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Apple stack cake on a plate with slice taken out

Apple Stack Cake

This cake was a tradition at Appalachian weddings.

This recipe was featured on our social media series "Flavors of the Mountain Past."

In Appalachia, a popular treat for holidays and special occasions is apple stack cake. A traditional version of the cake included molasses cake batter, which made a crisp cake like shortbread. The cake filling often included apple butter, applesauce, or other fruit fillings. Legend has it that stack cakes were a substitute for expensive wedding cakes. Each guest would bring a layer to a wedding to create a whole stack cake. However, most stack cakes sit for a day or two for the layers to soften. Some other common names for the dessert are Confederate old-fashioned stack cake and Kentucky pioneer washday cake. 

Here is a recipe for a more modern-day apple stack cake. It is still highly suggested to refrigerate the cake for a few days for the best results!

Recipe for apple stack cake

Image of cake: Wiki Commons.

Recipe from Taste of Home.