Part cake and part confection, this heritage recipe for Chocolate Little Layer Cake is made by home cooks throughout southwest Georgia. The cake consists of tiny yellow layers baked individually, then filled and topped with old fashioned boiled chocolate icing.
I really love the way technology connects us. It makes it possible for us to share special recipes like this Chocolate Little Layer Cake beyond our closest circle of friends and family. What we used to do through cards and letters, newspaper and magazine clippings, or simply by word of mouth, we can now accomplish within seconds.
Just a quick internet search, and virtually any recipe ever thought of appears on your screen. I’m even more grateful that technology is helping us to preserve our old heritage recipes like this beautiful tiny layer chocolate cake.
— This post was originally published on April 24, 2012. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
Recipe Snapshot
Cuisine: Southern, Vintage
Cooking Method: Oven and Stovetop
Total Time: 1 hour, 50 Minutes
Servings: 24
Primary Ingredient(s): Baking chocolate (see notes), sugar, flour, butter, evaporated milk
Skill Level: Intermediate
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Oh how I miss these cakes. All my family is from south Georgia and someone was always bringing one when we had big get togethers. And there was always some older lady who sold these cakes.”
— Marie
“I’m so glad to see this recipe! My aunt … made this cake many times, and it was always a hit and one of my all-time favorite desserts!!”
— Lucy
A Heritage Recipe
For as long as I can remember, these beautiful multi-layer cakes have been a part of family reunions, church dinners, and most holidays in the southwest corner of Georgia where I grew up. You might think at first glance that they’re standard cake layers that have been split and filled, but they’re not—not at all. Each little thin layer is baked separately.
To make it even more different from traditional layer cakes, it’s iced with warm boiled chocolate icing while the layers themselves are still warm. Totally goes against the conventional method, doesn’t it?
Years ago, Kim Severson of the New York Times did a story on these little layer cakes. I had the pleasure of hearing Kim speak once at a food blogging conference. She’s a very accomplished food writer and has received numerous accolades, including several James Beard Awards.
In her NYT story, she talked about how the cakes were made only in one area in Alabama and on Smith Island near Maryland. Well, I can assure you that they are part of the fabric of at least one small southwest Georgia town as well :-)
In the small town where I grew up, lots of ladies make these cakes for a little extra income on the side. They come in two versions – chocolate or caramel. Some of them make a fairly brisk business of it, especially around Christmas.
Way back when, the thin layers for these cakes were made by cooking each layer in a hoecake pan or iron skillet on top of the stove, but now most everyone cooks the layers in the oven. It just goes faster when you can bake three or four layers at one time, you see.
If you’re really experienced with little layer cakes, you can get as many as fourteen layers from your batter. I usually get a ten-layer cake. I need to practice more. If you’ve never made this cake before, aim for about seven layers your first time and gradually increase as you improve your technique.
A Modernized Recipe For You
The original recipe that I have for little layer cakes is so typical of old-time recipes. It assumes that the cook pretty much knows what to do, and only the bare essentials are given.
For instance, the instructions for making the batter read, “Mix well. Grease 8″ pans with Crisco. Put 2 large cooking spoonfuls in each pan. Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.” That’s it.
And the instructions for the boiled icing are “Place over low heat until all is dissolved. Do not boil. Be sure all sugar is melted.” Well, alrighty then!
In the recipe below, I’ve tried to re-write and modernize the instructions a bit for you.
What You’ll Like About This Recipe
- It has a unique boiled chocolate icing.
- It tastes great and is pretty easy to make once you get the idea.
- It’s a very old, sentimental part of southern foodways.
Ingredient Notes
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- Granulated Sugar – This is just plain old white sugar. We tend to use Dixie Crystals in the South.
- Baking Chocolate – It’s really important to use the right kind of chocolate for this recipe. You’ll need to purchase Baker’s Premium Unsweetened Baking Chocolate, which produces the distinctive look, texture, and taste required for this recipe.
- Evaporated Milk – Be sure you’re buying evaporated milk, NOT sweetened condensed milk.
- Butter – Like most old-fashioned southern cooks, I use salted butter in everything, including this recipe. I can’t remember the last time I purchased unsalted butter.
