Molasses Stack Cake

Sep
26

IMG_3200
Fall is probably my favorite time of the year for baking because it just calls out for all those spiced recipes that make your house smell like you’re inside a pie. Okay, in this case, a cake. Someone asked me recently if I had a recipe for apple stack cake. Apple stack cake is an Appalachian standby. In the old days, it was a popular wedding cake. Around here, a popular variation of the apple stack cake is the molasses stack cake, combining the best of both autumn worlds–apples and molasses.
IMG_3204
This recipe is a trial-and-error amalgamation of a few different old-time recipes I have, and there’s no need to wait for a wedding in the family to try it. It’s a perfect fall dessert and sure to impress everyone because, well, it’s easy but it’s not simple. This cake takes a little effort. (But be not afraid!)
IMG_3205
Printer-Friendly Printer-Friendly
Molasses Stack Cake:

4 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice
6 ounces butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 cups applesauce
1/2 cup molasses
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
enough molasses and milk to make icing

Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add the eggs, molasses, and milk to the creamed butter and sugar. Mix again. Add the creamed mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients. Stir well by hand to combine. This is not your mama’s cake batter.
IMG_3161
It’s a fairly thick batter, a cross between a cake batter and a cookie dough.

Wrap and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to an hour. Preheat the oven to 350-degrees.

Divide the dough in six equal parts. Unless you have six round cake pans, you’ll have to bake the layers a few at a time. (You can use an 8- or 9-inch cake pan. It’s no big deal.) Line the bottoms of the cake pans with parchment paper. Roll out each section of the cake batter in the cake pans. What works best for me is using my fingers to press out the batter in the pans then finish with a small measuring glass to even it out to the edges.
IMG_3166
Bake at 350-degrees for about 10 minutes–keep an eye on them. They’ll bake a little faster or slower depending on what size cake pan you’re using. Set each layer aside to cool as you bake the remaining sections.
IMG_3168
Once all the layers are baked and cooled, you’re ready to assemble your stack cake! Combine the three cups of applesauce with the 1/2 cup of molasses. Spread 1/2 cup applesauce-molasses mixture over the top of each layer as you stack the layers on top of each other.
IMG_3171
IMG_3174
IMG_3179
When you’re finished, spread a thin layer of applesauce-molasses all over the top and sides of the cake. Wrap the cake and refrigerate for 24-48 hours. The waiting time allows the applesauce-molasses mixture to infuse the layers, making them moist and tender.

Before serving, prepare the molasses icing. Add enough molasses and milk to the sifted powdered sugar to make a pourable icing. Drizzle over the top of the cake and down the sides.
IMG_3189
This is positively decadent, and very molasses-y.
IMG_3215
They knew how to eat in the old days.
IMG_3208
See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.
See All My Recipes
Printer-Friendly Printer-Friendly





Comments

  1. wkyangel says:

    Oh my! My Grandmother used to make these! I’d nearly forgotten all about them! Yes! The molasses taste is just to die for! I will be making one of these in the near future! Thank you for taking me down memory lane!

  2. Joell says:

    :happyflower:
    I love these “ole timey” recipes, thank you for this.
    Should I put the batter that I am not able to bake in the first batch in the fridge while the first ones are baking?
    Thank you.

  3. joykenn says:

    WOW! That looks decadently sweet and luscious. You mentioned an Apple Stack Cake. I’ve never run across a recipe for that. Is it just applesauce with no molasses? Got a good recipe you could post?

  4. VikingMiss says:

    I am in the process of making this (baking layers 3 & 4 currently). The house smells so good. I am wondering, after the applesauce is spread all over, how do you wrap the cake? Do you just put plastic wrap over/around it? Do you lose much of the applesauce after it’s sat for a while, or does most just soak in?

    • Suzanne McMinn says:

      You can wrap it in plastic or foil. Some of the applesauce comes off when you unwrap it, but you can just scrape it off and put it back on. 🙂 I used foil, easier to scrape the applesauce back off. Then after I iced it, I used a cake stand. You need a large cake stand to hold it, or a large cake keeper.

  5. VikingMiss says:

    Perfect! Thank you. I just wish I had applesauce I canned from last year leftover. I haven’t started this year’s applesauce yet. 🙂

Add Your Thoughts