Smith Island Cake

Name: Smith Island Cake
Yield: Serves 10 to 12
Cuisine: Mid-Atlantic
Ingredients: 10 ounces, bittersweet chocolate, chopped; 1 cup, heavy cream; 1 cup (7 ounces), sugar; 1/4 teaspoon, salt; 1 teaspoon, vanilla extract; 8 tablespoons (1 stick), unsalted butter, softened; 2½ cups (10 ounces), cake flour; 1¼ teaspoons, baking powder; ¼ teaspoon, baking soda; ¾ teaspoon, salt; 1¾ cups (12¼ ounces), sugar; 1 cup, buttermilk, room temperature; 10 tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted and cooled; 3 , large eggs, separated, plus 3 large yolks, room temperature; 3 tablespoons, vegetable oil; 2 teaspoons, vanilla extract; Pinch , cream of tartar

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Appears in Cook's Country February/March 2009

Desserts or Baked Goods

Mid-Atlantic

Cakes

Great American Cakes

The pride of Smith Island, Maryland—and the state's official dessert.

SERVES10 to 12

TIME2½ hours plus 1 hour chilling and 1 hour cooling

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Smith Island, Maryland, may be a small place, but it boasts a cake with a reputation so grand, it recently became the official state dessert. With its multiple cake layers and rich, fudgy frosting, Smith Island cake looked impressive, yet d...

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