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.
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
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.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING …
“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
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.
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
— This post was originally published on April 24, 2012. It has been updated with new photos and additional information.
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.
I am from Eastern North Carolina and my aunt used to make these for holidays and birthdays. Hers usually had 25 or so layers and you could only eat a thin slice because they were so rich. These cakes are delicious and your looks beautiful. When I get some time to bake, I am going to give this a try. Thank you so much for sharing!
My mother made these at Christmas all of my life until she died in 1999. She sometimes had 13 layers on her cakes, the difference being that her’s was the boiled chocolate icing. Every year we gathered at her house to make the cakes, (fresh grated coconut, apple/orange, banana and a nut pound cake). I was usually the one that got the job of stirring the icing.
The Christmas before my mom passed away in February, she was worried about her cakes and how they were going to get done. I told her that I would do them. She insisted they be done at her house and every once in a while she would get out or the bed and come to make sure I was doing them right.
I have not been able to see a Christmas come since she passed away that I did not have those same cakes. I have only managed to get 10 layers on mine, but it is definitely part my Christmas memories with my mom.
I live in the midlands of South Carolina.
The cake originates in New Orleans with pudding between the layers, It is a Doberge Cake. Gambinos bakery bought the recipe from the imigrant that first made it when she sold the bakery to them.
The Doberge cake originated at that bakery in the 1930s as an adaptation of another cake. I’d be really surprised if the Doberge cake was the original for this cake though. It seems like the only thing in common is the multiple layers. With others telling of their great-grandmothers and great-great grandmothers making this cake, I assumed it had been around longer.
I make these for my family and friends. I am from NC now living in GA. The most layers I have ever made was 26 “paper thin” layers for my Pastors’ birthday. A LOT of work!
My saw the times article a few years ago and responded that the cakes were not exclusive to Alabama! A lot of east coast folks (nc, sc, ga) settled Alabama in the early 19th c. So I expect they took recipes with them.
These are referred to as “Smith Island cakes” here in Maryland. And, naturally, Marylanders assume they’re only made here!
Isn’t that funny, Sarah! I’ve found out through the comments on this post that they’re made throughout the South. The New York Times story that I linked to in the post stated emphatically that they are made ONLY in a small area in southeastern Alabama!
Granny was raised in Bellview near Colquitt, and she and her mother and younger sisters moved to Central Florida when she was in her late teens, after her father passed away. She made these cakes all during my Dad’s growing up and baked them for Thanksgiving and family functions when I was growing up. They definitely aren’t limited to SE Alabama. I don’t know how any good food could be limited to one small area. People tend to take their favorite recipes wherever they go and pass them on to their children.
I am Georgia girl…born and raised down here.
These cakes are very popular in the Vidalia-Reidsville-Statesboro areas. Everyone round here knows someone who sells them and there is always one or two old ladies in every church that make them :)
I live in North West Florida, close to Panama City and Tallahassee. We’ve always had these at gatherings, especially church gatherings. My Mama would make one, but on hers she would put some of her homemade Mayhaw Jelly, OH MY how delicious they were. Thank you for bring back wonderful memories, now i want to make the chocolate one and a Mayhaw jelly one for my kids…..and ME.
I would love to make a caramel cake, please post recipe.(caramel icing)
I would love to make a caramel cake, please post recipe.
I am from middle GA, Macon, and I know that these cakes are a staple for the Church suppers and socials in the area. I have seen & have had these cakes with the many little layers that are baked individually. Around Macon, many people call this a 14 layer cake because it is about how many layers there usually ends up being after it is completed.
I’m from Kentucky and stack cakes are made here, mostly Apple Stack Cake. They are made and sold at Apple Festivals, etc. They have 12-14 thin layers. They look like yours except apple. They are yummy! I have never made the chocolate but I have made the apple many times. They also made a mini version (think pancake size) with multiple layers that they sell at the festivals. I’ve only made the big ones. I’m definitely making a chocolate one after seeing yours!
I love the pictures I’ve seen, and I would love to make a lot of them. So I don’t want to miss any recipes u put out, so won’t u please add me to u r mailing list! Ty
Lana, I have searched for this recipe for many years. I cannot thank you enough for posting it! My Granny from Hazlehurst, GA, made this cake many times during my childhood. I loved her and I loved this cake! Now that I have this recipe, I can pass down to my children a delicious part of my Granny’s legacy! Thanks so much!
I’m so glad you found the recipe here, Doreen! I hope you enjoy it and think of your Granny when you make it.
Hi Lana.. I will think of my Granny and I’ll be thanking you at the same time.
Lana – My family is from Dublin, GA and I remember this cake when my grandparents died. Someone made one chocolate and one caramel for my mom and her brothers. I found a similar recipe in a Martha Stewart cookbook but it was almost too sweet to eat. My friend and I are going to try and make this one for Easter. You mentioned caramel in your article but the recipe only includes the chocolate icing. Just curious if you had the recipe for the caramel icing that works with this cake. Thanks for the information.
I live in Delaware and heard about Smith Island Cakes for years. I came across a tiny 4 inch version in a hot dog restaurant in Cambridge, MD. I bought 2 for our yearly tea for the Adams Family women and we loved them. Wanting a bigger cake I checked on line and found many bakeries in the area that make them. The one I went to is in Salisbury MD and they make these cakes in 22 flavors. My husband loves the coconut version. They bake them as you do in many layers rather then slicing the cakes. They have 8 to 10 layers. If you want to see all the flavors you can go to Classic Cakes Salisbury MD and see the whole list.
I enjoyed reading all the comments about your cake, it looks amazing.
My great-grandmother made a cake very much like this with the individual baked layers but her icing was more like a chocolate glaze made with coco powder instead of baking chocolate. Hers normally had between 7-9 layers and she made 2 versions, the chocolate and a pecan that was made with an icing similar to a 7 minute icing. These cakes have been passed over the past 5 generations and we still compare them to the original “Granny Cakes”. Our family is from the lower Alabama area. These cakes have always been a staple at any family get together for as long as I can remember. I have made them during college for roommates and friends and over the years I have brought them to work/friendly gathering and I have never had anyone say that they had seen or heard of this type of cake before. It is truly amazing how much things have changed over the years and how much easier it is to share info through the great wide web. I have never seen or heard of a caramel cake. I would love to have the recipe to try that one.
My Grandmother made these. She was born in 1897 and lived in SE Alabama. my husband from OK. Had never seen one and was quite impressed with the cake!
My husbands grandmother is from Paintsville Ky and they have an annual Apple Day,, and she made apple stack cake every year and it was a lot like your cake,,, she also made 3 kinds of apple pies,,, ,regular two crusted like you see in your grocery store,,,, something called a soft apple pie and fried apple pies,,,,, and for breakfast her famous apple butter,,,,,, I know she had at least 14 layers to her stack cake,, it was legend,,,,, and so good.
My late mother, Clara (Curnutt) Truett born in 1911 said her late older sister Mae (Curnutt) Franklin made a seven layer one of these in Homer, Louisiana back in the 1930’s. Where she got the recipe is unknown since their mother never made it and my mother had never had it before. My mama said it was heavenly and never forgot that cake. They all lived in the Cotton Valley area of Louisiana until marriage. There was no other state connection. Thank you for the memory of my mother. Sincerely, Chaney (Truett) Noe. Wagoner, Oklahoma