This homemade Smith Island cake features 9 thin layers of moist yellow cake covered with rich, fudgy chocolate icing. Maryland’s official state dessert is certainly a showstopper, but the individual cake layers bake and cool quickly, and the poured fudge icing makes decorating surprisingly simple.
I originally published this recipe in 2018 and have since updated it with a few small but worthwhile improvements, plus new photos and additional success tips.
If you weren’t born in Maryland, you may have no idea what Smith Island cake is. Even if you live here, you still might not know! I certainly didn’t until a reader emailed me years ago and encouraged me to try it.
After plenty of research, recipe testing, and LOTS of taste testing, let me introduce you to my homemade version of Maryland’s official state dessert: Smith Island cake. The updated recipe includes a little more baking powder for better lift, slightly less sugar in the cake, and more chocolate in the fudge icing.
Only a handful of states have an official state dessert, so you know this one is extra special!
What Is Smith Island Cake?
Smith Island is located in the Chesapeake Bay and is only accessible by boat. The cake that shares its name has a long history on the island, as I learned, where it was traditionally sent along with watermen during the autumn oyster harvest. The cooked fudge icing was especially practical because it kept longer than other types of frosting.
Today, Smith Island cakes are famous for their many ultra-thin layers (often 8 or more!) and you’ll find versions in flavors like lemon, coconut, carrot cake, and strawberry.
Here, we’re sticking with the classic: thin layers of moist yellow cake covered in rich chocolate fudge icing. Sprinkles are completely optional, but I’ll always encourage them!
If there’s one thing to know about Smith Island cake, it’s that this cake is exceptionally moist. The chocolate icing settles into all those pencil-thin cake layers, so nearly every bite has both soft yellow cake and rich fudge icing.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
The ingredients for Smith Island cake are fairly simple and straightfoward, but a few are especially important:
- Butter: You’ll use unsalted butter in both the cake and the chocolate icing. For the cake batter, make sure it’s properly softened to room temperature so it can cream with the sugar.
- Buttermilk: This gives the yellow cake layers their exceptionally soft, moist texture. I don’t recommend substituting regular milk here.
- Bittersweet Chocolate: I prefer bittersweet chocolate in the icing to balance its sweetness. Use quality chocolate rather than chocolate chips, which don’t melt as smoothly. Looking for “baking bars” sold in the baking aisle. I like Ghirardelli brand. You need 6 ounces.
- Heavy Cream: The base of the cooked fudge icing, giving it a smooth, rich consistency.
- Corn Syrup: Just 2 teaspoons gives the chocolate icing a little extra shine. It’s completely optional and can be left out.
- Vanilla Extract: There’s plenty in both the cake and icing for flavor. Reach for pure vanilla extract and not imitation. You can even use homemade vanilla extract if you have a batch going!
You’ll also need baking powder and soda, flour, salt, sugar, and eggs.
The Smith Island Cake Layers
At its core, this is a 9-layer yellow cake. It sounds intimidating, but the process is actually much more manageable than you might expect.
The yellow cake batter is made with familiar ingredients including all-purpose flour, creamed butter and sugar, eggs, and buttermilk. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature so the batter combines smoothly and evenly. A little extra baking powder in this updated version gives the thin layers some additional lift without making them too puffy to stack.
You’ll have about 7 cups of batter, and I divide it between nine 9-inch cake pans, using a little less than 1 cup of batter for each (around 200-210g of batter per pan). Don’t worry if you don’t own 9 cake pans (who does?!); you’ll simply bake the layers in batches.
Spread the batter across the pans as evenly as you can. It will look like a very thin layer of batter and that’s exactly what you want.
And don’t skip the parchment paper. These thin cakes are delicate, so lining the pans with greased parchment paper rounds helps ensure they release without tearing.
Why Bake the Layers Individually?
Instead of baking a few thick cakes and slicing each horizontally into multiple layers, you bake each thin layer individually. This is easier than trying to evenly slice cakes into 9 delicate layers, and it helps each layer bake evenly. And because the cakes are so thin, they only need about 11-12 minutes in the oven.
