Traditional Smith Island Cake

Name: Traditional Smith Island Cake
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar; 4 large eggs; 1 tablespoon vanilla extract; 1 cup whole milk; 1 cup unsalted butter for frosting; 3 cups powdered sugar; 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder; 1/4 cup evaporated milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A beautiful nine layer cake filled with thin yellow sponge and topped with rich, fudgy chocolate icing.

By Recipes By Nani· 🌍 American· August 25, 2026

recipesbynani.com

Prep

45 minutes

Cook

60 minutes

Total

1 hour 45 minutes

Serves

This classic dessert is the official state cake of Maryland for a good reason. It is famous for having many thin, delicate layers of yellow cake stacked with plenty of smooth chocolate frosting between each one.

While it looks quite impressive on a serving platter, it is actually very fun to make. My best tip is to use a kitchen scale to ensure each layer gets the exact same amount of batter, which keeps your stack perfectly even.

🧺 Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk
1 cup unsalted butter for frosting
3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

👩‍🍳Instructions

1
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease your cake pans.
2
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
3
In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then beat in the eggs and vanilla.
4
Gradually add the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, stirring until the batter is smooth.
5
Spread a thin layer of batter into your prepared pans and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes per layer until lightly golden.
6
Cool the cake layers completely on a wire rack before you start frosting.
7
To make the icing, beat the butter, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, evaporated milk, and vanilla together until smooth and spreadable.
8
Stack the cake layers one by one, spreading a thin coating of icing between each layer and over the top and sides of the finished cake.

💡 Tips

Store this cake at room temperature in a cake carrier to keep it moist for up to three days. It tastes even better the next day after the flavors have had time to settle into the layers.

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