- Vanilla Extract – Use a quality extract such as McCormick’s.
- Eggs – The fresher, the better.
- Self-Rising Flour – Southerners love our White Lily flour for any type of baking. It’s made from soft winter wheat and produces very tender baked goods.
The complete ingredient list with detailed measurements is included in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
You’ll also find this recipe in my cookbook!
You can see this recipe on pages 268-269 of my cookbook, My Southern Table! Get your signed copy today.
How to Make Chocolate Little Layer Cake
Prep the Pans and Ingredients
- Before starting your baking, make sure to have all the ingredients at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and go ahead and prep several 8-inch cake pans with shortening and set them aside.
Pro Tip
How many layers you bake at once depends on how many pans you have and can fit into your oven without them touching. Some people use disposable cake pans for this, but I don’t see the need. I just wipe the pans out and re-grease between each set of layers.
Make the Icing
Unlike other cakes, you actually start your little layer cake by making the icing first.
- Place a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. The heat should be barely medium-low. If in doubt, go lower.
- Add the sugar, baking chocolate, evaporated milk, butter, and vanilla all at once. Cook the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring occasionally. It is important that the icing does not boil and that you make sure that the sugar is completely dissolved so that no grainy texture remains.
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Make the Batter
- Meanwhile, make the batter. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs all at once and beat until well incorporated. Add the flour and water alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Mix in the vanilla.
Pro Tip
The batter will appear to be curdled after each addition of water. This is normal.
Bake the Layers
- Pour approximately 3/4 cup batter into each prepared pan. Smooth the batter to the edges.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until the layers are barely golden on top. Remove from the oven and turn out onto cooling racks.
- Clean the pans, grease them, and repeat baking.
- When the second set of layers goes into the oven, begin icing the first set.
Frost the Layers While Warm
- Place a still-warm layer on a cardboard round set on a cooling rack inside a baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup of icing on the layer, smoothing it gently to the edges (an offset spatula is great for this job). Top with the next layer and repeat.
Pro Tip
Note that the icing will be thin and fairly runny. It will drip down the sides of the layers. This is to be expected. Any excess icing should be scraped up and returned to the pan and all of it used in icing the cake. This is why I strongly recommend doing the icing of the cake on a wire rack set inside a baking pan.
- When all the layers have been stacked and iced, spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake. If the icing becomes thick, return the pan to very low heat until it returns to spreading consistency.
- Smooth the icing around the sides of the cake, but realize that the contours are supposed to be visible on the outside of the cake.
Variations
- Many cooks around my hometown also make this cake with a caramel icing. I don’t have the original caramel icing recipe, but the version I use for my Southern Caramel Layer Cake should work well.
- I’ve also seen commercial versions of the little layer cake done in coconut, red velvet, and even lemon. I prefer the chocolate and caramel versions.
What to Serve With Chocolate Little Layer Cake
This cake is the perfect dessert for practically any occasion. I’ve served this for Sunday night family dinner, birthday parties, family reunions, and even bridal showers. It’s the perfect ending to a traditional southern meal of country fried steak, old fashioned green beans, fried okra, cornbread, and a fresh cucumber salad!
Storage
Store the cake in a covered container at room temperature for three or four days.
This cake freezes very well. To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Place the wrapped cake in a freezer container and freeze for up to three months. Allow the frozen cake to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Questions About Chocolate Little Layer Cake
As mentioned in the post, this icing is really thin and runny. It’s not the consistency that you usually think of for icing. The way I handle it is by placing a wire cooling rack inside a baking sheet and setting my layers on that to start. As I add icing, it drips off into the baking sheet. Keep scraping it up and adding it back to the pan. You’ll eventually use all the icing.
There are a few reasons that the icing can turn out grainy. A few tips are to make sure you have all the ingredients at room temperature before you start and to make sure all the sugar is completely dissolved.
The best way I’ve found to keep the layers from shifting is to insert two or three very thin bamboo skewers when you get about halfway up the stack. Keep layering and frosting, and cut your skewers off before you put the last layer on so they don’t show on the outside.
