I had a busy day in the kitchen today. I was processing some garden produce and baking bread. While I had the oven hot, I also thought I'd bake a quick and easy autumnal cake for my family to enjoy this October week. I made the Pumpkin Spice variation of this snack cake.
I've shared this recipe before, but it's such a great one to have in your back pocket, I wanted to share it )or the link to it), once again. It takes no eggs, no butter, and no milk. Plus it mixes right in the baking pan, so there's less to wash up afterward. Both eggs and butter are expensive for me right now. So this cake is not only an easy dessert, but a budget-stretching one as well.
Sometimes I frost these cakes. Other times, like tonight, I serve it in squares unfrosted. Since I know my family members will snack on this cake tomorrow or have some with breakfast, I made it a little healthier. I substituted 2/3 cup of whole wheat flour for some of the white flour in the batter. So it has some whole grain, plus some pumpkin. That should give it some health-points.
Anyway, I wanted to bring this recipe to the front of minds now that it's pumpkin and apple season (you can make this cake with applesauce in place of pumpkin). I'll add that for the pumpkin variation, I use 1 teaspoon of any of the fall spices, not just allspice. For today's cake, I used a combination of cinnamon, ginger and cloves totaling 1 teaspoon.
Enjoy!
I think I have made a version of this cake before. Is it the depression era wacky cake recipe? Definitely a good one. The oatmeal molasses version sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi Kris,
DeleteI don't know if this recipe is derived from the Depression Wacky Cake. But in looking wacky cake up, it's a lot like what I found. This particular recipe circulated in the 1970s during that period's great inflation. I think it was sort of based on the Betty Crocker Snackin' Cake mix that was popular then.
My mom used to make a chocolate chip-walnut version (no cocoa powder), which I loved -- like a chocolate chip cookie in cake form. I mostly make the pumpkin/ applesauce versions or the oatmeal and molasses version, as those are a way to get a little extra nutrition into our desserts. My kids, obviously, seemed to prefer the double chocolate version.
Well, I mean .... chocolate. :)
DeleteI made zucchini muffins yesterday--I probably should have subbed in some WW flour but I rationalized that the zucchini is healthy.
I'm guessing that was zucchini from your garden. Lucky you! Our zucchini was a dud this year.
DeleteI remember Snackin Cakes. This recipe sounds good, but I probably won't be making it for a while. I just weighed myself after our vacation, and it's time to cut back on the sweets for a while. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Live and Learn,
DeleteI can relate. After several days of vacation meals, I usually only want to eat vegetables., salads, and fresh fruit for a few days. But hopefully, the vacation memories are worth an extra pound..