This old-fashioned apple stack cake is a classic for a reason. Many people make it during the holiday season. We make it with apple butter, but it’s also been known to be made with dried apples.
If you are a fan of old fashioned cakes you will want to try this Southern Jam Cake. It’s a wonderful cake and has been in our family for over 100 years. We have it every Christmas and it’s one of our favorite traditions.
❤️WHY WE LOVE THIS RECIPE
This apple stack cake is a little time-consuming, but it’s a wonderful cake. The hardest part is making the layers, and they don’t have to be perfect! This would be a great cake to add to your holiday and to enjoy making with family. I know a family that makes it every year, and it’s a tradition they have passed down through the generations.
HISTORY OF THE APPALACHIAN APPLE STACK CAKE
Appalachian folklore says this cake was a celebration cake, often for weddings. It was originally made with lard, but eventually, with the creation of shortening, that changed and also made the shelf-life much longer. Many people make this cake with dried apples, but it has also been made with apple butter. We chose to use apple butter since it seems to be what most people have on hand or can find at the grocery store.
🍽️HOW TO MAKE
Making the layers for this cake takes the longest, as does deciding on how many layers you plan to make. We made 7 layers for this cake, and it was amazing. This cake needs to rest and can be made a few days in advance. The longer the apple butter can soak into the layers, the better this cake will be.
We doubled our recipe to make this cake. The original recipe makes a 5-layer cake, but we doubled it to make a 7-layer cake and then made a separate cake of 3 layers.
Printable recipe in recipe card below.
⭐TIP
This is a cake that needs time to rest so you will definitely want to make it in advance. It’s perfect for the holiday season because it gets better with time. Make this one 3 days before and you will have dessert out of the way.
OTHER OLD FASHIONED DESSERTS
STORING & SERVING SIZE
We store this in an airtight container and it makes about 14 servings. It’s gonna depend on how you cut the cake.
Appalachian Apple Stack Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup shortening I used crisco
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 cup molasses I used sorghum, can use any kind
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 3 eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 to 2 1/2 cups apple butter
- Powdered sugar for sprinkling on top.
Instructions
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Combine shortening, sugar, molasses, buttermilk and eggs in a bowl. Mix with mixer. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice in another bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix.
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I used 10 inch round cake pans (you could use 8 or 9 inch). Spray your pans with cooking spray each time. Spread a layer of batter in your pans. I used a regular kitchen knife and spread it like you are spreading frosting. Spread the batter about an inch thick. You can spread thicker if you want thicker layers.
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Bake layers in a preheated 400 degree oven 12 to 15 minutes until centers test done. Cover each layer with apple butter as you stack them. This makes about 5 layers. If you want more layers double the recipe. You can sprinkle powdered sugar on top of cake.
Notes
NEW COOKBOOK! Perfect for Christmas!🎁
Our Southern Sweets Cookbook is 100 of our most popular, old fashioned, classic desserts. Order yours today. Hardback and Softback available.
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