Stack cake, also called apple stack cake, is a stack of cakes layered with filling. Traditionally the cakes are made in a

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron–carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuriti ...

skillet, but they can be baked as well. The cake batter itself is made with

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

, and makes a crisp cake, similar to

shortbread Shortbread or shortie is a traditional Scottish biscuit usually made from one part white sugar, two parts butter, and three to four parts plain wheat flour. Unlike many other biscuits and baked goods, shortbread does not contain any leavening, ...

biscuit A biscuit is a flour-based baked and shaped food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat, and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger, or cinnamon. They can also be ...

. The apple filling for the cake can be made with

applesauce Apple sauce or applesauce is a purée (not necessarily served as a true sauce) made of apples. It can be made with peeled or unpeeled apples and may be spiced or sweetened. Apple sauce is inexpensive and is widely consumed in North America and s ...

apple butter Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples caramelizes, turning the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives a ...

, apple jelly, re-hydrated preserved apple rings, or other types of filling can be used such as apricot, date and raspberry. The cake is a specialty of

Appalachian cuisine Appalachian may refer to: * Appalachian Mountains, a major mountain range in eastern United States and Canada * Appalachian Trail, a hiking trail in the eastern United States * The people of Appalachia and their culture ** Appalachian Americans, e ...

Origin

An origin story proposed by Sidney Saylor Farr in 1983 is that stack cakes were a local substitute for layered

wedding cake A wedding cake is the traditional cake served at wedding receptions following dinner. In some parts of England, the wedding cake is served at a wedding breakfast; the 'wedding breakfast' does not mean the meal will be held in the morning, but at ...

, which were prohibitively expensive. According to the legend, women would each donate a layer of cake, however, this is doubtful, because stack cakes require at least two days for the apple filling and cake flavors to combine. It's said that anyone eating the cake without waiting would wonder "what all the shouting was about". Another proposed origin story is that

James Harrod James Harrod () was a pioneer, soldier, and hunter who helped explore and settle the area west of the Allegheny Mountains. Little is known about Harrod's early life, including the exact date of his birth. He was possibly underage when he served i ...

, eventual founder of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, brought stack cake from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, but the cake would not have gained popularity until flour became widely available, over 100 years later. There is no definitive account of the cake's origins.

Description

Many types of cake layer recipes exist from sponge-like layers of cake to

cookie A cookie is a baked or cooked snack or dessert that is typically small, flat and sweet. It usually contains flour, sugar, egg, and some type of oil, fat, or butter. It may include other ingredients such as raisins, oats, chocolate chips, n ...

dough-like ones; sometimes a stack cake includes many variations and flavors. One recipe from the Bluegrass region utilizes a sorghum molasses based gingerbread type cake. Stack cake parties that do not involve a wedding occur irregularly but typically serve as a way for people to exchange recipes and gossip. Its use is not limited to

Kentucky cuisine The cuisine of Kentucky mostly resembles that of traditional Southern cuisine. Some common dinner dishes are fried catfish and hushpuppies, fried chicken and country fried steak. These are usually served with vegetables such as green bean ...

but all of Appalachia. In order to accommodate the typical seven or eight layers, each layer was sometimes pressed very flat. A few of the more common flavorings used were

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

and molasses.

References

Sources

Kentucky Cuisine

Recipe from Marthastewart.com

*http://www.simplyappalachian.com/article/2014/10/apple-stack-cake *http://tennesseemountainstories.com/blog/2016/5/5/apple-stack-cake *http://www.appalachianhistory.net/2012/10/stack-cake.html {{Cakes Wedding food Apple dishes Appalachian cuisine American cakes Layer cakes Kentucky cuisine

Origin

Description

See also

References

Sources