If you have 3 cake pans, you can bake 3 layers at a time. If you have more pans, bake more at once. If you only have 1 or 2, that’s fine, too; just continue working in batches.
The good news about such thin cake layers is that they cool quickly, too. Let them cool completely before assembling, and handle them gently because they’re quite fragile.
Cooked Chocolate Fudge Icing
While the yellow cake layers are delicious, the cooked chocolate fudge icing is really the hallmark of Smith Island cake. The icing is made on the stovetop and needs time to cool and thicken before you assemble the cake, so I recommend making it first. It can cool while you prepare, bake, and cool the cake layers.
For this updated recipe, I increased the amount of chocolate from 4 ounces to 6 ounces for a thicker icing with even more chocolate flavor.
Combine butter, chopped chocolate, sugar, heavy cream, and optional corn syrup on the stovetop. I like bittersweet chocolate here because its deeper flavor balances the sweetness of the icing. Finish with vanilla extract and a pinch of salt.
Boil the icing for 2 minutes, or until it reaches about 220°F (104°C).
Make sure you give the icing enough time to cool before assembling the cake. It will be quite thin when it first comes off the stove (similar to warm hot fudge sauce or chocolate ganache) and that’s completely normal. As it cools, it develops a thicker, spreadable consistency, and then sets even more once layered on the cake.
Assembling Your 9-Layer Smith Island Cake
Once the cakes are cool and the icing has thickened, assembly is surprisingly straightforward.
Place one cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate, spoon some chocolate icing on top, and spread it into a thin layer. Repeat with the remaining cakes and icing.
Don’t worry about making this cake look perfectly polished. Some icing will drip down the sides as you work, much like Boston Cream Pie and Chocolate Chip Cake, and that’s part of its charm.
And once you slice into it, you can really appreciate what makes Smith Island cake so special: layer after layer of soft yellow cake with chocolate fudge icing in every single bite.
Nine layers, plenty of chocolate fudge icing, and one seriously unforgettable cake. This is Smith Island cake!
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Smith Island Cake
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 36 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 12-14 servings
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Smith Island cake is the official dessert of Maryland. This stunning cake features 9 delicious yellow cake layers and chocolate icing layers. The chocolate icing seeps down into the cake layers creating the most deliciously moist cake you’ll ever taste. Garnish with sprinkles for an extra special treat!
Ingredients
Chocolate Icing
- 6 Tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces
- 6 ounces (170g) bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped*
- 1 and 2/3 cups (335g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons corn syrup (optional, for shine)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt (optional, to taste)
Cake
- 3 and 3/4 cups (443g) sifted all-purpose flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 and 3/4 cups (420ml) buttermilk, at room temperature*
- optional: rainbow sprinkles for garnish
Instructions
- Make the icing first: The icing needs to cool completely and thicken before assembling the cake, so prepare it first. Combine the butter, chocolate, granulated sugar, heavy cream, and corn syrup in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the butter and chocolate have melted. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, as the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil. (You should see bubbling in the center of the saucepan, not just around the edges.) Once boiling, cook for 2 minutes, or until the mixture reaches 220°F (104°C). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Carefully taste and add a pinch of salt, if desired. Leave uncovered and set aside to cool and thicken for at least 2 hours, or until it reaches a spreadable consistency. This gives you plenty of time to bake and cool the cake layers. See the Make Ahead Tip if preparing in advance. 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 rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the thin cakes seamlessly release from the pans; they may crack and crumble otherwise. (If it’s helpful, see my parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post. You can also reuse the parchment rounds for each batch or cut 9 individual rounds.)
- Make the cake batter: 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 attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 5 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone 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 silicone 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.
- Bake the layers: You’ll have about 7 cups of batter total, so each of the 9 cake layers will use slightly less than 1 cup of batter, or about 200–210g. Keep any unused batter loosely covered at room temperature while the other layers bake. Pour slightly less than 1 cup (200–210g) of batter into each prepared cake pan and spread evenly. Bake for 11–12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The layers are VERY thin, so they shouldn’t need much longer than this. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for a couple minutes, then carefully invert each onto parchment paper on the counter. Peel off the parchment round from the bottom of the cake; you can reuse it for the next batch or use a new one. Once the pans are cool enough to handle, grease them again, line with parchment rounds, and grease the parchment. Repeat baking the remaining batter until you have baked all 9 layers. Allow all of the cake layers to cool completely, about 1 hour.
