Sweet Shoppe bakes Army Navy "Spirit Week" Smith Island Cakes

Army Navy "Game Day" Smith Island Cake

CLICK HERE for update on wager

First, a wager to the New York Orange County Chamber of Commerce: A Smith Island cake against 2 dozen apple muffins to be enjoyed by board members of the Chamber of Commerce. Read wager at bottom of this post.

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Most football fans don't think of eating cake while watching their favorite games on TV. And I haven't seen too many cakes at tailgate parties. But most states don't have an official state dessert, and they certainly don't have the U.S. Naval Academy. We feed our Navy well, and during Spirit Week that leads up to the December 11, game, over 4,000 midshipman will be treated to Smith Island baby cakes, made right here in Crisfield by a Smith Island family.


The large order was good news for  The Sweet Shoppe, a local  family-owned bakery that will soon be moving into a spacious new building. Instead of just showing you the cake, I will show you how they they made over 4,000 Smith Island baby cakes.


Each layer is baked separately, just as they are in the traditional 10-layer cakes (see larger layers at end of post). Frosting is prepared; not just any frosting either. A true Smith Island cake is made with the best ingredients. The chocolate frosting reminds me of the fudge my grandmother used to make.

The tiny layers are carefully frosted.

Cakes are topped with a "spirited" message made out of edible rice paper...

And decorated in Naval Academy colors...

And that is how you make 4,000-plus Smith Island baby cakes.

This young customer found the baby cake intriguing.

Go Navy - Beat Army! 

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I have to take this opportunity to give the Sweet Shoppe a plug. They can make you a cake in any flavor. Last year, I took them a bag of fresh figs, and they baked me a Smith Island fig cake. Delicious. A true Smith Island cake is hard to make. I was once given the evil-eye by the owner of a fancy bakery in a large Maryland city after trying to order one while visiting a friend. Lesson learned: When traveling, carry your Smith Island cake with you, or have it shipped. 

I have spent a lot of time taking photos in the Sweet Shoppe over the past few years, and I can tell you that they are really proud of what they do, they do a first class job, and though it's hard work, they don't take any shortcuts. Oh yes, and I have eaten a lot of their cakes. Give them a call at 410.968.2200. It's still not too late to order for Christmas delivery. Need I tempt you more?

That's 10-layers, folks. You can see why some people don't want to make these cakes. Besides, you really have to be a Smith Islander to do it right.

Now to the wager:  New York does have a state sweet. It's a muffin - an apple muffin, of course. As the Crisfield Area Chamber of Commerce photographer, I, along with the Chamber and the Sweet Shoppe, offer to send the New York Orange County Chamber of Commerce a traditional Smith Island Cake to be enjoyed by Chamber board members in the event the Army wins the game.  If you agree to this wager, and if the Navy wins, you will send two dozen apple muffins to be enjoyed by  our board members. We can just taste those apple muffins now. How about it, Orange County?

Hey Army, we love you, but I think our Smith Island cake is going to help give our Navy guys the edge.  Perhaps the Army players should pump up on apple muffins.

Thanks to the Sweet Shoppe for offering to make and ship a cake at their own expense, but I don't they need to start baking it just now.

Go NAVY!

Maryland State dessert - Smith Island cake to be featured on Food Network's television series, "The Private Chefs of Beverly Hills"

Maryland State dessert - Smith Island cake to be featured on Food Network's television series, "The Private Chefs of Beverly Hills"

I recently received an email from the producer of the Food Network's television series, "The Private Chefs of Beverly Hills". They wanted permission to use one of my photos as clipart on an upcoming episode about the Smith Island cake, which is the official Maryland State dessert. The photo they will be using is shown below; the cake was made by Susan Evans of Smith Island, an employee of McCready Hospital and owner of Susan's on Smith Island Bed and Breakfast. Susan's recipe is featured in a recently published cookbook, “Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay.” Susan is a 13th-generation Islander, so she knows her cakes! 

The program will air on November 23, at 9:00 p.m. EST. Be sure to tune in to learn how to make the Maryland State dessert - and keep a sharp eye out for the clipart.

A "big thank" you goes out to the producers of "The Private Chefs of Beverly Hills" for highlighting our state dessert. If you, or any of your chefs, are ever in our area, be sure and look me up. I'm sure that the Crisfield Chamber of Commerce would love to have you as guests in our beautiful town. Maybe we could cook up something for YOU! We have some great chefs in Crisfield.

Oh, after watching the program, and you just have to have a Smith Island cake - you will - and don't want to make one, you can order one from the Sweet Shoppe in Crisfield. They ship. Put one or two on your Christmas table, or ship one as a Christmas present. 


