Sharing is caring!

This recipe makes an old fashioned 14 layer chocolate cake with thin layers. The star of this cake is the boiled chocolate icing.

You may remember this cake from church homecoming or family reunions back in the day. It’s an old fashioned cake recipe that disappears quickly. Grandma used to bake this cake using an iron skillet. I can only imagine how long it took her to bake one layer at a time.

This article contains affiliate links. Please see our Disclosure Policy.

Ingredients

• 1 cup shortening
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 tbsp. baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp butter flavoring
• 2 cups sugar

Icing Ingredients

• 3 cups sugar
• 6 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 can evaporated milk

Directions

Step 1

Grease and flour your cake pans and set aside. Preheat the oven to 375°.

Baking Tip

Baking a 14 layer cake takes a while. So I use 8″ aluminum foil disposable cake pans like these to make the baking process go quicker. You can also find these at Walmart.

Step 2

In a medium size bowl, sift flour. Stir in the baking powder and set aside.

Step 3 Mixing the cake ingredients

In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. Then add eggs one at a time, mixing well on medium after each.

Now add the flour mixture alternately with milk mixing well after each addition until all of the flour and milk has been well blended.

Stir in the vanilla and butter flavorings.

Step 4

Scoop 3/4 cup of batter into each prepared baking pan. Tilt the pan around until the batter has spread evenly into the bottom of the pan.

Bake at 375° until lightly browned. Keep an eye on your layers in the oven because they are quite thin and only take a few minutes to bake. If you over-bake, the layers will be dry. Oven temps vary but ours takes less than 5 minutes. Your oven may take 5 to 7 minutes.

NOTE

Do not begin to make the icing while the layers are baking. They bake fast because they are so thin. You can make the icing while the layers are cooling.

Step 5

Remove from oven to a wire rack to cool in pan. You can also spread kitchen towels on your counter and cool the layers on towels so your counter isn’t burned.

Icing Directions

The 14 layer chocolate cake icing recipe is boiled and thin. Do not be intimidated by making this icing. You can do it!

Melt butter in a large saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly. Add cocoa powder, sugar and evaporated milk and stir well with a wooden spoon.

Bring to a rolling boil on medium high heat then reduce heat and cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and allow to cool before frosting the cake layers.

Once the icing is cool enough, frost your cake. This is a thin frosting that you will spread generously between each of the 14 layers and on top of the cake.

I use a basting brush because my icing recipe is thin. I let it drip down the sides of the cake. The icing will harden as it sets.

Pro Tip

This icing is thin and drips as seen in photos. Some folk like to ice the cake on a cooling rack over a baking pan. I do not. I prefer to ice the cake on the cake plate. Folks love that gooey rich chocolate icing they can scoop onto their plate.

Name this cake

You may have heard that this 14 layer cake recipe originate from south Georgia. I don’t know but I am in middle Georgia and I grew up with this cake.

Have you heard of the Smith Island Cake? Well, it’s awfully similar and hails from Maryland. It is also known as the Chocolate Little Layer Cake and an Old Fashioned Multi Layer Cake. No matter what you may call it, this is one of the best chocolate cake recipes you can find.

More Homemade Cake Recipes

• Old Fashioned Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe (cold oven pound cake)
• Strawberry Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Frosting recipe
• Old Fashioned Three Layer Lemon Cake recipe (Lemon cream cheese frosting)
• Easy Pineapple Upside Down Cake recipe (Iron skillet recipe)
• Key Lime Cake with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting recipe
• Grasshopper Poke Cake recipe (for chocolate lovers)
• Orange Blossom Bundt Cake recipe