- Assemble the cake: Carefully place one layer on a serving platter, cake turntable, 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. Decorate the top with sprinkles, if desired.
- Set the cake aside for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. This gives the icing time to set and makes the cake easier to slice. You can refrigerate the cake during this time, if desired.
- Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for 1–2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled completely, covered tightly, and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. The icing can also be prepared ahead of time, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. The assembled cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving. For the best taste and texture, though, I recommend enjoying this cake fresh.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Medium Saucepan | 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Whisk | Glass Mixing Bowl | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cake Turntable | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- 9 Layers: The 9 thin cake layers are baked individually rather than baking 3 or 4 thicker cakes and slicing them horizontally. This is actually easier and helps the layers bake more evenly—and because they’re so thin, each batch only takes about 11–12 minutes in the oven. If you have multiple 9-inch cake pans, you can bake several layers at once. If you only have 1 or 2 pans, simply work in batches until all 9 layers are baked.
- Chocolate in Icing: I prefer bittersweet chocolate for a rich chocolate flavor that balances the sweetness of the icing. For a sweeter icing, use semi-sweet chocolate. You need 6 ounces (170g) of chocolate, which is more than 1 standard 4-ounce baking chocolate bar, so be sure to have 2 bars on hand. Use baking chocolate bars, not chocolate chips, which don’t melt as smoothly.
- Flour: Sift flour before measuring.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk (an acid) is required for this cake recipe. If you don’t have any, you can make a DIY buttermilk substitute. Add 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough whole milk to the same measuring cup until it reaches 1 and 3/4 cups. (In a pinch, lower fat or nondairy milks work for this soured milk, but the cake won’t taste as moist or rich.) Stir it around and let sit for 5 minutes. The homemade “buttermilk” will be somewhat curdled and ready to use in the recipe.
Reader Comments and Reviews
SO delicious! We bought a Smith Island cake a few months ago and everyone loved it, so when my husband’s birthday rolled around, our kids requested that I try making one. It was actually easier than a lot of other cakes, despite all the layers, because you don’t have to fuss with splitting them, and without the splits it’s much easier to make the icing go on smoothly without picking up lots of crumbs. I made eight cakes total so I could measure out a cup of batter for each pan; we already had 3 9-inch pans and we were able to borrow another, so I only had to do two batches in the oven. I think they cooked for 13 minutes each in our slightly unreliable oven. And I didn’t bother greasing the parchment paper, just the pan; the paper was pretty glossy, so it released well and came off the cake fine. After reading the reviews, I made 1.5 times the amount of icing, which was perfect to give each layer a nice coating and also frost the sides. Birthday boy, kids, and grandparents (we’re in a bubble with them) all raved. Thanks for another great dessert experience!
Yo! You obviously know that it should be baked in 9 pans, but… really? Who has 9 8″ or 9″ pans? So thanks for highlighting our state’s randomly awesome official dessert, to go along with the Checkerspot butterfly, the rockfish, the country’s BEST flag, the Black-Eyed Susan, jousting, Natty Boh (um…) and Old Bay.
It’s such a tiny, diverse, and awesome state. Thanks for showing it off!
I accepted a challenge from a friend and made this cake for a Preakness party. It was a big hit!! I realized after sparsely icing the first 4 layers there wouldn’t be enough so made some more. I think making 1 1/2 times the icing recipe is perfect!! Wanted to upload a picture but doesn’t seem possible. Glad I accepted the challenge – great cake!
Excited to try this! My husband asked for some version of a Smith Island cake for his birthday and the minute your recipe came up in search, I knew the one I was going to try. Native Marylanders and have never baked one.
