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With 9 thin layers of yellow cake and an addicting chocolate fudge frosting in between, this Smith Island cake recipe will impress everyone. It is Maryland's state dessert for a reason!
I love cake of all kinds - from a spice cake to a cookie dough ice cream cake to southern red velvet cake.
I'll be honest though, I had never heard of a Smith Island cake, until my brother-in-law told me about it. He mentioned how it was Maryland's state dessert and since we live in Maryland, I should have a recipe on the blog.
After doing some research, I quickly realized how similar it is to my yellow cake with chocolate frosting. It actually dates back to the 1800s when Smith Islanders would send the cake as gifts. It is made with a fudge frosting as it lasts much longer than buttercream.
Really the main difference is instead of 2 layers, there are between 8-10 layers. I decided to go with 9 as I just had to use 3 pans 3 different times.
So basically you get way more frosting in this cake and when is that a bad thing? The frosting actually seeps into the layers, creating an extra moist cake.
Jump to:
Ingredient Notes
- Unsweetened chocolate squares - the base chocolate flavor for the frosting. You get the sweetness from the sugar and corn syrup.
- Baking powder - doesn't need any acid to help create rise with the cake. You don't want much rise as it is a very thin cake layer.
- Buttermilk - added moistness for the yellow cake.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe, you can switch up the ingredients if you want. Some variations include:
- Granulated sugar is my go-to for this cake, but light brown sugar is a good substitute.
- I like whole milk for the fudge frosting, but you can use low fat or skim milk.
- Canola oil is important for the added fat, but vegetable oil or melted butter work as well.
- Greek yogurt is my go-to for bake goods, but sour cream is a good substitute.
Step-by-Step Photos
Combine the sugar, milk, 2 tablespoon butter, corn syrup salt and chocolate in a pot and bring to a boil for 6 minutes. Remove from heat and add a stick of butter, letting it melt. DO NOT stir until it cools, about an hour.
Add the vanilla extract and use a wooden spoon to beat until it is thick and creamy, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.
Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Cream together the sugar, butter and oil in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs, Greek yogurt and vanilla extract and bet until combined. Then use a spatula to hand-mix the dry ingredients in, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the flour until just combined.
Pour slightly less than 1 cup of batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for a couple minutes and then carefully invert on a cooling rack. Repeat until you have 9 layers. Spoon about ¼ cup of frosting on each layer and spread to the edge.
Finish the cake by covering the top and sides.
Yellow Cake vs. White Cake
White cake uses mostly or only egg whites while yellow cake uses whole eggs which gives it a yellow hint.
Also yellow cake is made with all-purpose flour where white cake is usually made with cake flour.
You can't go wrong with either, but I'm partial to the more custardy flavor of yellow cake. And keep in mind, a traditional Smith Island cake used yellow cake.
FAQs
Traditionally, it is anywhere between 8 and 10 layers. I chose 9 because I had 3 cake pans and could just use 3 times which saved me some time!
You know cake is done when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. Keep in mind the cake is super thin, so it doesn't take long.
It is important to use a new sheet of parchment paper each time you add batter to a pan. You also need to spray with non-stick cooking spray. When done, once you flip over on to a cooling rack, it should come right out.
If your frosting hardened before spreading, it means you waited too long or mixed too long with the wooden spoon. You want it to be a little runny so it spreads easily. Remember it will harden when it cools.
If the frosting is hard, you can warm back up over the stovetop and mix with the spoon for 1-2 minutes and it should thin back out.
To maximize the shelf life of the Smith Island cake, place it in a covered airtight container or cover with plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.
• Cake at room temperature will last 1-2 days
• Cake in the fridge will last 1 week
• Cake in the freezer will last 4 months
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Do not skip the buttermilk as it helps create the moistness you expect from cake. If you don’t have buttermilk you can make your own. Use whole milk mixed with ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice instead of buttermilk. Fill a measuring cup with the lemon juice/vinegar then the rest with whole milk to reach ¼ cup + 2 tbsp.
- All refrigerated items should be at room temperature, which helps the batter mix easily and evenly.
- You may not realize this but baking powder actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the cake. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
- Allow the cakes to completely cool before adding the frosting, otherwise it will melt.
Other Cake Recipes
If you’ve tried this Smith Island cake recipe or any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.
Smith Island Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- 1 ⅓ cups whole milk
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 4 teaspoon Karo light corn syrup
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate squares
- ½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cake
- 3 ¾ cups sifted all-purpose flour (431 grams)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (1 ½ sticks)
- ¾ cup canola oil
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
- 5 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
Instructions
Chocolate Fudge Frosting
- Combine sugar, milk, 2 tablespoon butter, Karo light corn syrup, salt and chocolate in a pot. Place over medium heat, until it comes to a boil. Boil for 6 minutes.
- Remove pot from heat and drop in stick of butter. Let the butter melt and do not stir until fudge cools, about 1 hour.
- Add vanilla extract once fudge is cool and beat with wooden spoon until it is thick and creamy, about 5-10 minutes.
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare three 9" round cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper and nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the sugar, butter and oil until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until mixed. Add the Greek yogurt and vanilla and beat until combined. You can also use a hand mixer to do this.
- With a spatula and hand-mixing, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk and ending with the flour until just combined. Do not over-mix.
- Pour slightly less than 1 cup of batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool for a couple minutes and then carefully invert on a cooling rack.
- Once the cake pans are cool, re-line with parchment paper and coat again with nonstick baking spray. Repeat baking with the remaining batter to make 9 thin cakes total. Allow all 9 layers to cool completely, about 45 minutes
- Spoon about ¼ cup of frosting and spread to the edge of the first layer. Repeat with each layer and then spread the rest of the frosting on the top and sides of the cake.
Notes
- Do not skip the buttermilk as it helps create the moistness you expect from cake. If you don’t have buttermilk you can make your own. Use whole milk mixed with ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar or fresh lemon juice instead of buttermilk. Fill a measuring cup with the lemon juice/vinegar then the rest with whole milk to reach ¼ cup + 2 tbsp.
- If you don’t have Greek yogurt, you can either replace with sour cream.
- All refrigerated items should be at room temperature, which helps the batter mix easily and evenly.
- You may not realize this but baking powder actually expires pretty quickly. Use baking powder that is less than a year old since it has been opened. If you use older baking powder, it won’t be powerful enough to help leaven the cake. You can test it by stirring half a teaspoon of baking powder into a cup of hot water. It will immediately start to fizz and release carbon dioxide gas if it’s still fresh enough to use.
- You know cake is done when you insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean.
- Allow the cakes to completely cool before adding the frosting, otherwise it will melt.
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