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Recipe
Chocolate Little Layer Cake
Ingredients
- Solid shortening for greasing pans
For the icing:
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 ½ ounces unsweetened baking chocolate see notes
- 10 ounces evaporated milk
- ½ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the layers:
- 1 cup butter
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 6 eggs
- 3 ½ cups self-rising flour sifted
- 1 ¾ cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
- Have all ingredients at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease 8” cake pans with shortening and set aside.Solid shortening for greasing pans
- Make the icing first. Place a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-low heat.
- Add the sugar, baking chocolate, evaporated milk, butter, and vanilla all at once. Cook until the sugar is completely dissolved, stirring frequently. Do not boil. It is important to make sure that the sugar is completely dissolved and no grainy texture remains.3 cups sugar, 3 ½ ounces unsweetened baking chocolate, 10 ounces evaporated milk, ½ cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Meanwhile, make the batter. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs all at once and beat until well incorporated. Add the flour and water alternately, beginning and ending with flour. (Note: the batter will appear to be curdled after each addition of water – this is normal.) Mix in the vanilla.1 cup butter, 1 ½ cups sugar, 6 eggs, 3 ½ cups self-rising flour, 1 ¾ cups water, 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Pour approximately 3/4 cup batter into each prepared pan. Smooth the batter to the edges.
- Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until layers are barely golden on top. Remove from oven and turn out onto cooling racks.
- Clean the pans, grease them and repeat baking.
- When second set of layers goes into the oven, begin icing the cake.
- Place a still-warm layer on a cardboard round set atop a cooling rack inside a baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup icing on the layer spreading it gently to the edges. Top with the next layer and repeat.
- When all layers have been stacked and iced, spread remaining icing over top and sides of the cake. If the icing becomes thick, return the pan to very low heat until it returns to spreading consistency.
- Smooth the icing around the sides of the cake, but realize that the contours are supposed to be visible on the outside of the cake.
Notes
- The specific type of chocolate traditionally used for this recipe is Baker’s Premium Unsweetened Baking Chocolate. This chocolate produces the distinctive look, texture, and taste of this recipe.
- Store your cake in a covered container at room temperature for three or four days.
- To freeze, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap followed by a layer of aluminum foil. Place the wrapped cake in a freezer container and freeze for up to three months. Allow the frozen cake to thaw in the refrigerator overnight before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your healthcare provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
My great-grandmother always made a seven layer yellow cake with caramel icing. She was from rural south-west South Carolina. She would even keep a set of layers in the freezer, so if company dropped by unexpectedly she was ready; she would set them all out (didn’t take long to thaw), whip up some icing, and before you’d know it there was a beautiful cake to enjoy along with the visit. Hers always looked so neat and perfect — unlike my previous attempts with caramel icing! Great memories.
I have seen many variations of these cakes at church potlucks and social gatherings throughout South Carolina and east-central Georgia; I have always thought of them as regional Southern recipes, certainly not restricted to only two small towns. I have not encountered them anywhere outside of the South.
I am from SC and am 52.5 years old-ha. My Parents, Grandparents, Great and Great Great Grandparents all resided in SC. These cakes have been a part of my life since I can remember as a little girl. I continue the tradition of making them. They aren’t easy, but they are worth it!! Each one turns out different in shape, but the taste is always the same! You won’t turn into Patti Labelle with a taste of it, but dang it is love, comfort and goodness in your moth! P.S. I am not a pie girl. Cake for the win!
Mouth too! Lol
Hi Lana,
I named my first born Lana.
We are from Waterproof, Louisiana, a small town in Northeast Louisiana.
My dad’s mom always made this cake for repasses, church socials, family reunions, and holidays. It was always a hit.
I have never known anyone else around here to make it. She always did fourteen layers. I was always in awe of this cake as I was coming up.
Now that she is no longer with us I have decided to carry on the tradition for her. I hope I do her memory justice.
I’d love to know how the recipe works out for you!
My Grandmother used to make this chocolate thin layer cake in her skillet on the stove top with very thin layers. It was always so good. She was a great cook and baker. She lived in Nashville Georgia.That is in Georgia.
