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.
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.
More Popular Cake Recipes
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.
Have a question or thought to share?
If you have a question about the recipe or if you’ve made it and want to share how it turned out, I would truly enjoy hearing from you. Just scroll down to leave a comment or add your star rating.
Thank you for stopping by. It means a lot to have you here.
Recipe
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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.
I’m Lana Stuart, an award-winning cookbook author, food blogger, and lifelong cook raised deep in Southwest Georgia. I started Lana’s Cooking in 2009 to share the tried-and-true recipes I grew up with. Around here, the food is full of flavor, the traditions run deep, and there’s always room at the table.
This is very popular in Northwest Florida. My grandmother is making me one today. I can’t wait to share it with family and friends.
Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’m from Eastern NC also and this cake is the one that everyone would flock to at our family reunions and holidays. My aunt would make it and bless her heart, she couldn’t cook much else, but she was a fine baker and this was her specialty!
I have tried to do this several times and have never been successful. Do you just grease the pans or flour and grease? I have seen these cakes made around here in N.C.; but the two women I knew that made them no longer do. My cakes stick to the pan and break when trying to get out. I love this cake and want to be able to make it. Any help would be appreciated. I flour and grease my pans.
Hi Jo. I grease the pans with shortening. I wipe them out and re-grease in between each set of layers as I bake.
Jo, not sure if you do this or not, but do not put the batter into the pans until just before you slide them into the oven. If you put the batter into the pans and they sit for several minutes before baking, they will stick. I just spray my pans with PAM Baking or Bakers Joy Floured spray, spray well, and I turn my pans upside down and the layers fall out onto my hand. I do not flour and grease seperately. I have made hundreds of these. Good luck.
HI, I also make the little layer cakes, 14 layers that is. I have made hundreds of them. I live in SW Georgia, my recipe came from my husbands Grandmother who lived in Alabama. The recipe posted here is very similar to mine, and I am sure is just as good. I know of several people here that make this cake, so it is not just an Alabama cake or Smith Island Cake. Everyone loves it!
also, I was just reading more posts / comments, did not realize you live in Colquitt. I live in Blakely, and I bet you know my sister, I have several relatives who live in Colquitt……small world !!
Hi Sandy – Yes, I grew up in Colquitt and my mother still lives there. My husband and I live near Atlanta now.
This cake is an ole’ favorite in Eastern North Carolina as well.
Thank you for this recipe. I plan to make it tomorrow. Do you happen to have the caramel frosting recipe? If so please share!
These cakes are so popular in Eastern NC that some bakeries make them. Seems to be a pocket of popularity with Bladen, Sampson, and Harnett Counties at the center. I love the chocolate (try to get one for every birthday), and no church function or wake is complete without it. This weekend I enjoyed a slice of 15-layer black walnut cake with cooked caramel icing. Oh, my!!! I’m pretty certain that both cakes are served in Heaven.
I made this today but altered to 1234 cake and used old-fashion icing (cocoa). Delish!
Wouldn’t you know it! Our family was all together for a funeral recently and they all started talking about Ma-Ma’s little layer chocolate cake. No one knew how she made it but they all missed that cake. And where is Ma-Ma from? The southwest of GA :) My husband has been trying for years off and on to make her cake. He’s going to try this one today :)
My Granny made a cake like this. She grew up in the Bellview area outside of Colquitt in Miller County, Georgia.
Hi Adriane – I’m from Colquitt, too, and these little layer cakes were always around when I was growing up.
If you know anyone with the last name Addison, they are probably kin. :)
I asked my dad about this cake. He said granny made 5 layers. I don’t remember them being quite as thin. He said he really liked the caramel one she made so I’m looking for a recipe. :)
Hi! I am writing an article for my blog about my friends obsession with these cakes! She drives to the outer banks of nc and buys 3 at a time and brings them home to freeze! I am featuring you as my inspiration as I am going to attempt to make this!! I will let you know how it goes!!
Hope the cake turns out good for you! Let me know how it goes.
My Mother-in-law made apple stack cake, her’s had 6-8 layers. I learned to make it from an older lady at my sister-in-law’s church, it has five layers. My kids liked it and always hoped one of the layers would break apart coming out of the pan so they could eat it right then while hot. Her recipe said you could also use it to make Tea Cakes, it’s really good. I live in Northwest GA.
I live in the panhandle of Florida and I’ve seen, made and eaten these cakes all my life. My grandmother made them in iron skillets on a wood bring stove and if he lacked the ingredients for the chocolate icing, she would put homemade blackberry jelly between the layers and on top. My daddy liked them better with the jelly but I’m a fiend for chocolate so that’s the way I always go. I took one of these to a family reunion last year and it was the first dessert plate empty. These cakes are time consuming to make but everyone seems to love them so much it’s worth it.
The only one I have ever seen was in Georgia, Swainsboro to be exact. It was tasty though
I’m from a Statesboro, which is very close to Swainsboro. My grandmother made these for birthdays, along with her caramel cakes.
I am going to try this cake tonight. I’m originally from Anderson,SC and this cake was a special treat anytime or church had a dinner. It was made by a little lady we called Mama Grease because she was always cooking. I haven’t had one of her cakes in over 30 years. No pressure for your recipe. My cooking ability are questionable.
Well I made the cake and it is delicious. I actually dug in while it was still warm and I realized later that it tastes the best when cooled completely.
Here is a pic of the cake when the icing is still cooling on it.
http://app6.websitetonight.com/projects/2/3/8/8/2388301/uploads/cake.jpg
That looks just perfect, Dean! Now you’re making me want a slice. Maybe I’ll have to make one myself this weekend :-)
I made this for the first time today and ended up with nine layers and it looks pretty good. It was not as hard to make as I thought it would be. Trying to give it some sitting time but I have 2 sons that had to taste it immediately. They think it is good. Kind of excited to make this old time favorite! Thanks for the recipe from a fellow GA Peach. (Macon). :)
I live in Madison, FL and we have several people in town who make these 10 layer cakes with the individual layers. I can’t wait to try making this one. Thank you for the recipe.
Hope it turns out great for you, Karen!
Hi! I’m from South Carolina and my grandma made this cake for every special occasion and for many Sunday family dinners. It brings back so many memories! Thanks for sharing the recipe! :-)
Hi! I just found this post through the Southern Food Bloggers page, but I love it! I’m over in Bainbridge (so it’s nice to find someone blogging nearby!) but grew up in Bristol, Florida, just over the line. I had one of these little layer chocolate cakes for my birthday every year of my life! Now I’m making them too. A trick I use – I bought 14 aluminum pans from the Dollar General – that way I don’t have to wash and re-grease while I’m focusing on baking! I let the dishwasher do the rest. :) You can see my most recent little layer cake on my blog. Thanks for sharing – you don’t see them very often anymore, especially outside of the tri-state area! And you’ve got a new follower in me. :)
Natalie
oystersandpearls.net
Welcome Natalie! I’m happy to have you as a follower. Yes, I grew up in southwest Georgia, but I live north of Atlanta now. These very special cakes are a part of our culinary history that I hope younger cooks will keep alive. They’re a lot of work to make, but soooo worth it!
They are popular with the older generation in the northwestern part of South Carolina. Most people make them with 12 layers, but my neighbor could make 16. I think it is time to try making one myself!
We have definitely been making this cake here in upstate South Carolina as long as I can remember. My daughter usually gets 12 to 14 layers, but the lady who taught her how to make them sometimes got 16. Delicious cake!