Much as we love it, The New York Times food section is not infrequently guilty of intentionally provocative "You'll never believe this…." stories, such as this seemingly improbable Smith Island Cake recipe. Sure, in their quest to track trends and break news from the frontlines of gastronomic innovation they're to bound to publish some clunkers now and then. And really isn't that better than only taking the safe route?
I fell for the Times' Kool-Aid pickle report. Dill pickles re-pickled in extra-strength solutions of Kool-Aid: grape, strawberry, lemonade. These unlikely treats are devoured during the languid dog days in the backwoods of the deep south. Tart yet sweet, refreshing and irresistible. A lost page from To Kill a Mocking Bird.
I made the pickles — sadly, lots of them. Instead of the distilled essence of Harper Lee, I ended up with what charitably could be called Flannery O'Connor in a jar. Not just as bad as they sounded, worse, much worse.
More recently, the woven-bacon wrapped, sausage-stuffed,barbecued torpedo-shaped meat loaf turned more than a few heads. Though my brother Brendan seriously considered making it, as best I know no one has actually tried that monster. I'm not going to fall for it.
I guess now's the time to mention the Times' immortal Southern Practice of Eating Dirt Shows Sign of Waning article. ''It just always tasted so good to me,'' says Mrs. Glass, who now eschews a practice that she acquired as a small girl from her mother. ''When it's good and dug from the right place, dirt has a fine sour taste."
No, not The Onion, The New York Times, Feb. 13, 1984. Look it up. High in your ivory tower, it's amazing what you can see gazing down upon the quaint ways of the former Confederacy.
Which brings us to this cake. NYT, December 16, 2009. Festiveness, Stacked Up Southern Style. Sweet little old ladies who compete to make the tallest, tastiest, Smith Island cakes. The recipes date back to the 1800s "by the wives of watermen who needed a sturdy layer cake on their boats during the long autumn oyster harvest."
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Take note — these are not typical yellow cakes sliced into thin layers. No, each layer is baked individually. Then frosted with a boiled icing of sugar and cocoa with the consistency of wet cement.
Hard to make? Not especially. The taste? Totally delicious (and quite filling). Spectacular yes, but pretty? A bit subjective on that count, given the unusually gloppy frosting dripping down. Eyes of the beholder I guess.
As I followed the Time's recipe exactly, I'll just give you the link to the recipe for Smith Island cake here.
Truely an original gourmet recipe. A show stopper, and like our Saviour's loaves and fishes, able to feed multitudes. The people at work loved it.