Smith Island Cake: Maryland's Official State Dessert
The Chesapeake is famous for what comes out of the water — but its most beloved sweet comes from a tiny island in the middle of it. Smith Island Cake is Maryland's official state dessert, a showstopping tower of paper-thin layers and fudge, and it's the perfect ending to a weekend on the Bay. Here's the story, and how to get your hands on one.
Eight to twelve layers of pure Maryland
A traditional Smith Island Cake is built from eight to twelve thin layers of yellow cake, each one cemented to the next with rich chocolate fudge frosting, the whole thing coated on the outside too. The result is dramatic when you cut into it — a striped cross-section of cake and fudge — and dense, moist, and deeply chocolatey to eat. The original chocolate version is the classic, though island and Eastern Shore bakeries now turn out many flavors. In 2008, Maryland named it the official state dessert.
A cake born on the water
The cake comes from Smith Island — Maryland's last inhabited offshore island, reachable only by boat, out past Crisfield in the lower Bay. Islanders have been baking these cakes since the 1800s. As the cherished story goes, island women made them to send along with their husbands on the autumn oyster harvest: the many thin layers and fudgy frosting kept the cake moist and sturdy enough to survive long days on the water. A working-watermen's dessert, in other words — which makes it right at home on the Hooper's Island table.
How to get one
You don't have to sail to Smith Island to taste its cake. Keep an eye out for it at Eastern Shore bakeries, markets, and restaurants around the region — it's a point of local pride and turns up in lots of places. The Smith Island Baking Company on the island itself specializes in the cake and ships nationwide, so you can also order one ahead of your trip and have it waiting for a celebration. A whole Smith Island Cake is a genuine event at a big family table — the perfect finish to a crab feast.
End your Bay weekend on a sweet note
The Bayside Escape sleeps 24 on the Chesapeake Bay in Fishing Creek, MD — gather the whole table for crabs and a Smith Island Cake. Create a free account and get $100 toward your first direct booking.
A taste of place
Part of what makes a trip to this corner of the Bay special is eating the things that come from it — crabs and oysters from the water, and a slice of the state dessert that was born on an island just over the horizon. Pick one up, put a candle in it for whoever's celebrating, and you've got a memory as much as a dessert.
Quick answers
What is Smith Island Cake?
It's Maryland's official state dessert (named in 2008): a towering layer cake of eight to twelve thin layers of yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting between each layer and over the top. The original chocolate version is the classic, though bakeries now make many flavors.
Why does it have so many layers?
The cake comes from Smith Island, where it's been made since the 1800s. As the story goes, island women baked these dense, fudge-cemented cakes to send with their husbands on the autumn oyster harvest — the many thin layers and rich frosting held up well on long trips on the water.
Where can I get a Smith Island Cake near Hooper's Island?
Look for it at Eastern Shore bakeries, markets, and restaurants around the region. The Smith Island Baking Company on Smith Island specializes in it and ships nationwide, so you can also order one ahead — a sweet way to cap off a Bay weekend.