Read more about the show in the November 10th edition of the Crisfield-Somerset County Times.

Dishing up Maryland cookbook features Smith Island Cake

"There's nothing better than a good friend, except a good friend with chocolate."  ~ Linda Grayson, "The Pickwick Papers"


Last week, I promised to show you one of Susan Evan's Smith Island cakes. She baked this cake at her home on the island of Ewell, which also doubles as Susan's on Smith Island Bed and Breakfast. For those of you not familiar with Ewell, it is a quaint island where time still lingers in the past.


Evans, an employee at McCready Hospital in Crisfield - yes, she takes a 40 minute boat ride to McCready every morning -  has made us all proud by having her recipe printed in, "Dishing up Maryland", a 150 page cookbook by Lucie L. Snodgrass. The cookbook features 150 recipes highlighting Maryland-grown produce and seafood. Part of the proceeds from the sale of the book will go to the state’s Maryland’s Best program.


For those of you not familiar with Smith Island cake, the origins are not known, but it has been a part of Smith Island since the 1600s. The layers are individually baked-no cheating with large layers and a knife as some people suspect- and the icing is thin but rich;  the chocolate reminds me of the homemade fudge my grandmother used to make, and a small slice will satisfy the palate of the most die-hard sweet aficionado.


In the old days, women used only a few layers to make their cakes. As time went by, they began to make the layers thinner and the cakes taller. Competition among the women soon had them stacking  their cakes with layers up to 15 inches or more. Today, the traditional Smith Island cake has 8-10 layers, but 12-15-layer cakes can still be found. 

Susan slices up the cake she brought by boat to McCready. 

10-scrumptious layers of the Maryland State dessert. Yes, the Smith Island cake was made our official state dessert in 2008.

Wouldn't you just love to dig into a slice of Susan's cake?

Susan poses with her star dessert. Oh, if you stay at her B&B, you get a cake all to yourself.

Read more about Susan  and,"Dishing up Maryland" here.

"Susan's on Smith Island" bed-and-breakfast in Ewell and Smith Island Cake

 "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first."  ~ Ernestine Ulmer

Susan Evans of Ewell is the embodiment of hard-working Somerset County.


Susan commutes weekdays by boat from her home on Smith Island to Crisfield, where she works in McCready hospital’s human resources office.


She also is involved part-time in cosmetic sales, operates a quaint bed-and-breakfast inn and knows the secret to baking decidedly delicious Smith Island cakes.


It’s the latter that has garnered Susan, 44, some unexpected – and frankly, humbling – attention.


Her recipe for a 10-layer cake – that’s right, 10 LAYERS – is included in a new cookbook, “Dishing Up Maryland: 150 Recipes from the Alleghenies to the Chesapeake Bay.”


And it all came about by happenstance.


Freelance writer Lucie L. Snodgrass and a friend stayed at Susan’s on Smith Island Bed and Breakfast a little over a year ago and enjoyed their stay immensely.


“They were having such a good time, they didn’t want to leave the porch” with a view of the Chesapeake Bay, Susan says whimsically. “I finally told them I had to go to bed.”


Susan makes sure her guests get to sample a real, homemade Smith Island cake, named the state’s “official dessert” by the Maryland legislature in 2008. It joined jousting, the Black-eyed Susan and the Chesapeake Bay retriever as unique state symbols of life in Maryland.


Snodgrass apparently was in the midst of gathering string for a book of unique Maryland recipes from appetizers to main courses and  needed a simple, sweet dessert. A chocolate Smith Island cake from Susan’s kitchen proved to be the ideal way to cap it off.


Susan, a 13th-generation Smith Islander, eagerly shared a basic recipe that most of her friends and neighbors typically use to get started. A snapshot of her life’s story accompanies it as well.


On March 24, she traveled to an Annapolis museum for an official book unveiling. Susan almost didn’t attend, but a friend talked her into it.


“I’m so glad I did go,” she said.


Susan was among a handful of recipe contributors featured in the book who were invited to the event, which attracted (Md.) Gov. Martin O’Malley and the First Lady, Catherine.


“They rolled out the red carpet for me,” she said.


Susan posed for pictures with the author, the book’s photographer and the governor.


“I met so many interesting people,” she said. “I had no clue” it was going to be such a big deal.


Susan says a national women’s magazine also has expressed interest in talking with her about her entrepreneurial spirit – and cake-baking talent.


“I really can’t believe this is happening to me,” she says. “I love the publicity  I’m getting out of this.”


