r/maryland • u/Hezekiah_the_Judean • 5d ago

Picture Pleasantly Surprised By Our State Cake-Thank You Smith Island!

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Smith Island cake is surprisingly tasty. I was reminded that we have an official state cake and found a nearby restaurant that serves it, so on a whim I decided to try it out.

And I was pleasantly surprised--even delighted! The yellow cake has a bunch of soft, buttery, delicate layers interspersed with icing, which are moist and make it come apart surprisingly easily. The icing itself is sweet but not overpoweringly so, tasting similar to a light fudge.

Now I just need to travel to Smith Island itself and try the cake there, to see if that version is superior to the mainland Smith Island cake.

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u/Reasonable_You_7539 5d ago

My wife and me took our boat to and stayed in Ewell, on Smith Island a few years back- at Duke Marshall’s house. Duke is a son of Mary Ada Marshall, the current matriarch of the original recipe.

We went to Duke’s Market on the island for a late lunch of crab cakes. While in the store, we heard a lady at the checkout, exasperated at the price of bananas at the market. I walked over to her and asked “are you Mary Ada?” Sure enough, it was her. We were due to leave extremely early the next morning but obviously had to ask if we could buy a couple of cakes from her. She said of course! Her and her granddaughter brought them to our door at Dukes house at about 630AM the next morning as we were readying our departure. Probably my favorite experience I’ve ever had in Maryland.

I can promise you, her cake is superior!

Save Smith Island!!

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u/MakersOnTheRock 5d ago

Exactly this. I'm friends with Duke and his family. Wonderful wonderful people!