Maryland’s Official State Dessert Has Up to 10 Layers. Here’s Where Smith Island Cake Came From

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Most cakes have two or three layers. The one Maryland chose as its official dessert has as many as ten, each so thin you can almost see through it, with fudge frosting spread between every one. Smith Island cake comes from one of the most isolated communities on the East Coast, and its story starts with oystermen leaving home for the season.

The Maryland State Archives lists Smith Island Cake as the official state dessert, adopted in 2008, and its state symbols page includes a recipe for the traditional 10-layer version. AAA describes the cake as 7 to 10 thin layers with an abundance of frosting between the layers and covering the outside, and says it must appear at every Smith Island celebration, from town gatherings to holiday meals. The Smith Island Baking Company, a bakery tied to the island, says most cakes are stacked about eight layers high, and the classic version is a yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting.

So the short answer to where it came from: a tiny island village in the Chesapeake Bay, where women baked these cakes for their husbands who worked on the water. Here is the longer story.

Where Smith Island Cake Came From

Smith Island is a cluster of marshy islands in the Chesapeake Bay, about 10 miles off Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The Smith Island Baking Company describes it as Maryland’s only inhabited island group in the bay, settled by the British in the 1600s and home to three villages: Ewell, Rhodes Point, and Tylerton. Fewer than a few hundred people live there today, most connected to the water through crabbing, oystering, or related work.

According to the bakery’s history, Smith Island cakes have been made since the 1800s, when women on the island would send them with their husbands on the autumn oyster harvest. The watermen would be gone for long stretches, and the cakes traveled with them as a reminder of home. The bakery describes them as a symbol of community and togetherness, a way for families to tell the men they were loved, missed, and prayed for.

Why so many thin layers? Several explanations circulate on the island and in food histories:

• Shelf life: Lots of fudge icing between thin layers kept the cake moist for days on a boat.
• Showmanship: More layers made a cake more impressive at church suppers and celebrations, and island bakers competed to make them taller and thinner.
• Practical baking: Thin layers bake quickly in shallow pans, sometimes several at once.

Whatever the reason, the style stuck. By the late 20th century, the cakes were known across the Eastern Shore, and in 2008 the Maryland General Assembly made Smith Island Cake the state dessert.

How It Is Made

A Smith Island cake looks complicated, but its parts are simple.

• The layers: A yellow cake batter is spread very thin in many round pans, often eight or more. Each layer bakes for only a few minutes.
• The frosting: The traditional frosting is a cooked chocolate fudge, made with sugar, evaporated milk, chocolate, and butter. It is poured or spread warm between layers.
• The stacking: Each layer goes on while the frosting is still soft, which helps the layers stick together.
• The outside: The whole cake is coated in frosting, which hardens into a glossy shell.

When you cut a slice, you see stripes of yellow cake and dark fudge, like a striped flag. Bakers say the cake tastes best a day after it is made, once the frosting sets.

Flavors Beyond the Original

The classic version is yellow cake with chocolate fudge frosting, but island and mainland bakers make many variations. Common flavors include coconut, lemon, caramel, peanut butter, strawberry, and red velvet. Some bakeries also make seasonal versions in the fall and winter, such as pumpkin or spice.

Getting to Smith Island

Smith Island is not connected to the mainland by bridge. You get there by boat, and that is part of the experience.

• From Crisfield, Maryland: The Smith Island Belle II is a passenger, freight, and U.S. mail ferry that operates year-round, seven days a week, between Crisfield and Ewell. Its posted schedule, updated in May 2026, lists departures from Crisfield to Ewell at 12:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. daily, and from Ewell to Crisfield at 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Trips are subject to weather and wind cancellations, so call to confirm.
• To Tylerton: Separate boats serve Tylerton, the smallest village. Check local schedules and call ahead.
• From Point Lookout: In summer, tour boats from the Western Shore have offered day trips. These are seasonal.
• Travel time: The crossing from Crisfield takes about 45 minutes to an hour.

