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  1. Midwest Living
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  4. Signature Midwestern Cakes

Signature Midwestern Cakes

By The editors of MidwestLiving.com Updated June 24, 2021
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Gooey Butter Cake

Salute the Midwest's food heritage with cakes that celebrate our 12 states. We researched regional ingredients, traditions and other influences to create a cake for each state.

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1 of 12

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Missouri: St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake

Gooey Butter Cake
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For the Show-Me State, we went to the Italian neighborhoods of this Mississippi River city for St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake, a one-layer bakery legend that is irresistible for its name alone.

1 of 12

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Iowa: Best-Ever Chocolate Cake

Iowa: Best-Ever Chocolate Cake
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To represent Iowa, we turned to Des Moines-based Better Homes and Gardens® magazine for Best-Ever Chocolate Cake. Our sister publication has influenced home cooks since 1922. Its red-plaid cookbook, first published in 1930, has sold 39 million copies. This delicious recipe never goes out of style.

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South Dakota: Pioneer Wedding Stack Cake

South Dakota: Pioneer Wedding Stack Cake
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This modern version of a pioneer wedding cake represents the Mount Rushmore State and its prairie heritage. It's said that each guest brought a cake layer to a pioneer wedding to stack together. Our Pioneer Wedding Stack Cake is based on a simple molasses recipe with applesauce filling. The moist layers are simple, yet elegant.

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North Dakota: Honey-Glazed Buttermilk Oatmeal Coffee Cake

Honey-Glazed Buttermilk Oatmeal Coffee Cake
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The Peace Garden State produces almost 20 percent of U.S. honey-and it's also a big oat producer. The two flavors complement each other in Honey-Glazed Buttermilk-Oatmeal Coffee Cake.

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Minnesota: Sour Cream-Walnut Date Cake

Minnesota: Sour Cream-Walnut Date Cake
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Using cake mix cuts steps in Sour Cream-Walnut Date Cake, which has a date-nut center. The baking pan brings in the North Star State's heritage. Family-owned, Minnesota-based Nordic Ware makes the fluted tube pan that gives the cake its familiar shape. The pan's design is more than 60 years old.

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Illinois: Amish Apple-Butter Baby Cakes

Apple-Butter Cakelets
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Caramel sauce adds a creamy-sweet finish to individual Amish Apple-Butter Baby Cakes. You can choose from two Prairie State ingredients, apples or pumpkins, for this treat, which honors the state's Amish bakers.

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Kansas: Sunflower Cupcakes

Kansas Sunflower Cupcakes
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The Sunflower State's wheat crops and native state flower inspired our cake ideas for this part of the Midwest. The cupcake seemed like the ideal shape for this recipe; frosting piped like petals turns the individual Kansas Sunflower Cupcakes into pretty treats. Wheat germ adds a hearty touch to the buttermilk-vanilla cakes.

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Michigan: Cherry-Berry Shortcakes

Cherry-Berry Rich Shortcakes
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The fruit belt of the Great Lakes State inspired our Cherry-Berry Shortcakes. We played up the sweet cherries grown here, along with blueberries and raspberries. Add the nostalgic summertime biscuit base and sweetened whipped cream for a colorful and tempting dinner finale.

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Indiana: Ice Cream Cookie Cake

Ice Cream Cookie Cake
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The top ice cream-producing state in the Midwest gets Ice Cream Cookie Cake created in its honor. You can mix and match cookies and ice cream to make this frosty, no-bake treat that's also an easy make-ahead dessert.

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Nebraska; Tinted Angel Cake

Tinted Angel Cake
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The many colors of Kool-Aid, a Cornhusker State invention, give an array of choices for this angel food cake that starts with a mix. Pink lemonade Kool-Aid adds pastel prettiness and a delicate flavor to Tinted Angel Cake. The tropical punch version gives the cake flavor that's as intense as its color.

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Ohio: Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Cake

Ohio: Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Cake
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Several states claim to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae. Since the Buckeye State makes a good case, we created the Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Cake for Ohio. Four layers of baked white cake get sandwiched in ice cream layers in favorite sundae flavors: strawberry, pineapple and chocolate-banana. A whipped topping frosting crowns the cherry-topped dessert.

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Wisconsin: Cranberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake

Wisconsin: Cranberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake
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Dried cranberries and dairy products star in Cranberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake from the Badger State. This recipe proves why top ingredients make the best baked goods.

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By The editors of MidwestLiving.com

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    1 of 12 Missouri: St. Louis Gooey Butter Cake
    2 of 12 Iowa: Best-Ever Chocolate Cake
    3 of 12 South Dakota: Pioneer Wedding Stack Cake
    4 of 12 North Dakota: Honey-Glazed Buttermilk Oatmeal Coffee Cake
    5 of 12 Minnesota: Sour Cream-Walnut Date Cake
    6 of 12 Illinois: Amish Apple-Butter Baby Cakes
    7 of 12 Kansas: Sunflower Cupcakes
    8 of 12 Michigan: Cherry-Berry Shortcakes
    9 of 12 Indiana: Ice Cream Cookie Cake
    10 of 12 Nebraska; Tinted Angel Cake
    11 of 12 Ohio: Old-Fashioned Ice Cream Cake
    12 of 12 Wisconsin: Cranberry-Sour Cream Pound Cake

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