By The annual Lowcountry boil at First African Baptist Church. September 7, 2024. Two hundred and seventeen people. Twenty pounds of Miss Vernelle's creek shrimp. Fifty ears of corn. Thirty pounds of smoked sausage. Forty pounds of red potatoes. My seasoning. My cobbler. Gladys's cobbler. And this knee — this original, bone-on-bone, loudly protesting knee — standing its final shift.
I arrived at the church at six a.m. to start the pots. Four burners going on the outdoor propane setup that Deacon Johnson maintains like it's a NASA launch system. The water came to a boil with the seasoning and the brown sugar — my secret, my grave, my legacy — and the potatoes went in first because potatoes need time, like all good things. Then the corn. Then the sausage. Then, at the last possible moment, the shrimp, because shrimp wait for no one and overcooking shrimp is a sin that I will not commit in front of two hundred people and God.
Gladys arrived at eight with two cobblers. TWO. "New strategy," she said. "Volume." I said, "Gladys, you could bring twenty cobblers and mine would still be better." She said, "Prove it." I said, "I prove it every year." She put her cobblers on the dessert table next to mine. The three cobblers sat there like contestants on a cooking show, which is exactly what this is except the judges are two hundred church members and the prize is bragging rights until next September.
The boil was magnificent. People came from everywhere — church members, neighbors, former church members who moved away but come back for the boil, people who aren't members of anything but heard about the food and showed up hungry. I stood at the serving station on two legs that had been standing since six a.m. and I served every plate. Shrimp and corn and sausage and potatoes in newspaper-lined trays, passed over the counter with a nod and a "Eat, baby" and a smile that came from somewhere deeper than my face.
The cobbler verdict, as determined by the plates that came back empty first: mine. As always. Gladys's volume strategy failed. You cannot beat quality with quantity. You can only beat quality with better quality, and Gladys is good but she is not me. She is not Hattie Pearl's daughter. She is not the woman who learned peach cobbler from the woman who learned it from the woman who learned it from someone whose name we don't know but whose recipe we carry in our hands.
I sat down at three p.m. when the last plate was served. The knee was finished. Done. Over. It had given me everything it had — eight hours of standing, of serving, of being the woman at the boil — and now it was screaming so loud I could feel it in my teeth. Kayla appeared with ice and ibuprofen and that look. "You did it," she said. "I did it," I said. "The surgery is in five days," she said. "I know," I said. "This was the last boil on this knee." "It was a good one, Granny." "It was the best one, baby. They're all the best one."
Now go on and feed somebody.
The cobbler belongs to September, and September belongs to the boil — but once this knee heals and I’m back on my feet for good, I’ll be bringing these Miniature Pumpkin Cake Towers to the next church table that needs something sweet and worth talking about. Gladys never saw them coming with her volume strategy, and she won’t see these coming either. Individual layers, cream cheese frosting, the kind of dessert that disappears plate by plate before anyone thinks to ask who made it — and then everybody asks who made it.
Miniature Pumpkin Cake Towers
Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 20 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour (plus cooling) | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9x13-inch baking pans and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the long sides for easy lifting.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and salt until evenly combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk both sugars and oil together until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, whisking well after each. Stir in pumpkin puree and vanilla extract.
- Combine the batter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold gently with a rubber spatula until just combined — do not overmix. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and spread into thin, even layers.
- Bake. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the tops spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in the pans on a wire rack before assembling.
- Make the frosting. Beat the softened cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt, then beat on low until combined, then on medium-high until light and creamy, about 2 more minutes.
- Cut the layers. Once completely cooled, use the parchment overhang to lift the cakes onto a cutting board. Use a 2 1/2-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut circles from both sheet cakes. You should get at least 24 rounds total (2 rounds per tower).
- Assemble the towers. Place one cake round on a serving plate. Spread or pipe a generous layer of cream cheese frosting on top. Set a second round directly on top and press gently. Finish with a swirl of frosting on the very top. Repeat for all 12 towers.
- Chill and serve. Refrigerate assembled towers for at least 20 minutes before serving to let the frosting set. Dust lightly with cinnamon or powdered sugar just before bringing them to the table.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 40g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 230mg