Hi, Rosemary…. I’m from Sampson County near Dunn. Sherri’s Bakery in Dunn makes the cakes, and Burney’s Bakery in Elizabethtown and Southport makes both chocolate and a caramel frosting in 15 layers. I read a NewYork Times article years ago statin that they were particulate to Alabama and just had to correct them! I have a coworker from Baltimore who calls them Smith Island cakes because they are popular in a region of Maryland.
Yes! My Aunt Cleo in South Alabama always made these for family reunions. It was always my favorite item on the dessert table! I was specifically looking for a how-to like this so I could re-create it. Thank you so much!
Thanks SO MUCH for posting this recipe! I had one of these cakes years ago at a family reunion in Dasher, GA (near Valdosta), and apparently it was an old family tradition. That part of Georgia/North Florida is full of descendants of the Salzburgers, several waves of immigrants from Germany and Austria who came over starting in the mid-1700s. This cake seems very much like a Germanic torte; I can totally imagine that it came from that ancestry!
I got a copy of the recipe at the reunion and have since lost it, so I’m delighted to see this. Thanks!
I have had this in eastern side of the Tallahassee, Florida region. My daughter-in-law makes this at the holidays, but her layers are 1/2 or less the thickness of what yours shows and is about 13-15 layers to make a standard height cake. Hers is the hit of every family get together it is like eating yellow cake soaked in chocolate syrup. It is Heavenly.
OMG! My late grandmother, who would be in her 100’s, used to make these. It was her “go to” cake. She lived her entire life in No. Florida near the Georgia line. The only difference is that she baked her layers on the stovetop on a cast iron griddle. I don’t know how she managed to keep the size of the layers consistent but she did!
Can you make this cake with buttermilk instead of water?
I’ve never tried that, Melissa. My guess is that the buttermilk would make the layers too tender and they’re probably fall apart. If you try it, let me know how it works out.
He said this was what he remembered. I made extra frosting and he made sure it all went on.
My husband is from Cairo and before I met him I had never heard of this cake. He talks about his grandmother making it, I grew up in NE GA just above Athens. I hope this recipe is like hers was, because after 22 yrs there is nothing I can think of to get him for Valentines Day that would be more special.
Patricia – this is indeed the classic recipe. I’d love to hear how your husband likes it!!
I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe! My grandmother, from Savannah, GA used to make this cake all the time. It was a family favorite AND brought in quite a bit of money for her since she would bake, sell and deliver cakes year-round. We could never get her to write down the recipe (she only had a third-grade education) and somehow we never managed to be with her when she baked. She loved to have everything done ahead of time so that we could just “visit.” I made this for my son’s 24th birthday yesterday. All plates were practically licked clean! I’m visiting my parents in GA this coming week and plan to bake one for them. It’s probably been a good 25 years since they’ve had one and I wonder how it will hold up against the memory! Thank you again for taking the time to share!
Lana, I was so thrilled to find your blog with this recipe! My parents are both from southeast Alabama, my mother from Dothan and my father from the Clio-Louisville area. My paternal grandmother and my mother’s sister made these cakes for every special occasion, both chocolate and caramel.
Caramel was my favorite. Could you post a recipe for that?
My son, who will be 50 years old tomorrow, has been asking me to make one “like Aunt Pearl used to make” for years, and I’ve just now managed to find your recipe. I’m going to surprise him with one this weekend. Can’t wait to see his reaction!
Actually, I think it’s the directions that will help most – I’ve baked for local restaurants for years, but just made regular 3 or 4 layers. I’m looking forward to this special creation.
I Love this cake I m from Germany my friends Mom USed to make this cake only on Birthdays because she say it is to much work she used a spring form cake pan and baked each layer by it,s self we call the cake Prinzregenten Torte
I love baking my son homemade birthday cakes every year. One year it wasn’t about how the cake tasted at all it just had to resemble “It’s a Small World” from Disney. But this cake looks great and delicious. I would like to know if it’s possible to put strawberry frosting between layers as well.
Thank You,
Laura
I’ve never tried this cake with strawberry frosting, Laura. Sorry, I can’t say.