Banquet boil-in-bag chicken a la king, and Sara Lee Pound Cake.

The latter of which I much preferred to eat still frozen.

Apparently, I wasn’t alone in that, either.

Not if the cookbook, “Salt Sugar MSG: Recipes From A Cantonese American Home” (Clarkson Potter), of which I received a review copy, is any indication.

That’s because deep within its pages is a recipe for “No-Churn Yuen Yeung Ice Cream Cake” made with — you guessed it — a Sara Lee Pound Cake, but one gussied up with layers of a fluffy whipped cream-and condensed milk flavored with Lipton tea and a dash of coffee.

For me, it is as if old-school Chinatown milk tea and that buttery dense pound cake decided to skip joyously together down memory lane.

The cookbook was written by Calvin Eng, chef and owner of Bonnie’s, a well-regarded Cantonese American restaurant in Williamsburg in New York. who is also a Food & Wine “Best New Chef,” with assistance from Phoebe Melnick, a New York video journalist.

The restaurant is named for the English name that Eng’s mom adopted after immigrating to New York as a young teenager from Toisan county in the Guangdong Province in southeast China. She lived with her parents and two siblings in a cramped one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan’s Chinatown until getting married at age 24 to Eng’s father, who hailed from the same province. Even though the young couple moved to Brooklyn, Chinatown remained very much an important part of their lives, with trips there every weekend to visit family and purchase groceries, often with Eng in tow.

It’s a given that the book offers a taste of the Cantonese dishes that he grew up with, as well as others that he’s tinkered with to make his own. But more than that, it’s a loving tribute to his parents and grandparents, who taught him the pungent scents, tastes, textures, and ingredients integral to Cantonese cooking. Like so many children of immigrants, he first shunned them, wanting to fit into his American surroundings. But eventually, he grew to appreciate them, not only for their culinary attributes, but because without them he wouldn’t be who he is today.

Eng titled the book after the three ingredients he believes most essential to Cantonese cooking: salt, sugar, and MSG. While some people are sensitive to monosodium glutamate, studies have long debunked it for being the scourge that it was once considered, especially because it occurs naturally in many foods such as tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, and dried seafood. It provides that deep, lip-smacking savoriness that we all crave. In fact, Eng even includes a recipe for “MSG Caramel Dipper,” a caramel sauce whose sweetness is tempered by salt and savoriness that can be drizzled over ice cream or fresh fruit.

Among the other tempting creations are: “Taro Root Diner Hash Browns with Sweet-and-Spicy Ketchup,” “Pork and Chive Dumplings with Caramelized Onion Soy Butter,” “Steamed Egg Custard with Vinegary, Marinated Tomatoes,” and “Iced Black Sesame Milk.”

Eng came up with this revved up Sara Lee Pound Cake confection because it reminded him of the Carvel ice cream cakes his family always bought for birthday celebrations.

Slice the pound cake into three horizontal layers. Line the aluminum tin that the pound cake came in with plastic wrap, large enough so that you have an overhang on each long side. Place the bottom layer back into the tin.

Spread it with a filling made with heavy cream that’s been steeped with Lipton orange pekoe tea leaves, then fortified with instant coffee powder, and finally folded with condensed milk, a little coconut oil, and a pinch of salt. This is your “ice cream”-like filling without needing an ice cream machine. Place the middle layer of pound cake over that, spread on the remainder of the filling, and then top with the final layer of cake.

Wrap the cake in the plastic wrap overhang, then place in the freezer to firm up.

You could use any black tea leaves. However, Lipton is a sentimental choice, especially for those of us who remember a time when a box of this tea was a staple in home pantries along with cans of Folger’s coffee.

I have to say it was news to me that “orange pekoe” doesn’t imply that the tea tastes like orange in any way. The term merely refers to the size and quality of the black tea leaves, not the flavor. In this case, it indicates the leaf bud and two of its youngest leaves. The taste of this tea is malty, full-bodied and robust yet with smooth tannins.

Before serving, allow the cake to sit out for a few minutes to make slicing easier. When ready, softly whip some more heavy cream to dollop over the slices.

This dessert is a wonderful marriage of vanilla-scented pound cake and creamy, melty filling with the jolt of strong tea laced with sweetness and milkiness.

It’s a true taste of nostalgia. And it allows me to enjoy Sara Lee Pound Cake still frozen. Which is the best way, the right way.

No-Churn Yuen Yeung Ice Cream Cake

(Serves 8 to 10)

For the Yuen Yeung no-churn ice cream:

2 cups heavy cream, divided

1/4 cup Lipton orange pekoe loose leaf tea

1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoon refined coconut oil

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

For the cake:

1 (16-ounce) Sara Lee Classic Pound Cake

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon sugar (optional)

Make the Yuen Yeung No-Churn Ice Cream Base: In a small pot over medium heat, combine 1 cup of the cream and the tea and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low so the cream is just barely steaming and steep tea in the cream uncovered for 20 minutes.

Pass the steeped cream through a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl, using the back of a spoon to press every bit of infused cream through the strainer. Discard the spent tea leaves. Cover the bowl and place the steeped cream in the fridge to chill and thicken up for at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.

Remove the chilled steeped cream from the refrigerator and add the remaining 1 cup cream and the coffee powder to the bowl. Whisk the cream mixture by hand or with an electric mixer on medium speed just until barely stiff peaks form, 5 to 6 minutes (potentially longer if you are whisking by hand).

In a small bowl, stir together the condensed milk, coconut oil, and salt, mixing well.

Take a big spoonful of the whipped cream and add it to the condensed milk mixture. Using a rubber spatula, give a few good stirs to lighten the condensed milk mixture. It should be noticeably easier to stir. Gently add all the lightened condensed milk mixture into the whipped cream, taking care not to knock too much air out of the whipped cream.

Prepare the ice cream cake: Remove the pound cake from the aluminum tin. Line the tin with plastic wrap, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the long sides. Using a serrated knife, slice the pound cake horizontally into three (evenish) layers. Place the bottom slice of the pound cake into the lined loaf tin.

Spoon half of the no-churn ice cream over the bottom layer of the pound cake. Add the middle layer of the pound cake, followed by the remainder of the no-churn ice cream. Top with the final layer of cake and gently press down on the top. Cover the top of the cake with the plastic wrap overhang, then place the assembled cake in the freezer until firm, at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks.

Just before serving, prepare the whipped cream: In a medium bowl, combine the cream and sugar (if using) and whisk together by hand or with an electric mixer on medium speed until super soft peaks form, 4 to 5 minutes (potentially longer if you are whisking by hand).

Remove the cake from the freezer about 10 minutes before you plan to serve. Fold back the plastic wrap from the top, then use the overhang to lift the cake from the tin. Cut into eight to 10 slices and serve immediately with dollops of the whipped cream.

From “Salt Sugar MSG” by Calvin Eng

Another No-Churn Ice Cream Treat to Enjoy: Peanut Butter Dream Chewy Chocolate Brownie “Ice Cream” Sandwiches