Smith Island Cake consists of thin layers of yellow cake, anywhere from 8-14 layers, with chocolate frosting in between the layers of cake. The yellow cake is layered with fudge instead of a traditional buttercream, as the fudge keeps longer than a buttercream (which is made with butter) would keep.
Why is it called Smith Island Cake?
Smith Island, Maryland's only inhabited island can be found in the Chesapeake Bay, between Maryland and Virginia. Spanning just 9 miles, it is only accessible by ferry.
Named for its place of origin, the eponymous cake has been around since the early 1800s (or 1600s depending on who you ask.) Smith Island women would send the cake with their fishermen husbands on the fall oyster harvest where they were often out for a week at a time. The sweet confection would provide a hit of sugar for energy and a reminder to return home safely.
Smith Island Cake became the official dessert of the state of Maryland on April 24, 2008.
What's with all the layers?
Turns out, there's a method behind the madness. Thinner layers of cake layered with rich fudge keep the cake moister, longer. However, that's just a side benefit. Back in the days before electricity, women on the island "baked" the cake in a metal box, set atop their wooden stove. Try to get a full, 3-cup cake batter to rise properly with that method! Not to be deterred, they figured out how to use less batter to still produce a cake layer that would rise, just enough. Voila! And repeat, til the cake batter was used up. That's where the multiple layers come from. With no refrigeration, your cake is going to remain at room temperature. Frosted with simply chocolate and sugar - not buttercream - meant it would keep.
Is Smith Island Cake always chocolate and vanilla?
The original Smith Island Cake was made with 8 thin layers of yellow cake layered, as mentioned previously, with fudge instead of buttercream. Today, you can find Smith Island Cakes with up to as many as 14 layers. And while vanilla cake with chocolate fudge was the traditional combination, today's bakers have created layers of lemon, carrot, coconut, and strawberry cake.
What is Smith Island cake-in-a-jar?
It's our version of Smith Island Cake; it's how we deliver the classic yellow cake and chocolate frosting to our customers. While others have imagined the cake in alternate flavors, our Smith Island cake-in-a-jar is the original flavor combination: vanilla cake with a chocolatey, fudge frosting. We use vanilla imported from the Dominican Republic in our yellow cake, giving our cake an extraordinary vanilla flavor. Our chocolate layer is the way it's always been: chocolate fudge, using quality, Guittard extra dark, 63% cacao chocolate pieces. It's the quality of the ingredients in our Smith Island cake-in-a-jar that make it the exceptional cake that it is. While not quite reaching 8 layers, we still come in at 6 layers, which given the limitations of our container, we feel is still a good representation. The best thing about our Smith Island cake-in-jar is that it's a single serving with a lid. The lid preserves its freshness while the single serving means you can have one for each guest or one for yourself, every day of the week!