Appalachian Apple Stack Cake

Prep: 90 mins

Cook: 90 mins

Cake Resting: 24 hrs

Total: 27 hrs

Servings: 16 servings

Yield: 1 cake

Unlike most layer cakes, the Appalachian stack cake is not meant to be perfectly shaped or proper. Like a quilt, each cake is as unique as its maker. 

Aside from preparing the apple butter, forming and baking the “stacks” is the most involved part of the recipe. Five layers sounds like a lot, but the dough resembles bread or cookie dough, making the layers unfussy and easy to handle just out of the oven. Once assembled, the cake sits at room temperature, looks impressive, and only gets better with time. 

The History of the Appalachian Stack Cake

Appalachian folklore tells a story of the stack cake as the quintessential celebration cake, an alternative to costly—or simply inaccessible—wedding cakes. Using shortening in place of butter extends its shelf life, a tradition that originally helped with the economy of making and transporting a cake across uncertain terrain. Originally, the cake was likely made with lard, as shortening was not invented until 1910, and stack cake predates that.

Using Dried Apples vs. Apple Butter

My great grandmother always kept dried apples on hand, holdovers from apple harvest season, to make her own apple butter, but you can skip this step and use any store-bought or ready-made apple butter of choice. All stack cake recipes share one strict instruction: you must wait at least a day before eating it. Legend has it that folks who eat a stack cake too soon will wonder what all the fuss is about.

About Molasses, Sorghum, and Cane Syrup

Both molasses and cane syrup are generated during the process of making refined sugar. When sugar cane is processed, its juice is extracted and boiled several times to produce sugar crystals. Each boil yields a thick, sweet syrup with different properties. 

Cane syrup, dark golden brown, toasty, and sugary sweet, comes first. Molasses, slightly darker in color and sweet but sharp in flavor, follows. Sorghum syrup (often labeled “sorghum molasses”) is made by the same method but from the sorghum plant instead of sugar cane. The similar viscosity and sugar content of these syrups makes them easily swapped in many recipes.

I love using molasses, which can be easier to find than sorghum syrup, for a cake that balances gingerbread spices with the smoky sweetness of a molasses cookie.

A Cake to Eat All Week Long

In my family, things like apple butter, molasses, and shortening are pantry staples—not necessarily for eating every day, but to have on hand at a moment’s notice. The idea is that you never know when cause for celebration may arise. 

For my great grandmother, a cozy rainy day in early spring was occasion enough to give new life to the dried apples from the fall. Her stack cake would sit in an aluminum cake tin for nibbling all week long and it might, if it lasted, find its way to the church potluck on Sunday. Serve this dish at room temperature with powdered sugar if desired; serve with fresh whipped cream and hot coffee or tea.

Tips for Making an Appalachian Stack Cake

• Don’t worry if you’re low on cake pans—supplement with a cast-iron skillet on hand or bake the stacks in batches, if needed. Just make sure to keep resting dough moist with plastic wrap or a damp clean towel.
• The easiest way to chop dried apples—Chopping dried apples requires some elbow grease, but don’t give up! Make sure your cutting board is sturdy, and take breaks. A sprinkle of salt and sugar helps keep apples from sticking to the knife (or themselves).
• Making the apple butter—Some recipes call for boiled cider or fresh apple cider in the apple butter filling, but water works well, too. A splash of apple cider vinegar brightens the dried apples and adds some depth of flavor without the need for multiple cups of fresh apple cider.
• Treat your batter more like a loose cookie dough—It’s meant to be handled, and using vegetable shortening enables you to handle it a bit more than you might with a buttered dough. Use light hands, but move them with confidence.
• If your dough feels tough—Add extra buttermilk or whole milk 1 teaspoon at a time until it feels more manageable; note that dough should not be wet like batter but more like cookie dough, just pliable.
• The layers will soften—Think of each layer of this stack cake as a large, spongey molasses cookie. It’s okay if it’s firm out of the oven, as it’s meant to soak up the moisture of the apple butter over time.

