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Shoofly Cake
If you've had a chance to visit Amish Country in Lancaster County, PA, you might be familiar with shoofly pie. This Amish Shoofly cake recipe is similar to the shoofly pie. It is a deliciously moist molasses cake.
Shoofly cake has a lot of the same ingredients as the pie, including that wonderful molasses flavor. But pies take a little longer to make, especially if you use homemade crusts. And baking a pie may feel more intimidating than baking a cake.
So here is a recipe for shoofly cake that is super easy and quick to make.
Pennsylvania Shoofly Cake
Shoofly cake and shoofly pie are both very popular with the Lancaster County Amish.
Many Amish homes serve shooflies for breakfast. And we always ate ours covered in milk, almost like it was cereal. We poured milk on to add moisture to the dry crumbs that were on the top. And I still like to eat it with milk, although I like it even more with a cup of coffee.
This shoofly cake recipe is great to eat at any time of the day or night :). I love it with coffee for breakfast, but you can also serve it for dessert with any meal.
I didn't make any shoofly for a long time, and I forgot how much I love it! It is addicting! Whenever I make it, I can't stop eating it.
I'll probably make this shoofly cake quite frequently because it takes very little time and effort to make, and I am in love with it. I know, it's not healthy and I shouldn't eat it. But it's so good!!
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Molasses Crumb Cake
I hadn't really thought about it before, but having grown up Amish in Lancaster County, we ate quite a bit of molasses in different recipes that we often used. And I love the flavor of good molasses, especially in baked goods.
Some of the Amish make their church peanut butter spread with Karo syrup, but we always made ours with molasses. Find my Amish peanut butter recipe here.
There is a Golden Barrel Molasses Company in Honey Brook, PA (my hometown), so we had access to good molasses locally. And we always used their baking molasses, which is some of the best light-tasting molasses.
King syrup is another good light-tasting option, although it's technically syrup and not molasses.
Cake with Molasses
This Amish molasses cake recipe is easy to make. Simply mix the brown sugar, flour, and butter to make fine crumbs. You can crumble this mixture in your Kitchen Aid mixing bowl with the paddle attachment or use a pastry blender.
Save two cups of crumbs for the top.
In a separate bowl, combine the boiling water and soda. Then add the salt and molasses. Mix well.
Add this mixture to the remaining crumb mixture. Stir or whisk to combine. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13" pan.
Starting at the edges, sprinkle the reserved crumbs on the top. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 - 45 minutes. Cool.
That's it, now you have an Amish shoofly cake (molasses cake) to enjoy!
You can store this cake at room temperature for at least a week. It's never lasted any longer than that at my house, so I don't know exactly how long it will last.
But if you don't think you'll get it all eaten within a week, I would suggest putting a few pieces in the freezer to keep it fresh for later.
Updated Recipe (July 2022)...
Before creating this blog post, I had made this shoofly cake several times. It always turned out great, but I noticed that it never turned out exactly the same.
I've made this shoofly cake several times since then, and I've been trying to figure out what makes the difference in the results.? (Sometimes it's wetter on the bottom, sometimes most of the crumbs sink, etc.)
I've been playing around and updated the recipe. You may notice the difference in my latest photo.
You may also want to try my Wet-bottom Shoofly Pie recipe or my Amish sticky buns recipe.
More Amish Cake Recipes
Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chai Spice Cake
Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Frosting
The Best Chocolate Cake
Tiramisu Torte Cake
I hope you enjoy this Amish molasses cake with crumbs on top. If you try it, I'd love it if you left a comment and star rating below. Thank you!
Amish Shoofly Cake
Shoofly Cake is a moist molasses cake that is similar to shoofly pie. This is a well-known breakfast dessert among the Lancaster County Amish. It pairs perfectly with a cup of coffee.
4.80 from 5 votes
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Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 1 hour hr
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine Amish
Servings 20 people
Calories 305 kcal
Ingredients
- 2 scant c. brown sugar
- 2 sticks butter (or 1 c. shortening)
- 4 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 c. boiling water
- 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 c. Golden Barrel unsulfured baking molasses (or any light-tasting molasses)
- 1 tsp. salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix brown sugar, flour, and butter with a pastry blender until you have fine crumbs.
2 scant c. brown sugar, 4 c. all-purpose flour, 2 sticks butter (or 1 c. shortening)
Reserve two cups of the crumbs for the top.
Combine the boiling water and baking soda, then add the molasses and salt. Mix well.
1 1/2 c. Golden Barrel unsulfured baking molasses (or any light-tasting molasses), 2 c. boiling water, 2 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. salt
Mix the molasses mixture with the remaining crumbs. And pour this into a greased 9x13" baking dish.
Starting at the edges, scatter the reserved 2 cups of crumbs over the top.
Bake for about 45 - 50 minutes. Cool and enjoy.
Notes
If you prefer, you can mix the flour, brown sugar, and butter in your mixer with the paddle attachment to make the crumbs.
Store at room temperature for up to a week. And you can also place some into an airtight container and freeze it for later.
This recipe has been edited (July 2022).
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 5gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 345mgPotassium: 313mgFiber: 1gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 282IUCalcium: 47mgIron: 3mg
Keyword Amish Molasses Cake, Amish shoofly cake, Shoofly Cake recipe
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