Merry Christmas, everyone! Thanks, Elva, for letting us share this recipe. Here is what I sent to James: My mother was Virginia Dean Philpot, born in Harlan County many years ago, and here is my mother's hand-written Stack Cake recipe, transcribed directly for you. "Cream 1 Cup Shortening, I use Crisco. 2 Cups White Sugar Add 4 eggs 2 Cup Butter Milk 2 teaspoon Vanilla 2 teaspoon Baking Powder 2 teaspoon Baking Soda 1 teaspoon salt Add enough plain flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out. Pinch off, roll thin, Bake in skillet. I cut them out with a small plate. I know you know how we always done it." That is all I have, but her cakes had about seven or eight thin layers, with cooked dried apple filling in between. She did not ice her cake, simply dusted them with powdered sugar. My guess for temperature would be 350 degrees. She told me we used the dried apples because that was all the fruit available in the wintertime. It was not my favorite cake, but it meant a lot to her to make it. It reminded her of her own Mama. Later I sent the recipe for the filling, which I took from a wonderful cookbook of Southern cooking, Stack Cake, Shuck Beans, and Honest Fried Chicken. I think I have the title mostly right; it is a wonderful cookbook to read. Here is the recipe for the apple filling: 4 cups dried unsulphured dried apples (can usually find at health food store) 1 c. brown sugar 1/2 mace Put apples in heavy saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to boil, simmer 1 hour, till soft enough to mash. Stir frequently, tends to stick. Add a little water if necessary. When apples are soft, mash with potato masher. While mashing, add brown sugar and mace. Continue to simmer while stirring for few minutes. Mix should be like chunky apple butter or applesauce. (If mix is too watery, continue cooking on low heat until thickened.) Remove from heat. Put first cake layer on large plate, cover with apple mix. Stack the layers as you bake them. Don't put apples on the top layer. Cover with dish towel, and let rest for at least 48 hours. The layers were baked in a cast iron skillet. My sister and I remember them being made one at a time, and the filling put on when they cooled. We guessed that most people only had the one skillet of a certain size. The cakes are more like old-fashioned shortcake than your standard light cakes. I hope you enjoy the cake, and have a wonderful Christmas season. Sharon Wilson

Hi Everyone, I finally recognize this cake!! I thought I missed something in my upbringing ;-) My mom always made it with applebutter and fried the cake batter like thin pancakes. Sure brings back memories of home and family. Hope you have a Merry Christmas and Great New Year. Sandy ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sharon Wilson" <slwilson@woh.rr.com> To: <KYHARLAN-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 7:20 AM Subject: [KYHARLAN] Re Kentucky Stack Cake > Merry Christmas, everyone! > > Thanks, Elva, for letting us share this recipe. Here is what I sent to > James: > > My mother was Virginia Dean Philpot, born in Harlan County many years ago, > and here is my mother's hand-written Stack Cake recipe, transcribed > directly for you. > > "Cream 1 Cup Shortening, I use Crisco. > 2 Cups White Sugar > Add 4 eggs > 2 Cup Butter Milk > 2 teaspoon Vanilla > 2 teaspoon Baking Powder > 2 teaspoon Baking Soda > 1 teaspoon salt > > Add enough plain flour to make a dough stiff enough to roll out. Pinch off, > roll thin, Bake in skillet. I cut them out with a small plate. I know you > know how we always done it." > > That is all I have, but her cakes had about seven or eight thin layers, with > cooked dried apple filling in between. She did not ice her cake, simply > dusted them with powdered sugar. My guess for temperature would be 350 > degrees. She told me we used the dried apples because that was all the > fruit available in the wintertime. It was not my favorite cake, but it > meant a lot to her to make it. It reminded her of her own Mama. > > Later I sent the recipe for the filling, which I took from a wonderful > cookbook of Southern cooking, Stack Cake, Shuck Beans, and Honest Fried > Chicken. I think I have the title mostly right; it is a wonderful cookbook > to read. > > Here is the recipe for the apple filling: > > 4 cups dried unsulphured dried apples (can usually find at health food > store) > 1 c. brown sugar > 1/2 mace > > Put apples in heavy saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to boil, > simmer 1 hour, till soft enough to mash. Stir frequently, tends to stick. > Add a little water if necessary. > > When apples are soft, mash with potato masher. While mashing, add brown > sugar and mace. Continue to simmer while stirring for few minutes. Mix > should be like chunky apple butter or applesauce. (If mix is too watery, > continue cooking on low heat until thickened.) Remove from heat. > > Put first cake layer on large plate, cover with apple mix. Stack the layers > as you bake them. Don't put apples on the top layer. Cover with dish > towel, and let rest for at least 48 hours. > > The layers were baked in a cast iron skillet. My sister and I remember them > being made one at a time, and the filling put on when they cooled. We > guessed that most people only had the one skillet of a certain size. The > cakes are more like old-fashioned shortcake than your standard light cakes. > > I hope you enjoy the cake, and have a wonderful Christmas season. > Sharon Wilson > > > ==== KYHARLAN Mailing List ==== > Harlan Kentucky Websites. > Harlan County Research: http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyharlan/ > Harlan County AHGP: http://www.ahgp.org/ > Harlan County ALHN Kentucky: http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyharla2/ > >