Smith Island Cake

A Smith Island Cake is the official state cake of Maryland. It's also ridiculously complicated looking, which of course makes me want to make it. I like triumphing over detailed desserts and then breezily saying, "Oh, it was no big deal at all! I just threw it together." (See photo of kitchen below). Smith Island is an island on the Eastern Shore. I've never been there, although I did make my mom take me to Crisfield which is close by because I really liked the book Homecoming (and its follow up Dicey's Song) which are set there. The books are tragic. But there is still something alluring about life on the Eastern shore. I have always had a secret desire to work in a crab picking factory there. I think I'd be good at it.

So this cake: 8 to 10 yellow cake layers, with chocolate icing and peanut butter cups in between. It's supposed to be 10 layers but due to some messy math and inexact use of my kitchen scale, I ended up with 9 layers. I am not super upset about this given the directions for the cake included "you will know the cake is done when you put it up to your ear and you don't hear sizzling." Baking is so much less exact than people believe it to be (says the girl who measured out cake batter by ounce on a kitchen scale so the layers would be even). I am proud to say I only sustained one large and painful burn on my arm (which I will not post a picture of), which is not bad given I rotated 9 cake pans 3 times each. If only I would use pot holders, which make me feel like a lobster with fine motor control problems, instead of dishtowels. If only. I'll post a picture of the inside of the cake later. It would be seriously unclassy to show up to a social event with a slice of cake cut out already.

The dishes! Mom! Help!

Smith Island 10-Layer Cake
Icing
2 sticks butter
2-12 oz. cans evaporated milk
8 heaping Tablespoons unsweetened Cocoa
2 lbs. confectioners Sugar

Cake
2 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into chunks
5 eggs
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
1 cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup water

8 large Reese's peanut butter cups, frozen and processed in food processor into powder/small chunks

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. Don't overmix. With mixer running, slowly pour in the evaporated milk, then the vanilla and water. Mix just until uniform. Use nonstick spray to coat however many 9 inch cake pans you have. I put about 6 oz/3/4 cup of batter into each pan. Spread it around so it is evenly distributed. Make it slightly higher on the edges than the middle to create a more even layer. Bake cakes at 350 for 8 minutes. The recipe suggests 3 layers at a time. I did 4, and had to bake longer until they were finished. I baked 4 at a time for maybe 12 minutes. Let cool for five minutes and carefully remove cakes (using a knife or spatula to loosen) to finish cooling on a rack. Wash pans and repeat until all layers are baked.

Start making the icing when the first layer goes in the oven. Melt butter. Stir in evaporated milk (off heat). Whisk in cocoa until smooth, return to heat and cook on low heat for approximately 10 minutes. Don't let it boil. Remove from heat and whisk in confectioners sugar slowly. Cook slowly until thickened and will stick to back of a spoon/form a ribbon when you drizzle a spoonful.

To assemble:
Take one slightly cooled layer and spread with 1/3 to 1/2 cup frosting. Pour it in the middle and spread out to sides. I probably under iced mine in the layers in between because I had a ton of icing left over. So be generous. Don't worry if it drips off the sides. Sprinkle with 1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter cups. Add another layer, frosting, etc until you get to the last layer. Pour the frosting on top and let it drip down the sides, spread it around the sides, pour more on, even it out again, make it look pretty, etc. Sprinkle peanut butter cups on top for decoration and beautification.