By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

Shoofly pie is associated with the Pennsylvania Dutch. It’s made with molasses and brown sugar and is so sweet that the flies have to be shooed away. Long ago, a friend and co-worker gave me a recipe for Shoofly Cake, which has the flavor of shoofly pie without the work of making a pie crust. I made a few substitutions to make it vegan and adjusted the baking time and it has been a favorite family birthday cake for years.

Shoofly Cake (makes 1 9” round cake)

2½ cups all-purpose flour

¾ cup organic sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda             

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegan stick margarine or shortening

1 cup hot water

½ cup molasses (not blackstrap molasses)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 9-inch round cake pan.

     Combine flour, sugar, soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Cut in margarine with a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Reserve 1/3 cup of the crumbs and set aside.

     Stir together the hot water and molasses and add to the flour mixture in the large mixing bowl. Stir just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pan and sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes until it is done.