Lazy Daisy Cake - A Vintage Family Favorite

  

I wanted to bake a cake today but I wasn't really wanting anything too fancy, just a good old fashioned cake.  I didn't want a large cake either. There are only two of us,  and there is one of us who really shouldn't be eating cake, so a smaller cake was what was needed.  

 

I started looking through my various baking books and then I remembered this Lazy Daisy Cake recipe that my Aunt Freda gave to me years and years ago! I have it in my Big Blue Binder, written out in her very own hand-writing.  

 

It's basically only ingredients, size of pan and oven temp/timing.  That's the way old cooks passed their recipes on.  They took it for granted that anyone who they passed them to would know what they were doing when it came to cooking or baking.

 

(Aunt Freda age 14)

Freda was my mother's youngest sister.  I loved her very much.  She was my favourite Aunt. We were very close and very much alike in a great many ways.  Sadly we lost her to lung cancer about 11 years or so ago.  

 

She was so beloved by so many people that they had to open up a second building and relay her funeral service to it by video as so many people had turned up to pay their respects. She was just a special person, a person with a huge heart and broad shoulders.  

 

 You could talk to her about anything and many did.  You knew it was not going to go any further.  She was a great listener and a wonderful daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, friend . . .  and a fabulous cook. 

 I love recipes like this . . .  family recipes with a history. I love them because every time I make one of them, I have the opportunity to think special thoughts about my dear ones, and to remember happy times spent together.

 Every time I bake this cake, it is like getting a nice warm hug from my Aunt Freda.  I can almost feel her looking down at me with approval . . .

Its just a simple cake, very much like my mother's Hot Milk Cake . Hot milk cake and this care are  a plain vanilla sponge cake.

Both are baked in a square pan . . . nothing fancy or out of the ordinary . . . 

 

 

 

The special touch is the broiled coconut topping. You melt brown sugar, butter, milk and coconut together in a saucepan while the cake is baking.

 

You must take care not to let the mixture boil.  You just want the ingredients melted together.

 

 

This almost caramel-like mixture then gets spread onto the warm baked cake, which you then  pop under a hot grill where it turns into a coconut-candy-type of coating.  It is quite simply scrumptious!  

 

You do need to watch it really carefully when it is under the grill because it can turn and scorch/burn in a flash. Don't ever be tempted to walk away and leave it. 

 

 This process really only takes a few minutes, so it's not much of a problem to stand by and watch while you do it.

 

I like to give it a little turn every 30 seconds or so.  That way the coconut topping grills fairly evenly . . .  oh but it is some good.  All caramelised . . .  kind of like a creme bruleed cake, except there is no cream involved. Just one plain, moist, and very delicious cake.

This always goes down a real treat, served still slightly warm, with a glass of cold milk. It would be equally at home with a nice hot cuppa or with some fresh fruit or berries on the side, or even a dollop of whipped cream.  

 My heart, as I ate my very tiny piece (I promise!) was filled with love for my Aunt Freda with every mouthful. Family recipes . . .  they're the best!

A FEW OTHER SIMILAR CAKE RECIPES

THAT YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY

DANDY CANDY CAKE - The kind of simple, comforting bake that never goes out of style. With its tender, vanilla‑scented crumb and a buttery coconut streusel that bakes into a sweet, candy‑like crust, every square feels like a little slice of home. The topping turns golden and crisp in the oven, creating the perfect contrast to the soft, moist cake beneath—no frosting needed.

CRUNCHY TOPPED BANANA SNACK CAKE - This is a humble, old‑fashioned bake that wins you over from the very first bite. The cake itself is unbelievably moist thanks to ripe mashed banana and a splash of sour milk, giving it that tender, melt‑in‑your‑mouth crumb that makes banana cakes so comforting . But the real magic happens on top: a warm, buttery mixture of brown sugar, cream, coconut, and toasted nuts that’s broiled until golden and bubbly, forming a sweet, candy‑bar‑like crunch that’s downright irresistible.

 

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Yield: one 9-inch square cake

Author: Marie Rayner

Lazy Daisy Cake

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min

This is an old family recipe that is simple and never fails to please.  

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 cup (120g) cake flour (see notes)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 large free range eggs
• 1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
• 1 TBS vanilla extract

For the broiled coconut topping:

• 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar
• 1 cup (80g) flaked sweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup (113g) butter, melted
• 2 TBS half and half cream

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking tin really well. Set aside.
2. Heat the milk and butter for the cake in the microwave for about 60 seconds until hot and steaming and the butter melts. (In the old days this would have been done in a small saucepan.) Set aside.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Whisk the eggs with an electric beater until frothy. Slowly whisk in the sugar on a high speed until thick. Beat in the vanilla.
5. Stir in the flour mixture just to blend and then stir in the hot milk until incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown, risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. While the cake is baking make the topping. Place all of the ingredients into a saucepan and cook, stirring over medium low heat, until the butter melts and the sugar is dissolved. Take care not to let the mixture boil.
8. Preheat the grill/broiler to high.
9. Remove the cooked cake from the oven and carefully spread the topping mixture evenly over top.
10. Pop under the heated grill for about 3 to 4 minutes, until the topping is bubbling. Remove and place onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cut into squares to serve.

Notes

Make Your Own cake flour: Whisk together 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (105g) all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons (14g) cornstarch. Use in place of cake flour in a recipe, substituting by equal weight or volume. 

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Why not spend the afternoon with my Aunt Freda yourself and bake this tasty cake???  You can tell her I sent you.  I am sure she would be well pleased and give you a very warm welcome!! Bon Appetit! 

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