Apple Stack Cake with Miss Sophie

Hey, guys!  It's Wednesday and Miss Sophie has an awesome apple cake recipe for you.  And it was so fun to make something I have never made before and photograph it.   This Appalachian Apple Stack Cake is good; not just your average, sort of "good", but down-to-earth, "I-love-my-mema" kind of good.  

The filling is made with dried apples and cooked with brown sugar, molasses and spices.  

Click to read more  about this beautiful cake and its intriguing history behind it from Miss Sophie on Savannah Morning News.

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Apple Stack Cake
Recipe of Miss Sophie with a little modification
Used with permission

Dried Apple filling:
3 (6 ounce) packages dried sliced apples, coarsely chopped
6 cups water
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Cake:
1/3 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup molasses
2 1/2 teaspoons sugar for sprinkling

Preparation

For dried apple filling:
Stir together apples and 6 cups water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until tender. Stir in sugar, spices, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Return mixture to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 to 15 minutes or until most of liquid has evaporated. Cool completely.

For the cake:
Beat shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add egg, beating until yellow disappears.

Combine flour and next 3 ingredients. Stir together buttermilk and molasses in a large measuring cup. Gradually add flour mixture to shortening mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; beat until blended. The dough will be like cookie dough.

Divide dough into 5 equal portions It is easier to roll out the dough into a disc with a rolling pin to fit the size of your pan than to press into pan.  Place each thin disc in a 9-inch greased and floured cake pan or cast-iron skillet, and firmly press the edge of the dough with floured fingers into the edge of the pan. Prick dough several times with a fork. Sprinkle each layer evenly with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Repeat with remaining dough.

Bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until golden brown.  Three 9-inch pans fit in a oven rack.  Repeat procedure as needed to bake in pans. Remove layers from pans; cool completely on wire racks. The cake will be the texture of dried biscuit.

Spread 1 1/2 cups Dried Apple Filling between each layer to within 1/2 inch of edge, beginning and ending with a cake layer. (Save your prettiest cake layer for the top).  Loosely cover cake, and let stand 1 or 2  days at room temperature.

Personal Note: I had my doubts about this cake at first, but after one full day, the cake absorbed the delicious spiced apple filling, and turned it into wonderfully moist and tasty cake.