I love your recipes and make them every weekend! I made and iced the Smith Island cake yesterday to have for my birthday tomorrow and forgot to put it in the fridge. It sat out overnight – about 15 hours. Did I ruin it? Can we still eat it? I’m so sad!
Hi Melissa, As long as it was covered it should be fine! After decorating anything with buttercream or cream cheese frosting, it’s fine for 1 day at room temperature. After that, I would definitely refrigerate it. I’ve never had any problems leaving frosted desserts at room temperature for a day
I’m curious about layering these very thin cakes. Would it help to partially freeze them so they wouldn’t be so prone to breaking? What do you think?
This cake was amazing! I was very hesitant to make it because I thought it looked very difficult but it wasn’t too bad! My only advice is to have at least 3 pans- I only had two and it took a long time to bake all the layers. Also I multiplied the frosting by 1.5 and frosted the whole cake. Everyone said it was one of the best cakes they ever had.
I love your blog and your recipes are great but for a true Smith Island cake the chocolate frosting is poured on the outside so it completely envelopes the cake, but just the top layer.
You’re right and thank you for sharing! This is simply my rendition of my state’s cake.
Hello from Argentina ❤️ I would love to make this cake, but we are only four in my family. Could it be possible to make it in a 6 in cake? Should i make half the batter? And how much batter in each cake? Im sorry for all the questions (and the english) but with these days where we cant leave the house, we have to bake, bake, bake!
Hi Florencia! For best results, I recommend skipping this recipe if you don’t have the right size pan. You can bake my 6 inch cake instead and use this frosting for it. Halve this frosting if doing so.
Made the Smith Island Cake for the 1st time and it was good, but I think I may have overbaked the cake layers – I would go 10 or 11 minutes rather than the 12, but it could just be my oven.
Delicious!!! Thanks for the recipe.
Can you make this cake with gluten free flour?
Hi Sally thanks for your recipe. I have a question. I have been hesitant to try multilayered cakes because I wonder what happens as you leave the batter out as you bake so many layers. I’ve always been under the impression that you have to bake right away since the baking soda & baking powder have already mixed with liquid and leaving it out could cause the cake to collapse.
Could you shed some light because obviously it’s working for you. Thank you!!
Hi Mgwn! It could only pose a problem when you’re using just baking powder. Plus, there’s no issue with these cakes since they are VERY thin without a ton of rising anyway. Hope you love it!
Getting ready to bake this beautiful Smith Island Cake for the first time. Is there any special way to stack rhe layers? Should they be bottom side up? Or does it matter? My concern is the rounded tops of a traditional layer cake could make this tall stack a little unsteady. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Can’t wait to try this!
Hi Tori, It really doesn’t matter which way you stack them! The layers are pretty thin which means they bake more evenly and shouldn’t have the same dome shape that thicker layers usually have. I you love it!
Well, I failed, but it’s my first fail from any of your recipes, and I’m sure it was my fault. The cake was impossible to spread with 1 cup of batter in a 9 inch pan. It would never make it. I used <1.5 cups and got 5 layers. The cake came out a tad dry and dense. I probably overbaked.
The icing, once cooled, was grainy and too sweet with the cake. I definitely got the sugar amount right and used bittersweet chocolate, but I guess I didn't cook the sugar out. It was totally smooth when I tasted it hotter and then warm, but once cool it was very grainy.
I wanted to make this for my son's birthday but I might go with a different recipe that I can't ruin! This is probably the worst cake that I've ever made (but my fault!).
My daughter is turning 16, and I was thinking of making this cake for her sweet 16 celebration, and the thought of making 16 layers came to mind. Do you think it could work (doubling the recipe)?
That would be absolutely amazing!! I suggest making the recipe twice instead of doubling (working with too much batter at once leads to over or under-mixing and a dense cake). I hope she has a great birthday!
Thank you! If I get cold feet, I’ll just count the icing as a layer as well…
Hi Sally, I made this cake for my daughter’s birthday and used your advice to make 8 layers using the cup measurement. It is very tasty! I’m still struggling to create fluffy homemade cakes. This one is better but again feels too dense. I seem to be struggling between overmixing and mixing the dough enough to add ‘air.’ Any suggestions? I try and mix it as long as your recipes states but even as a seasoned (!) baker, I still am working on the balance. Thanks for the recipes, you are the one site I follow daily.
