The Appalachian Stack Cake
A unique Appalachian food from days gone by is known as the stack cake or an apple stack cake. You don't see them very often anymore but they were once a staple of holidays and celebrations throughout Appalachia.
The cake harks back to the 19th century. Folklore states that stack cakes were often used for marrying couples in Appalachia as a substitute for a more traditional (and more expensive) wedding cake. Friends and family would each come bringing a layer to help build up the stack. The bride's family would then spread the apple butter between each layer as the stack was built up. It was said that the popularity of the couple could be determined by the height of the finished cake - the more friends and family attending the wedding led to a larger cake.
The layers of a stack cake are made from a mix using standard ingredients such as flour, eggs, and buttermilk. Often, sorghum molasses is used as a sweetener instead of refined sugar. Each layer of the cake is made in a similar size and appearance to a pancake.
As each finished layer is placed on the cake plate, the cook will then use apple butter or a similar, usually apple-based, substitute to spread on top to get ready for the next layer until the final layer is placed on top. A finished stack cake usually has between 6 and 8 layers to it.
If you've never tasted this traditional Appalachian creation, you're missing out. The assemblage of thin, crispy-edged cake layers spread with reconstituted dried apples is a taste of history in its purest form.
(Shared by Kim Wright)