A day trip works with the ferry schedule: take the 12:30 p.m. boat from Crisfield, spend about three hours on the island, and catch the 4 p.m. boat back from Ewell. Confirm the times the day before.

What to Do on the Island

Smith Island is very small, and most visitors spend their time walking or biking around the villages. Cars are few.

• Walk Ewell: The largest village has a few streets, homes, churches, and a small harbor full of crab boats.
• The Smith Island Cultural Center: In Ewell, this museum covers the island’s history, its watermen, and its dialect. Hours are seasonal, so check before you go.
• Watch the watermen: Depending on the season, you may see crab shanties, oyster boats, and workers unloading the catch.
• Rent a bike or golf cart: When available, it is the easiest way to get to Rhodes Point, connected to Ewell by road.
• Buy cake: Local bakers sell whole cakes and slices when available. Call ahead in the off-season.

Where to Buy a Smith Island Cake

You do not have to go to the island to get one, though eating a slice there is the best way.

• On the island: Bakers in Ewell and Tylerton sell cakes, especially in the warmer months. Availability is limited in winter.
• Crisfield and the Eastern Shore: Bakeries, restaurants, and markets across Somerset County and the lower Eastern Shore sell Smith Island cakes. Restaurants often offer slices on the dessert menu.
• Shipping: Some bakeries ship cakes nationwide. A whole cake shipped typically costs more than buying locally, often $50 or more with shipping.
• Prices locally: A whole cake bought locally often runs about $30 to $50, depending on size and flavor. A slice in a restaurant is usually $6 to $10.

A Community Under Pressure

Smith Island’s future is uncertain. The islands sit just a few feet above sea level and have been losing land to erosion and rising water for generations. The population has fallen over the decades as young people move to the mainland for work. The watermen’s way of life faces economic pressure from changing fisheries and rising costs.

Buying a cake from an island baker is a small way to support the community. So is visiting respectfully: buying lunch on the island, staying on public roads, and asking before photographing people.

Bake One at Home

If you want to make Smith Island cake yourself, the Maryland State Archives includes a traditional 10-layer recipe on its state dessert page. A few tips from home bakers:

• Use many pans: Borrow or buy several 9-inch round pans so you can bake multiple layers at once.
• Spread thin: Use about a half cup of batter per layer and spread it to the edges.
• Bake briefly: Layers often need only 8 to 12 minutes. Watch them closely.
• Frost warm: Keep the fudge frosting warm so it spreads easily.
• Let it set: Wait several hours, or overnight, before slicing.

Making a Trip of It

Crisfield, the ferry port, calls itself the “Seafood Capital of the World” and is a classic Eastern Shore working town. Pair a Smith Island day trip with a night in Crisfield or nearby Princess Anne, and eat crab cakes, oysters in season, and soft-shell crabs in spring and summer. Janes Island State Park, just outside Crisfield, has kayak trails through the marsh.

• From Baltimore: About 150 miles, usually 2.5 to 3 hours to Crisfield via Route 50 and Route 13.
• From Washington, D.C.: About 155 miles, roughly 3 hours.
• From Philadelphia: About 165 miles, usually 3 to 3.5 hours.

Smith Island Cake Etiquette on the Island

• Call ahead: Island bakers often make cakes to order, especially in winter.
• Bring cash: Some small sellers may not take cards.
• Plan for the boat: Whole cakes travel well in a box, but keep them flat and out of the spray on the ferry ride back.

When to Go

Late spring through fall is the easiest time to visit Smith Island, since more island businesses are open and ferry crossings are calmer. In winter, ferries still run, but weather cancellations are more common and fewer cakes are for sale on the island, so call ahead.

The Bottom Line

Smith Island cake is more than a dessert with a lot of layers. It comes from a remote Chesapeake Bay community where families sent tall, fudge-filled cakes with watermen heading out for the autumn oyster harvest. Maryland made it the state dessert in 2008. Try a slice on the Eastern Shore, or better yet, take the ferry to the island where it all began.