Hi Rose! One method I’ve been playing around with lately is the Reverse Creaming Method. This method of mixing cake batter sort of switches up the order that the ingredients are mixed and it produces incredible results. Some of my favorite cakes. Try this one: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/strawberry-shortcake-cake/
I love, love, love to bake! I live in MD and have visited Smith Island. While there I purchased the Smith Island cookbook from the little museum, so I already had the recipe for the requisite 10 layers, but I like this recipe better because it calls for butter milk (official recipe calls for evaporated milk). I did use the fudge frosting from my cookbook, for some reason it makes a smidge more.
This is a great cake, and I was able to eek out 10 layers on my second pass with this recipe.
Thank you!
Hi! Making this now, but I added the vanilla extract to all the other fudge ingredients and boiled it all up on the stove together. Is that okay or do I have to restart? Hope you can respond soon!
Hi Lee, if it tastes ok then go ahead and use it!
Thanks! Now I’m curious – what’s the reason for adding the vanilla extract after the mixture is finished boiling?
Hi Lee! Most vanilla extract is alcohol based and if you add it to direct heat, the alcohol and (most of) the favor burn off.
Hi Sally, what an incredible looking cake and I can’t wait to try it! I have one question. How long can the unused batter sit at the counter, as the effect of baking soda goes down if left for long?
I’ve had the batter sit at room temperature for up to 45 minutes and it’s just fine.
Hi Sally, I made this cake for my husband’s birthday and it came out amazingly good. And it’s so easy to make! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. Only problem I had was, the top of the layers were rounded, so i had to cut them to flatten before staking.
Hi. Sally, how would you do this in a red velvet style cake with cream cheese icing or caramel icing because you want that thin look, so the layers will show. Thanks.
Hi Eddie, I recommend starting with this red velvet cake recipe (https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/red-velvet-layer-cake-with-cream-cheese-frosting/) and baking it in thin layers like my Smith Island Cake. Let me know how it turns out!
You’re always my go to for recipes! I shared your pumpkin coffee cake just two days ago. I am SO thrilled to see this cake in your index. Also thrilled to see you have a red velvet recipe in the comments so I can try to make a Red Velvet smith island cake!!! Cant wait! Thanks for being a great resource!!
Made this and it received RAVE reviews. I also made your chocolate buttercream icing and then iced the whole cake for a more polished final look. Next time I think I’ll make a bit more batter and glaze and make another few layers for even more height.
Start to finish (with some cooling, inactive time), it took me 3 hours. Well worth it!
I’m glad it was a hit, Heather! I
Thank you so much!! I am so excited to try it!! Have you frozen this cake? I still have half left and DO NOT want to throw it away but probably shouldn’t eat it three days in a row! Haha!
Yes! It freezes beautifully.
Does this cake travel well or should the chocolate fudge frosting be made when you are about to serve? I am hoping to make this the day before a family gathering…
Hi Tanya, I recommend making the cake and frosting the day before and assembling that day. See the make ahead tips at the end of the recipe for exact directions. Enjoy!
I finally had the time to make this cake and I am so glad I did. Instead of the chocolate I made it with alternating layers of Sally’s vanilla buttercream icing and homemade strawberry jam. Now my whole my family is trying to debate whether is it just as good or better than Sally’s strawberry cake! My dad has been to Smith Island and he said it was just as good maybe slightly better than some of the cakes he has ordered there.
I know it looks like a lot of work but everyone please try making this at least once, its so easy to make it any flavor you want. You wont regret it, my cake barely lasted 24 hours.
Thanks again for such an amazing recipe!
I’m so happy your dad approved!! Vanilla and strawberry sounds like the perfect summer dessert!
OMG, this cake is AMAZING!!! Had no idea what it would taste like but was intrigued so I decided to make it. I think this might be my new favorite cake! Thank you, Sally, for another incredible recipe!