My new favorite cake has a name Judgy.
“It’s called Lazy Daisy Cake,” said my friend Ursula Reshoft-Hegewisch, stretching a tranche to a barbecue last summer.
Ursula is a highly qualified baker, but this cake, which her mother used, was completely different from her elaborate voices of the meringue or the fancy nut dacquois. It was so simple that it was checked on a flat corner: a flat corner with a speckled brown top, unevenly blackened.
However, its inner beauty shone. Under this Dowdy exterior was a refined crumb, lighter than the butter cake, more tender than the radiance. He was covered with a brown sugar icing that managed to be both fragile and Candylike at the top, and sweet and Fudgy where he met the cake. The spots proved to be shreds of coconut, which added a nubby chew and a grilled marshmallow on the pieces that had sung under the ferocious heat of the grill.
The laziness holder of this vintage recipe from the 1930s, as Ursula informed me, refers to the frosting – a toasted basic garnish, as opposed to the careful holidays of butter cream or frosting of seven minutes which were at the time.
What seemed lazy for the bakers of yesteryear looks like an inspired hack today. Simply stir the melted butter, the brown sugar and the coconut, pour it on the cake, then grill until the sugar bubbles. If the lazy road leads to something so delicious, who will judge you for having taken it?
Under this easy frosting, the cake itself is also retro and simple to make. A favorite from the era of depression known as hot milk cake, it requires a minimum of butter and only two eggs, which, with the prices of eggs as they are, feels very 2025.
The ethereal texture of the cake comes from the beaten air in the eggs, which are stabilized with dough powder. The melted butter and the whipped hot milk give the crumb a fine and velvety texture. Some bakers add vanilla for hot floral notes, and I exchanged cardamom, which gives a spicy fragrance which is charming with the melasse-y.
Lazy Daisy Cake has a cousin abroad called Drømmekage, or Dream Cake, which is traditional in Denmark. Drømmekage has the same basis of hot milk sponge surmounted by an frosting with the brown sown, but it has a less derogatory name. But I like “lazy Daisy”. After all, the trip to Dreamland begins on a pillow.
Lazy Marguerite cake
Also called Danish dream cake (Drømmekage), this vintage recipe has a tender cake garnished with a “lazy” frosting of butter, brown sugar and coconut. Then, the entire cake, still in its saucepan, is executed under the grill until the brown sugar melts, becoming Fudgy and the coconut toast and sings in places. It makes a nice treat that is right too. The brittle and crunchy garnish the day it is cooked, becomes softer and creamy after sitting at room temperature during the night, when it will last three days.
By Melissa Clark
Yield: 8 to 12 portions
Total time: 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
For the cake:
2 tablespoons of non -salty butter, more for the pan
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150 grams) sugar
1 cup (128 grams) of versatile flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of sea or table salt
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon of cardamom on the ground (optional)
1/2 cup (118 milliliters) whole milk
For the garnish:
1/2 cup (113 grams) Unsaled butter
3/4 cup (165 grams) dark or light brown sugar
1/4 cup (60 milliliters) whole milk
Fine sea or table salt pliers
1 1/4 cups (105 grams) of grated coconut (not sweet or sweet)
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Prepare the cake: Heat the oven for 350 degrees. Butter a 9 -inch square or round square and line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter the paper.
2. Using an electric mixer or drummers, beat the eggs and sugar until they are fluffy and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. (You can also do it with a whisk, although it takes some time and efforts.) Beat in flour, baking powder and salt. Beat in vanilla or cardamom, if you use.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and 2 tablespoons of butter, stirring until the butter melts and the milk cooked with steam, but do not let the mixture boil (a soft simmer on the edges of the pan is good). Pour the hot mixture into the eggs, beating briefly until you have a smooth and flowing dough. Pour into the prepared pan.
4. Cook in the oven for 22 to 32 minutes, until the surface is golden pale and the top comes back when it is slightly in a hurry with your finger.
5. While the cooked cake, prepare the garnish: in a small saucepan (you can use the same that you used for milk and you don’t have to wash it), melt the butter. Add the brown sugar, milk and salt and stir until the mixture simmer. Turn off the heat and incorporate the coconut.
6. When the cake is finished, pour the coconut mixture evenly on top and place it under the grill for 1 to 4 minutes, until the garnish is bubbling and golden. Look at him carefully so that he does not burn (a few shreds of sung coconuts are nice).
7. Transfer to a rack to cool before serving. If you don’t serve the same day, store at room temperature and serve within 2 days.
