Lazy Daisy Cake

Lazy cake (or baker)? I think not. Maybe lazy for the 1940s when Lazy Daisy Cake debuted, but not these days. This is a scratch cake, requiring more effort than opening a box. But not that much more, and the result -- a rich yellow cake with a caramel coconut topping -- is worth it. Perhaps it was considered "lazy" in the past because the cake does not call for a traditional frosting, which often involved seven minutes of beating egg whites into submission, sometimes without the luxury of an electric hand-mixer.

So if you want to go old-school (and I know you do), start by combing the dry ingredients, and setting them aside while you mix the eggs and sugar. Don't let the egg-sugar mixture sit without stirring! Several years ago, I learned the hard way that the sugar "cooks" the egg yolks if not immediately mixed.

After the flour mixture is added, bring the milk and butter to the boil, and add it to the batter.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8 x 8 inch pan. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.

While the cake is baking, prepare the topping by melting the ingredients together in a small saucepan.

Spoon the topping over the hot cake, and spread out as best you can.

Place the cake under the broiler.

And broil until the topping is bubbly and begins to caramelize and color.

Production notes: I followed the recipe exactly as written, but since it's a bit jumbled, I rewrote the method to make more sense. Enjoy!

Lazy Daisy Cake

Cake:
2 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1 T. butter

Topping:
5 T. brown sugar
2 T. milk or cream
1/2 c. sweetened coconut
3 T. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8 x 8 inch pan.

Cake: Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Beat two eggs until thick, gradually add 1 c. sugar, beating constantly.  Add 1 t. vanilla.
Add flour mixture to egg mixture and combine well.
Heat 1/2 cup milk and 1 T. butter to boiling point.
Add to batter.
Pour into prepared pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick tester comes out clean.

While cake is baking, prepare topping.
Melt all topping ingredients in a small saucepan on top of stove.

When cake is removed from oven, spread topping on hot cake. Boil for a few minutes until topping bubbles.  Remove from broiler, cool and enjoy.