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    Home » Amish Recipes

    Shoofly Cake Recipe, Amish Molasses Cake

    06/21/2021 by Anna 12 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Shoofly Cake

    If you've had a chance to visit Amish Country in Lancaster, 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.

    Amish-molasses-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.

    And 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!!

    Molasses Crumb Cake

    I never thought of it before, but I guess as 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 molasses, which is some of the best tasting.

    Here is an affiliate link for Golden Barrel molasses, in case you're interested...

    King syrup is another great light-tasting option.

    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.

    shoofly cake ingredients

    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. And 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.

    And 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.

    Amish Shoofly cake

    Updated Recipe (July 2022)...

    Prior to creating this blog post, I had made this shoofly cake several times. It always turned out great, but I noticed that it never turns out exactly the same.

    Now 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. Hope you enjoy it!

    shoofly-cake-and-zinnias

    You may also want to try my Wet-bottom Shoofly Pie recipe or my Amish sticky buns recipe

    a-slice-of-shoofly-cake

    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.
    4.67 from 3 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    Total Time 1 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
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Check out my YouTube channel at My Amish Heritage

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    Comments

    1. Joel

      June 24, 2022 at 4:35 am

      4 stars
      Just made this for the first time. Took 50 minutes and most of the crumbs stayed on top. Can’t wait to try this. I Love shoofly pie.

      Reply
    2. Michele Whitenight

      April 28, 2022 at 2:17 pm

      I love this recipe. This cake is so delicious and moist. My only problem is 75% of my crumbs sink. I have tried keeping more crumbs out, I have tried baking it 15min. then putting more crumbs on it, but neither of the options have worked. Do u have any ideas. Thanks

      Reply
      • Anna

        April 28, 2022 at 10:38 pm

        To tell you the truth, I have baked this cake numerous times and it never turns out exactly the same. I've been trying to figure out what makes the difference and I have not gotten it figured out yet. It's always good, just not exactly the same.

        Reply
    3. Bridget

      October 31, 2021 at 10:56 pm

      Just wanted to say I was born and raised in Lancaster (still live here, near Mountville) and really love your blog if recipes! I also enjoyed reading your story. Glad you decided to take up blogging 🙂 I’ve always appreciated a good, home-cooked meal and I know the local PA Dutch make some amazing foods!

      Reply
      • Anna

        November 01, 2021 at 10:46 am

        Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it.

        Reply
    4. Bonnie

      September 13, 2021 at 9:30 am

      5 stars
      EASY. and just like a true wet bottom pie but in cake form without rolling dough. 9 x13 pan means larger quantity at one time baking it.

      Reply
    5. Bonnie

      September 13, 2021 at 9:26 am

      SO glad to find this cake versus pie recipe for shoo fly. Made this cake using Golden Barrel Supreme unsulfured baking molasses in 9x13 aluminum cake pan. 45 min at 350. Since i assume you have made this several times, would like your suggestions for next time i make this. i see directions say 'about 45 min'. When i took out of oven at 45 min and did toothpick check in center of cake, toothpick came out clean so i assumed it was 'done'. However, when cutting the cake, the corner edges were runny without a crumb bottom (like a wet bottom shoo fly) but the closer you get to the center there is a perfect crumb bottom. So question is ... when you pour the hot liquid molasses mix over the crumb layer, even tho doing it slowly, should it be perhaps be cooled down a little first ? It was hard to decide to let it bake a little longer since center was perfect and the dark color (from molasses) that comes thru on the edges when taking out of oven makes you think 'it's done on edges'. Perhaps it was even my thicker bottom aluminum pan causing this. Anyhow... this turned out as a perfect wet bottom pie in cake form if omitting about 4 inches in from the 9 x 13 pan runny areas.

      Reply
      • Anna

        September 17, 2021 at 2:36 pm

        Honestly, I made this three times in the past few months. Each time it turned out a little differently. I will play around more with this recipe to see if I can figure out what makes the difference. Sometimes it's wetter on the bottom than others. I will try mixing my crumbs and liquid, except some for the top. I'll adjust the recipe as I figure it out.

        Reply
      • Anna

        October 03, 2021 at 3:32 pm

        I adjusted the recipe a bit. Try it out to see if you like it better.

        Reply
        • Bonnie

          April 28, 2022 at 3:04 pm

          5 stars
          made AGAIN and turned out great. and the last time, i divided the batter into three 2 lb aluminum loaf pans and baked at same time in oven and they all came out perfectly. had one to eat, one to freeze and one to give away.

          Reply
    6. Hazel

      September 11, 2021 at 7:32 pm

      I purchased the black strap molasses. What is the difference between it and the baking molasses. Can they be used interchangeably?

      BTW, I’m from Lancaster & Chester counties in PA. We moved to TN 7 years ago. I’m enjoying your blog.

      Reply
      • Anna

        September 12, 2021 at 2:07 pm

        Blackstrap molasses has a lot stronger flavor. You may want to add corn syrup to it to tame it down a bit unless you love that strong flavor. I'm glad you are enjoying my blog!

        Reply

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    Hi, I’m Anna. I grew up Amish in the Lancaster County, Pa. area (the heart of Amish country). I currently live in a small rural town in Missouri and am a homeschool mom to 4 great kids. Some of my favorite things to do are spending time in the kitchen, (baking and preparing meals from scratch), gardening, and spending time with my lovely family.

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