Smith Island Cakecooks Country Food

SMITH ISLAND CAKE

Steps:

• The icing needs to completely cool and thicken, so prepare it first. Combine the butter, chocolate, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and corn syrup together in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until butter has melted. Once melted, stir occasionally as the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. Allow to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Taste (it's warm, so be careful!) Add a sprinkle of salt, if desired. I always add a pinch. Leave uncovered and set aside to thicken and cool for at least 1-2 hours or until it has a spreadable consistency. This is enough time to bake and cool the cake layers. See make ahead tip if you want to prepare ahead of time. Yields about 2 and 1/4 cups icing.
• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the thin cakes seamlessly release from the pans; they may crack and crumble otherwise. (You can reuse the parchment for each of the 9 cakes or cut 9 individual circles.)
• Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. On medium-high speed, add 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated. Do not overmix this batter. The batter will be smooth, velvety, and slightly thick.
• (There are 8 cups of batter total, so each of the 9 cakes will have slightly less than 1 cup of batter. Leave unused batter loosely covered at room temperature as cakes bake.) Pour slightly less than 1 cup of batter into prepared cake pans. Bake for 12 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The cakes are VERY thin, so they shouldn't take much longer than that. Allow to cool for a couple minutes, then carefully invert the cake onto the counter. Peel off the parchment to reuse (or use a new parchment round). Grease the warm cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment. Repeat with slightly less than 1 cup of batter per cake pan. Repeat baking, cooling, and releasing the cakes from the warm pans. Grease the warm cake pans, line with parchment, and grease the parchment. Repeat one final time. Allow all 9 layers to cool completely, about 45 minutes.
• Carefully place one layer on a serving platter or cake stand. Spoon and spread 1/4 cup of icing on top, then repeat with the rest of the cake layers and icing. Some icing will spill over the sides and that's ok! Makes a beautiful cake! Decorate the top with sprinkles, if desired.
• Set cake aside for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. This gives the icing a chance to adhere to the cake and makes slicing a little easier.
• Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

SMITH ISLAND CAKE(COOK'S COUNTRY)

Steps:

• For the frosting: Place chocolate in large bowl. Heat cream, sugar, and salt in saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar dissolves and mixture begins to simmer. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in vanilla and butter until glossy. Cover and refrigerate until icing is firm but still spreadable, about 1 hour.
• For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour two 8- or 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper. Spread one-eighth of batter (about 2/3 cup) evenly in each pan and bake until edges are golden brown and cake springs back when touched, 10 to 14 minutes. Cool on rack 5 minutes. Run a knife around pan perimeter to loosen cake, then invert onto rack to finish cooling. Cool pans to room temperature, then wipe clean and repeat process 3 more times for a total of 8 layers.
• To assemble: Place 1 cooled cake layer on serving platter. Spread 1/4 cup frosting over cake. (If frosting is too firm, let warm at room temperature 5 minutes, then stir to soften.) Top with second cake layer and additional 1/4 cup frosting. Repeat, alternating layers of cake and frosting and finishing with cake layer. Frost top and sides with remaining frosting. Serve.

SMITH ISLAND TEN-LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.
• Sift together flour, salt and baking powder.
• Mix into egg mixture one cup at a time.
• With mixer running, slowly pour in the evaporated milk, then the vanilla and water. Mix just until uniform.
• Put three serving spoonfuls of batter in each of ten 9-inch lightly greased pans, using the back of the spoon to spread evenly.
• Bake three layers at a time on the middle rack of the oven at 350° for 8 minutes. A layer is done when you hold it near your ear and you don't hear it sizzle.
• Start making the icing when the first layers go in the oven.
• Put the cake together as the layers are finished.
• Let layers cool a couple of minutes in the pans. Run a spatula around the edge of the pan and ease the layer out of the pan. Don't worry if it tears; no one will notice when the cake is finished.
• Use two and three serving spoonfuls of icing between each layer.
• Cover the top and sides of the cake with the rest of the icing. Push icing that runs onto the plate back onto the cake.
• Directions for Icing:.
• Put sugar and evaporated milk in a medium pan. Cook and stir over medium-low heat until warm. Add chocolate and cook to melt. Add butter and melt. Cook over medium heat at a slow boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add vanilla. Icing will be thin but thickens as it cools.

SMITH ISLAND CAKE

Steps:

• Pulse 4 peanut butter cups in a food processor into small chunks; transfer to a bowl. Pulse remaining peanut butter cups into a fine powder; transfer to another bowl. Chill both until ready to use.
• Heat oven to 350°F Grease four 8-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, dust with half the flour, and knock out any excess. Set aside.
• Put cake mix, 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk, half the butter, vanilla, salt, eggs, and 1/3 cup water into a large bowl; beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 10-12 minutes.
• Divide half the batter between prepared cake pans. Set remaining batter aside.
• Using the back of a spoon, spread out batter so that it covers the bottom of each pan, making it slightly thicker around the edges.
• Bake until cooked through and golden around edges, 12-14 minutes. Set aside to cool lightly, then loosen cake layers with a knife and invert onto cooling racks. Wash and dry cake pans.
• Repeat process a second time with cooking spray and remaining flour and batter.
• When all 8 cake layers have cooled, make the icing. Combine remaining milk, sugar, and cocoa in a medium pot; stir well, then add remaining butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until butter is melted and icing is shiny, 4-5 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes. Stir well.
• Spread a cake layer with about 1/4 cup of icing; sprinkle with about 1 tsp powered peanut butter cups. Top with another cake layer and repeat process to make 8 layers total. Frost outside of cake with remaining icing; sprinkle top with peanut butter cup chunks. Let sit for 2-3 hours before serving.
• The cake can be stored for up to a week refrigerated in an airtight container.