How This Decades-Old Vintage Cake Became A Philadelphia Snack Food Icon

If you love any treat that combines peanut butter and chocolate, there's a decades-old vintage cake that deserves a comeback — and it has your name written all over it. If you didn't grow up in Pennsylvania or the surrounding area, you may never have heard of the snack food icon called a Tandy Cake, but it's a true Philadelphia staple. The Tandy Cake, aka Peanut Butter Kandy Kake, is a treat known and loved in the City of Brotherly Love. Launched in 1931 by the Philly-based snack food brand, Tastykake, Tandy Cakes quickly became one of the company's most sought-after items — and for good reason. The cake combines a vanilla sponge base topped with layers of peanut butter and chocolate, all packaged conveniently and ready to eat. 

The product, later rebranded as the Peanut Butter Kandy Kake in the 70s, started around the early boom of popular packaged snack foods in America. Eventually the brand grew with the times, increasing its production capacity and sales beyond the regional, Philly brand it started as. Still, after decades, some fans (especially Pennsylvania locals) have stayed loyal to the Peanut Butter Tandy Cake. "I have been eating these peanut butter kandykakes for over 60 years (in the PA area)," one customer wrote in their review of the product. Another customer wrote: "I have been eating these since I was a kid & I'm 44 today." Times may change, but some desserts — and the memories they bring — simply don't go out of style. 

The original packaged Peanut Butter Kandy Kake combined the rich, velvety taste and texture of peanut butter and chocolate atop a lightly sweet sponge cake base. Today, depending on what region on the country you live in, you may still be able to find Philadelphia's iconic homegrown snack in stores and online. Tastykake even sells a Coconut Kandy Kake (sans peanut butter), as well seasonal varieties and those with a chocolate cake base and cream filling. Though some people still love the treat for its nostalgic taste, some say Peanut Butter Kandy Kakes just don't taste the same as they used to. 

If you're lucky enough to remember the fresh taste and ingenuity of the decades-old vintage cake, it makes sense that the more-processed modern day version could come as a disappointment. Fortunately, if you'd like to experience a fresh take on the classic peanut butter dessert of yesteryear, it's easy to give the vintage cake a comeback by making it from scratch. Many people have developed their own recipes, baking a light yellow sponge in a shallow baking pan, then topping it with a generous layer of creamy peanut butter and melted chocolate. To achieve that perfect exterior candied crunch, the homemade version of the cake is placed in the fridge to set. The final result: a delectable bite of light cake with a creamy chocolate peanut butter goodness.