You've heard of Shoo-Fly Pie, right? It's a deeply sweet molasses-based pie with crumble topping and is wildly popular in the Pennsylvania Dutch area of the country.
No, it doesn't have flies in it. Since it's such a sweet pie, back in the old days they had to shoo the flies away from it and I guess every other pie name had been taken; thus...Shoo-Fly Pie.
This Shoo-Fly Cake is from Classic Home Desserts by the late James Beard award winner Richard Sax. I previously made a Double Chocolate Pudding from his book and it was excellent, so I've been thumbing through and looking for another recipe. It's adapted from the pie recipe and is made into a cake instead!
It has simple ingredients and is a snap to make. The result is a very tender cake with a sandy crumb topping.
I love the deep molasses flavor in contrast to the crumbly topping, but it's just a touch better with a big dollop of whipped cream on top to cut the sweetness. After the addition of the whipped cream, it's luscious and eye-rolling worthy.
I halved Mr. Sax's original recipe since there are only two of us and it came out perfectly. It's even better the second day and is excellent with coffee or a cold glass of milk.
It's amazing how easy this cake is to make. If you're looking for a quick, different, and deliciously-sweet cake, this Shoo-Fly Cake is it!
Shoo-Fly Cake
Sweet, molasses-flavored very tender cake. Definitely serve with whipped cream.
Ingredients
- 2 C all-purpose flour
- 1 and ⅙ C (½ lb.) light brown sugar
- 1 stick butter, cut into pieces and softened
- 1 C boiling water
- ½ C molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Whipped topping (highly recommended!)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and lightly flour an 8x8" baking pan. Set aside.
- In an electric mixer bowl on low speed, combine the flour, brown sugar and butter and work into fine crumbs (2 to 3 minutes). Remove and reserve 1 cup of the crumbs for the topping.
- In a small bowl, combine the boiling water, molasses and baking soda; add to the mixing bowl and beat on medium speed for several minutes until the batter is smooth and thin. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top.
- Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool the cake completely in the pan on a rack. Serve with whipped cream.
Notes
Tips and Stuff:
The original recipe was doubled and uses a 13x9" pan.
When you add the baking soda to the water and molasses, it will foam up a bit - that's O.K.
Homemade whipped cream: 1 Cup whipping cream, ½ tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. sugar or other sweetener. Whip with an electric mixer in a cold bowl until it's the consistency you want (5 minutes or so).
You don't want very sweet whipped cream with this cake since it's already so sweet!
Next time I will add a teaspoon of cinnamon. I think that will kick it up even another notch.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 pieceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 186Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 172mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 1gSugar: 11gProtein: 2g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
I made this cake today, it reminds me of my pie recipe. The only ingredient you're missing is 2 large eggs. I think that's why you're getting all the " it fell in the middle " comments. Mine came out fine and I live at altitude!
Thanks for the tip, Dorothy. I live in North Texas and mine came out fluffy with just a little 'dent' in the middle of it (see the first photo above), but that's a good idea about adding eggs.
When I made this cake. I followed to the T the recipe and it boiled over my baking dish and burned my oven floor and and after 40 minutes it was very soupy and not baked at all. Why did this happen? I’m so afraid to try it again now
Hi Donna - I'm not sure why it would boil over. I use a high-sided 8x8" square metal pan. It does puff up considerably. What I can think of is, make sure your oven is up to full 350 degrees before putting the pan in, and also check the date on your baking soda?
Since I experiment with recipes so often, I do leave a designated cookie sheet on the lower rack...just in case! Hope you'll try it again - it's really a tasty cake.
To keep my cakes from falling, I usually sift together my dry ingredients. This helps to alleviate "heavy" sections of the cake that cause it to fall. Additionally, every oven is different. You may need to keep the cake in a bit longer.
I made the recipe as directed, and I’m pretty sure the reserved crumbs should not be added until after the cake is baked.
Hi Michelle! Richard Sax's recipe has them added before baked - they kind of sink in a little bit, but it still should be a 'sandy' topping after baked (see my first photo above of the cake in the pan). Not sure how it would work after baked - the topping might fall off of the cake too easily because of the texture. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Can boiling coffee be used instead of boilng water?
Hi Dieter! Yes, you could do that. I'm not sure how it would affect the flavor, but the texture should remain the same.
My cake fell in the middle while cooling. Why did this happen?
The reasons I've come across for the cake falling in the middle are - baking in a too-cool of an oven (putting the pan in before oven comes to full temp - I've had this happen to me!); a little too much liquid; too small of pan (8x8 worked perfectly for me, though - see photos); not baking long enough. Was the inside cooked and it just fell, or was it cooked around the edges and not in the middle? Maybe we can track down the reason.