Fourteen for the Fourteenth

Fourteen Layer Cake. This is apparently a favorite at family get togethers in the South. Now, I'm from the South and I've never heard of such a thing. Actually, when I first heard the name, I didn't believe it. Fourteen individually baked layers … no way. Who would do that? And… why? Then, I thought, it must be good if someone goes to that much trouble. And I did want something new to bake for Valentine's Day.

Hmmm…let the googling begin.

Well, they do exist. In no time, I had the recipe for a 10-Layer Cake, a 12-Layer Cake and a 14-Layer Cake.

Looks like I've been going to the wrong parties.

I decided to go with the 12-Layer Cake recipe because it looked like it would work the best for me. The 10 would be too small and the one for the 14 called for cutting the cake layers and I didn't think that would go very well. So I used the 12 and just poured it into fourteen pans. Fourteen aluminum foil pans. That way I didn't have to wait for the pans to cool and be cleaned in between baking. This was a huge time saver.

Here they are … fourteen - 8.5" pans… Shiny!



Then, I cut 14 sheets of parchment paper, stapled them together and cut out circles the same size as the bottom of the pan.



I decided to err on the side of caution with greasing the pans, because fourteen stuck cakes would make me very unhappy.
So, I greased the bottom and sides with a stick of butter. Then, I laid the parchment circles down and lightly buttered and floured the top of the parchment paper.

Please work!



While those are waiting, I mixed up all the ingredients for the cake batter -
the HUGE amount of cake batter. (Mom, if you're reading this… thank you again for my Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. I love it.)



Then I placed a heaping 2/3 cup full of batter in each pan.



Then, just spread it out as evenly as possible.



I was able to bake three cakes at a time. Each set baked for 12 minutes at 350 degrees, (the recipe says 375, but I went with 350). So that means there were five sets at 12 minutes each. (About an hour to bake. Not too bad.)

When the last batch of cakes go in the oven, it's a good time to start making the icing.

Then, after the icing cools and before it hardens, you can start spreading a little bit on the top of each layer of cooled cake. Before you start… place the cake on a cake board. Place the board on a wire rack. And place the wire rack over a jelly roll pan to catch any icing that drips.



and it will drip…



and drip…



and drip…



and drip. It kinda looks like chocolate covered pancakes!

Right about now, I had to control myself from taking a big huge bite right out of the side. YUM!
When you're done with the last layer, pour any extra icing over the top and spread it around the sides to cover.



Now, based on the recipe, you're done. You can let the icing set and eat it right up. The finished cake will look something like this.



I didn't really like that too much, so I whipped up a quick dark chocolate buttercream frosting and covered the cake to even out the top and sides.



There… much better. (I know, I know. It lost some of the "homemade, old-fashioned feel.")

But, I think if you served the cake like this, no one would suspect there were lots of little layers inside.

And, when you finally cut it open, people would be like… wow!



I MEAN WOW!!!!!!!!



I can't tell you how happy I was to finally cut into this cake and see how pretty it was… and even better, that it worked. And, it was really good and super moist, too. YAY!



Enjoy!



The recipe I used:
The Smith Family's 12-Layer Cake (used with 14 pans)

Some other recipes you might like:
10-Layer Cake (Smith Island Cake Recipe)
14-Layer Cake (uses a cake mix)
14-Layer Cake (you cut the layers with this one)

Dark Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa)
1 box (1 lb) confectioner's sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1-3 Tbsp milk

• Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer.
  
• Add the cocoa and vanilla.
  
• Add the confectioner's sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition.
• Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

Some helpful tools:
Aluminum foil cake pans
Cake board
Cake rack
Jellyroll pan

Happy Baking!