My Recent Discovery: Doberge Cake

Y'all! 

As a Southern Diva and Louisiana girl at heart, I'm ashamed to admit this little secret. I mean, seriously.  I feel like I have been living under a rock all my life. I've completely disappointed all my Southern Sisters. Please forgive me, but I've never had Doberge Cake. Gasp! 😱 I know, right?

My fascination with Doberge Cake came recently while I was reading Lisa Wingate's novel, The Book of Lost Friends. Other than bookworms claiming how wonderful this book is (as of this writing, I have yet to finish it), I knew nothing about it. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that the setting takes place in Augustine, Louisiana. Then I read that one of the characters had "brought a Doberge Cake" and my curiosity was peaked. 

Doberge Cake? What the heck is that? I literally had to put the book down and turn to my trusty friend, Google, for help. Pronounced "dough-bosh" in North Louisiana and "dough-bear" in South Louisiana, Doberge Cake is a multi-layered cake with a custard or pudding between the layers and topped with icing glaze or frosting. Sound delicious? Yes, indeed!

So then I got to thinking...have I ever had a piece of this decadent dessert? Surely I have, right? I mean, I AM from Louisiana! I found this three minute clip about a baker in Baton Rouge that is keeping Ms. Beulah Ledner's, the originator of the Doberge Cake, sweetness alive. 

Unfortunately, the closest I've gotten to this cake is my Great Aunt Irene's yellow cake with chocolate icing. She would bring it to our family reunions when I was kid and the adults would nearly knock each other down for a piece of that cake. Although it was multi-layered, it did not have pudding between the layers. Instead, Aunt Irene made a VERY gritty, chocolate icing by boiling cocoa with LOTS of butter and sugar! I remember sitting at the table with my mom, aunts, and grandmother as we listened to her describe how she made the cake. She told us that she used a long piece of string to cut the layers and as a kid, I thought that was just fascinating. What I would give to have that recipe today!

So now I'm on a mission. Although I could probably get a local bakery to make one for me, I'm planning to have an "original" piece of Doberge Cake the next time I'm in New Orleans since that's the birthplace of this sweet treat and I can hardly wait! 

Have you ever had Doberge Cake?