Promotional material for the book promises “a portion of proceeds from (its) sales … will be donated to Maryland’s Best program to promote the purchase of locally grown and raised products for the benefit of the state’s farmers, watermen and related businesses.


The book, which sells retail for $19.95, is available online and at local book stores.

Susan Evans, left, shows McCready hospital colleague, Marie Witt, a hot-off-the-press cookbook featuring 150 Maryland dishes.

Check back next week for a sampling of Susan's Smith Island cake.

Friday "My Town" Shoot Out - Food! Watermen's Inn

Thanks to Loida in China for this week's assignment. Loida and her family will soon be departing their country to live and work in Ontario. We will miss your China photos, Loida, but look forward to your views of Ontario.

Before I start my food tour, next week's assignment is open. So pick any subject or mix and match, and show us what you have!

Reminder! Be sure to click on photos to enlarge.


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"Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity." ~ Voltaire

I will start with some dishes that will make you really hungry, so go ahead and get some snack foods.

The following photos were taken at the annual crab cook off held at our local Baptist Church. It is held during Crab Derby week, so don't even ask about the derby decoration. You can click on our Chamber of Commerce site on the side bar and make plans for Crab Derby weekend, held every Labor Day.

Come and enjoy several fun-filled days, from this little gem of an cook-off event where you can taste the wares, to the crowning of our Little Miss and Mr. and Miss Crustacean. We offer up great music, a boat docking contest, crab races where your state actually has a crab racing (bet you didn't know that, did you?) and tons of other events that are a treat for the whole family.












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A little fine eatin' at the Clam Bake held at Somers Cove Marina, one of the many events we have each year. Again, check the Chamber site for upcoming dates.








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Now, I sure don't want to get myself in trouble here. We have a lot of great places to eat, and I did not get around to everyone. Time element, you know? I have eaten at every place in Crisfield many times, and I love them all. Besides some great "down home" cooking, we are the best when it comes to seafood. Our Smith Island cake(our state dessert) is a must-eat, but after you have had your fill of that, be sure and try the many homemade pastries that are available around town.

I will start with the Olde Crisfield Crab and Steak House, formally Side Street, and a known place all over the Eastern Shore when it comes to crab eating. It was just sold and will re-open Memorial Day weekend. The new owner is giving the place a complete makeover; the front will be enclosed in glass for extra dining, space, and comfort. There is an upstairs dining area, too. For those who like to breath in the bay air, you can walk over to the tiki bar shown to the right, and enjoy watching the boats coming and going from Somers Cove Marina (if you have a boat, and you get there early enough, you can tie up and jump off at the tiki bar). More great views can be found upstairs. I can't wait for opening day, and I will bring you a yummy photo report.



For old time's sake, here are a few photos from the past:










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Someone mentioned watering holes. Be sure to check out "Racks" for some spirits and a few games of pool. Racks, adjoins Maho's, and they have a million dollar view of the marina. It is worth a trip just to go up there.

Racks on left, Maho's on right.








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Maho's is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Many of their pastries are homemade. I love them all, but the rice pudding is wonderful.












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The Cove is directly across from Somers Cove Marina. I was there at an odd time, so I am posting their menu to make you hungry. Click to read.










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And of course, there is Gordon's. The one place tourists should always visit before leaving (well, visit everyone, but the romantics must go there for a slice of history). And don't forget to try their coffee. They serve 500 cups a day! Sit a spell and talk with the locals.











What's that she's reading? I wonder who could have taken that great photo on the front page?


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Watermen's, like just about everything in Crisfield, in within walking distance to the city dock. I am posting their menu, and highlighting their homemade pastries in photos. They have a nice bar and outdoor tables for enjoying a little sidewalk cafe experience. During the busy season, give a call for reservations.

















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Mi Pueblito Grill offers up a unique blend of Tex-Mex and Spanish South American Cuisine.









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The Ice Cream Gallery is next to the city dock. People like to stroll the dock on warm summer afternoons with their ice cream cones or sundaes, or just sit on the little porch in back of the gallery. You can tie your boat up at the docking post and walk right in.












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I think that is it for my little "food" tour. I know I left a few people out, but everyone will be highlighted on this blog in time. This is just a fun project for me, and it helps to introduce our great little town to the world.

I will leave you with a few photos to ponder.















Everyone has a great time in Crisfield! Plan on visiting us soon.

"Food is so primal, so essential a part of our lives, often the mere sharing of recipes with strangers turns them into good friends. That's why I love this community." ~ Jasmine Heiler

Works the same with photos of food, I guess.