«A satisfying hearty crumb, tender middle and moist especially around the layers. Warm and sweet, spicy notes. Like a big stack of molasses cookies that are extra tender and dressed with apple butter. » — The Spruce Eats Test Kitchen

A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

For the Filling:

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

• 4 cups packed (260 grams) dried apples (from three 4-ounce packages)

• 3/4 cup packed (150 grams) light brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 6 cups water, divided

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

For the Cake

• Cooking spray

• 5 cups (574 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for surface

• 1/2 cup (115 grams) granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature

• 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses

• 1 large egg, room temperature

• 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening 

• Powdered sugar, for topping

Steps to Make It

Prepare the Filling:

1. Gather the ingredients. 

   

2. Whisk together 1/2 teaspoon fine salt and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside. 

   

3. Coarsely chop 4 cups packed (260 grams) dried apples (from three 4-ounce packages) into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces, sprinkling occasionally with the salt mixture to prevent the apples from sticking to the knife. Reserve any remaining salt mixture in the same bowl. Set the apples aside. 

   

4. Add 3/4 cup packed (150 grams) light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon unsulphured molasses, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg to the remaining salt and sugar mixture. Stir until the ingredients are combined, the molasses is incorporated, and the mixture is fragrant and bright brown, about 30 seconds. 

   

5. Place the apples and the sugar mixture in a medium Dutch oven, adding water to cover, about 4 cups. Bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour or until apples are jammy, dark brown, and tender, adding the remaining water, 1/4 cup at a time as needed, as the water evaporates and soaks into the apples to prevent sticking. 

   

6. Once the apples are cooked to the desired consistency, add 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar. Remove from the heat and use a potato masher or immersion blender to break up the cooked apples and syrup until it has the consistency of apple butter (it’s okay if some chunks remain). Set aside until ready to use. You should have about 3 1/3 cups.

   

Make the Cakes:

1. Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. 

   

2. Whisk together 5 cups (574 grams) all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup (115 grams) granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a large bowl until combined. 

   

3. Whisk together 1 cup whole buttermilk, room temperature, 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses, and 1 large egg, room temperature in a medium bowl until fully incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

   

4. Add 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening to the flour mixture, using a fork to press it into the flour until the mixture resembles sand and no large chunks remain. 

   

5. Drizzle the buttermilk mixture over the flour mixture. Using a rubber spatula, gently but firmly fold the mixture together until fully combined and the batter resembles cookie dough, about 1 minute. 

   

6. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into five equal pieces (8 1/2 to 9 ounces each). Gently form into balls and cover with a clean, damp tea towel to prevent the dough from drying out. 

   

7. Adding flour to the bottom of a measuring cup or your hands as needed and working with 3 portions of dough, gently press 1 dough piece into each of 3 prepared cake pans, being sure to meet the edges. The dough will be about 1/4-inch thick. Keep the remaining 2 dough pieces covered with a damp towel.

   

8. Bake the cakes on the center oven rack, rotating from back to front halfway through the baking time, until the centers of the cakes bounce back when gently pressed, 14 to 16 minutes. Repeat the process with the remaining 2 dough pieces.

   

Assemble the Cake:

1. Remove the cakes from the oven, and immediately turn one cake layer onto a cake plate or platter. 

   

2. Evenly spread about 3/4 cup of apple butter mixture on top of the cake layer. 

   

3. As the cake layers are finished baking, repeat the process 3 more times. Top with the remaining cake layer. 

   

4. Wrap tightly but gently using at least two layers of plastic wrap (be careful not to tug on the cake layers). Set aside at room temperature for at least 2 days or up to 7 days before serving. 

   

5. When ready to serve, decorate as desired with powdered sugar.

   

How to Store

Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and store in a cool place at room temperature for up to 1 week. For even longer storage, wrap it tightly and refrigerate it for up to 2 weeks. Bring the cake to room temperature before serving.

Feeling Adventurous? Try This:

• Molasses substitute—Substitute honey or 1 tablespoon brown sugar for molasses in the apple butter filling, if desired.
• Use sorghum instead of molasses—Sorghum syrup can be used as a 1:1 substitute for molasses.
• Use apple cider in the filling—Substitute up to 2 cups of water in the filling with apple cider for a sweeter, more syrupy apple flavor in the filling
• Use store-bought apple butter—Jarred apple butter (no sugar added) between layers can be used as a substitute for fresh stewed apples, about 3/4 cup per layer.

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 16
Amount per serving
Calories	341
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g	9%
Saturated Fat 3g	14%
Cholesterol 17mg	6%
Sodium 287mg	12%
Total Carbohydrate 66g	24%
Dietary Fiber 3g	9%
Total Sugars 37g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 1mg	3%
Calcium 82mg	6%
Iron 3mg	15%
Potassium 326mg	7%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.