Atomic Cake Is The Sweet Secret To Chicago's South Side

There's cake. And then there's cake. You know what we're talking about — the ones that go beyond your average birthday cake and push the bounds of what's possible for dessert. Atomic Cake, a specialty of the South Side of Chicago, is one such confection, combining not two, but three cakes for a towering monument of a dessert. It is simultaneously three distinct things and the sum of its parts, making for a truly special baked good.

Atomic Cake is characterized by its inclusion of three classic cake flavors: banana, strawberry, and chocolate. It begins with a layer of banana cake, Bavarian cream, and fresh bananas. The next layer is vanilla-flavored yellow cake and fresh glazed strawberries. The third cake included is chocolate, and then comes a layer of fudge on top along with a healthy dose of fresh whipped cream. It may seem like a lot, but really it's just that it's got it all.

The Atomic Cake may be new to you, but it's been a mainstay of bakeries on Chicago's South Side since the 1950s. The exact origin of this sweet cake is unclear, with a few variations of it purportedly being first made by George Kremm. Kremm was an employee at Calumet Bakery, where the cakes are still made today. That's the most commonly accepted telling of Atomic Cake's birth.

As for its name? The precise origin is equally unclear, but most people think it was named the Atomic Cake to celebrate the broader technological advances of the atomic era, which was ushered in a few years earlier in 1942. There's a bit of variation in the name, with one bakery calling it something else entirely. Weber's, which has been open on the South Side since 1930, named its version of the cake a Banana Split Torte. Michael Weber, grandson of the founder and current president of Weber's explained to the Chicago Tribune, "We just wanted to set ours apart." Even today, Weber's markets its cake as the Banana Split Torte, while other bakeries stick to the more popular atomic moniker.

The cake has been a popular choice for celebrations since its inception. It's often the centerpiece at parties and holds a particular place in people's memories from childhood. There's a good reason for this — the triple-decker cake is not sold by the slice. At all. Atomic Cake is a hefty cake that takes a lot of ingredients, time, and effort. Bakeries will only sell full ones for this reason, with the result being that it's a popular choice on the South Side when it's time to mark a special occasion.

Atomic Cake is truly unique to Chicago, and unless you happen to be hitting up classic South Side bakeries, it's nearly impossible to experience an authentic piece. That doesn't have to stop you from attempting it home as long as you're prepared with fruit, a lot of chocolate, and recipes for banana cake and Bavarian cream. You won't need to be a nuclear physicist to make Atomic Cake part of your repertoire.