Shoo Fly Cake

I'm giving blood on Saturday, so I need to make sure I have adequate Iron in my system. I've been eating a lot more red meat than usual (usual is "none at all"). I've been taking Iron supplements. And now I'm about to get my Iron from the most delicious source: Shoo Fly Cake.

Shoo Fly Cake was always a special treat when my grandmother made it. It looked like chocolate, but it didn't taste like chocolate. Still, it was delicious. I hadn't had Shoo Fly Cake in decades when someone at the Red Cross suggested molasses as a source of Iron. She specified Blackstrap molasses, which is higher in Iron, but I used up all my Blackstrap on my last cake a few weeks ago. So I'm making do with what I have.

There are a lot of recipes for Shoo Fly Cake on the internet, but the one I'm using today is from Recipezaar.com. In the interest of proliferating this delicious cake, I'm reprinting it here.

The recipe was originally posted by a Recipezaar.com member named kzmom. Here is the recipe she posted, which is indexed as Recipezaar recipe #110423 :


Shoofly Crumb Cake Recipe
If you like molasses, you will love this rich, moist cake. The recipe comes from a Pennsylvania Dutch restauranteur named Betty Groff and is published in an old book by her called Good Earth and Country Cooking.
by kzmom

1¼ hours 10 min prep SERVES 15

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

4 cups flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1 cup table molasses
2 cups boiling water
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugars, salt and butter to crumbs using a pastry blender or your fingers.

Reserve one cup of the crumbs for topping.

Mix the molasses, boiling water, and baking soda and gradually add to the major part of the crumbs until well blended.

Pour this mixture into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup of crumbs on top.

Bake in a 350 F oven for 55 minutes.


I made mine in two non-stick loaf pans. I recommend reducing the heat to 300 degrees after the first 40 minutes or so. But ovens will vary, so my oven may run hotter than yours.

My cakes are out of the oven now. If you'll excuse me, I have to go get ready for Saturday's blood donation.

Note: With its crumb topping, this might make a nice base for a Poop Cake. Just add Tootsie Rolls!