Chicago celebrates its birthday March 4, this year marking 185 years. Some say the city is older than we think, and that celebrating the date is like marking your baptism, or when you took your first steps, as your birthday.
We say even a fake birthday is worth celebrating, especially when there are so many classic Chicago food and drink experiences to be had, and in light of global events.
So birthdays mean cake, and around Chicago that should mean an atomic cake.
It’s a tall, weighty, radiant creation — with chocolate, yellow and banana layers — plus so much more.
“You start with a layer of banana cake topped with a banana filling,” that’s Bavarian cream custard with fresh sliced bananas, said Calumet Bakery owner Kerry Moore when discussing the history of the iconic Chicago-style cake in 2017.
“Then you put on a layer of yellow cake, topped with a strawberry filling,” that’s fresh-sliced strawberries in a glaze with strawberry cream, Moore said.
“Then you put on a layer of chocolate cake with fudge on top,” he added. “You ice it up, more times than not with whipped cream, but some people like buttercream, and that’s it.”
The cake has long been connected to Calumet Bakery. Moore’s maternal grandfather founded the business in 1935. His grandson had expanded the family-owned bakery beyond its original South Deering neighborhood.
When we spoke previously, Moore said he didn’t know exactly who invented the atomic cake.
“I was told that in the ‘50s, this guy named Frank or George, who worked part-time for my grandfather, came up with it,” Moore said. “He left to open Liberty Bakery in Roseland, but that’s closed.”
Other members of the Bakers Dozen, a collective of the oldest family bakeries in the area, said that it may have been a project by the group at the time.
After the previous story was published, however, readers wrote that it was George Kremm who invented the atomic cake at Liberty Bakery. One said they had worked for him in their teens, and others were related to the baker.
Or bakers, because there was more than one.
George Kremm opened Liberty Bakery at 11932 S. Halsted St. in the 1950s. Ads in phone books, including the Greater Roseland Area Directory, stated they were the “Originators of the Atomic Cake.” He would also go on to open Louise’s Cake Box in Palos Heights, with his wife and namesake, Louise Kremm.
Another reader wrote that George and his brother, Rudy Kremm, created the atomic cake together. Rudy Kremm owned three Kremm’s Bakery locations, all on the South and Southwest Sides.
The original atomic cake was nearly identical to what’s considered canon now.
The cake was assembled as follows, they wrote. A banana cake layer, topped with vanilla custard and fresh bananas plus whipped cream; next was a yellow cake layer, topped with fresh strawberries and whipped cream; next a chocolate cake layer, topped with chocolate custard; and then finally the whole cake was iced with whipped cream and garnished with chopped nuts and cherries on top.
The brothers made everything from scratch, custards and cake, plus used real whipping cream and all fresh fruit.
George Kremm, once our mystery baker and the son of Hungarian immigrants who would apparently go on to invent the atomic cake, died at 60 in 1983. His wife, Louise Kremm, owner of Louise’s Cake Box for 34 years and daughter of Hungarian immigrants, died at 85 in 2008.
It remains somewhat of a mystery why the atomic cake remained a South Side specialty, but perhaps less so as we reveal the layers of racial, ethnic and geographic segregation across the city.
If you want an atomic cake, you still usually need to order a whole cake in advance. You can find the occasional slice or cup, but bakeries are reluctant to offer them, because the bananas will brown.
Now, Orland Park Bakery offers a whole section of “Atomic Things.” Its atomic paczki were maddeningly only available as a limited edition flavor of the day, prior to Paczki Day, though they may come back before Easter. You can order an atomic cup ($6), The Bomb cupcake ($3) and even a make at home atomic cake kit ($25), some assembly required.
You can bake your own atomic cake at home from our test kitchen recipe, or find them at many bakeries in Chicago and the suburbs, including the following baker’s dozen, listed in alphabetical order, and do note you may need to order ahead, for Chicago’s birthday or any day:
Bennison’s Bakery; 1000 Davis St., Evanston; 847-328-9434; bennisonscakes.com
Brown Sugar Bakery, 328 E. 75th St., 773-224-6262, brownsugarbakerychicago.com
Cal City Bakery. 816 Burnham Ave., Calumet City; 708-862-6640. 4019 E. 106th St., 773-437-3750. calcitybakery.com
Calumet Bakery; 18349 Torrence Ave., Lansing; 708-895-3700; calumetbakery.com
Dinkel’s Bakery, 3329 N. Lincoln Ave., 773-281-7300, dinkels.com
Fleckenstein’s. 19225 S. La Grange Road, Mokena; 708-479-5256. 352 Maple St., New Lenox; 815-462-3595. fleckensteins.com
Iversen’s Bakery; 12948 Western Ave., Blue Island; 708-385-3410; facebook.com/iversenbakery
Orland Park Bakery; 14850 S. La Grange Road, Orland Park; 708-349-8516; orlandparkbakery.com
Pticek & Son Bakery; 5523 S. Narragansett Ave., facebook.com/Pticek-Son-Bakery-108169915891464
Roeser’s Bakery, 3216 W. North Ave., 773-489-6900, roeserscakes.com
TeaPotBrew Bakery, 1802 S. Wabash Ave., 312-966-6001, teapotbrewbakery.com
Weber’s Bakery, 7055 W. Archer Ave., 773-586-1234, webersbakery.com
Wolf’s Bakery; 3241 W. 95th St., Evergreen Park; 708-422-7429; wolfsbakery.com
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