Southerners pride themselves on their desserts, no doubt, and you can bet that each cook has their own special recipes. No matter where we live, we all know our cobblers (peach, apple, or berry), and we’ve heard of red velvet cake for decades, but if you’ve never spent time in the southern states, some of the names will. sounds strange, but lovely. An example: chess cake, sugar cake (as if the cakes weren’t sugary enough), hummingbird cake (let’s say what?) And the ever popular Key lime pie. Walnuts grow profusely in southern soil, so it’s no wonder rich pecan pie and chocolates are almost a religion.
At most convenience stores, you can’t miss the Moon Pies display (not really cakes, but more like sandwich cookies) sitting on the counter, begging to be grabbed. They’re a southern tradition, kind of like their version of s’mores, made with graham crackers and marshmallow filling, then dipped in chocolate or caramel topping. Don’t try to do them yourself. Instead, opt for a chocolate or lemon chess cake, which is easy, served in a single crust, and contains a dense, sugary filling. Another no-brainer, fruit cobblers can be single or double dough, baked in a casserole, and may have a crumbly topping sprinkled over the fruit filling, rather than a cake batter topping. Southerners like to use buttermilk cookies on top. Native to southern Indiana, sugar cake is basically a custard base with lots of brown sugar or molasses, from a single crust. (Beware of diabetics).
Pies came to America with the first English settlers. The early settlers baked their cakes on long, narrow trays called “coffins,” which also referred to a crust. (Not very appetizing, sure). Centuries earlier, most cakes were filled with meat and eaten as a main course, and early desserts were kept simple, with fruits and nuts. But American settlers used fruit from their orchards, replacing centuries of meat fillings, and it was during the American Revolution that the word “crust” replaced the less attractive term coffyn (original spelling). It’s probably a good idea, as our foodie President Thomas Jefferson would have frowned upon serving desserts with coffins at the White House. (His guests thanked him).
In summers, when fruit was plentiful, early cooks would prepare a crust, fill it with apples or peaches, and call it a cobbler (sometimes referred to as “crunchy” betty or apple brown, both close cousins). The origin of the red velvet cake plays a tug of war between New York and the South, making its debut in the mid-20th century, with each region having its own slightly different take. The red color originally came from beets, but now use red food coloring, unless you really like beets. Banana pudding is always a hit, made with vanilla wafers, sliced bananas, vanilla pudding, and whipped cream.
Okay, so what exactly is hummingbird cake? Basically a spice cake made with mashed banana, pineapple, walnuts, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. It is also a popular cake, which includes similar ingredients but is poured into a cake base. Veterans swear you’ll sing like a bird when you take the first bite. (Why not the nightingale cake? They sing more.) Or maybe it’s supposed to make your taste buds hum, you decide.
Whatever you crave, the choice is endless in every part of the country. The Midwest likes its apple pie and cheesecake, the East likes Boston cream pie and black and white cookies, in the West make it Meyer’s lemon pie and anything with seaberries. Then there is always a completely different category of ethnic specialties that abound in every state. And that’s just to start. So grab a fork and dig, y’all.