American · Appalachian · dessert

Apple Stack Cake with Sorghum

Apple Stack Cake with Sorghum reads sweetness 6.9, richness 4.4 and salinity 3.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a American · Appalachian dessert, about 25 hr 33 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Sweetness 6.9 · Richness 4.4 · Salinity 3.6 · Fruity 3.3 · Sourness 3.1 · Warm Spice 2.2 · Funk & Ferment 1.9 · Umami 1.5 · Floral 1.3 · Earthy 1.2 · Nutty 0.7 · Bitterness 0.6

What's in it (14)

Time & effort: about 25 hr 33 min (1 hr 33 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 170.8 kcal, 3.1 g protein, 6 g fat, 38.5 g carbs

Dietary: Vegetarian · Contains dairy · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. The stack cake is a wedding cake in its origin: neighbours each brought a layer, the bride's family supplied the dried apples, and the layers were stacked and dressed on the spot. That is why the layers are thin, stiff and unfrosted — they are really cookies, closer to gingerbread than to sponge — and why the cake must sit a full day before it is cut. The apple butter migrates into the layers overnight and turns six dry discs into one moist cake. Cut it the same day and you will not understand why anyone bothers.
  2. Sorghum syrup, not molasses. Sorghum is the pressed and boiled juice of sorghum cane, made in small mills across the mountains every autumn; it is thinner, sourer and grassier than molasses and it is what gives the layers their particular tang. Muddy Pond, Oberholtzer and several Kentucky and Tennessee mills ship it. Blackstrap molasses is a different plant and it will make the cake taste bitter.
  3. Simmer the dried apples in the water in a covered pan 45 minutes, until they are completely soft and most of the water is gone. Mash them roughly with a potato masher, then stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice and cook uncovered 10 minutes more until it is thick enough to hold a line drawn with a spoon. Cool completely.
  4. Cream the softened butter, granulated sugar and sorghum syrup together 5 minutes, until light and slightly aerated. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  5. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together and add them to the batter in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, mixing just to combine. The dough will be stiff, like a rolled cookie dough.
  6. Divide it into 6 pieces. Pat each into a greased 23 cm cake tin or roll it out and cut it to a 23 cm round on a lined tray. Bake at 190 C (375 F) for 12 minutes, until the edges are set and the middle is dry to the touch. Cool the layers completely.
  7. Stack them with the apple filling between — about 150 g on each layer, spread right to the edges, nothing on top. Wrap the whole cake in a clean cloth and leave it at room temperature 24 hours before cutting. Two days is better.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.