Cake can be a snack, right? The folks at Little Debbie, Tastycake, and Hostess certainly think so, as do I. But my molasses snack cake is quite different from the cream-filled, waxy-icing-covered treats you can find at your local grocery store or quick mart. This snack cake, created from a “make-it-mine” recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens Baking book, is a delicious creation of tender spiced cake, crunchy pecans, and a gentle drizzle of icing.
“Make-it-mine” recipes are among my favorites because they lend themselves to such creativity. Reading over my options for flavor combinations, I decided on a molasses cake with a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. You could leave this cake un-drizzled, but I think the icing adds a nice contrast of sweetness to the spices in the cake itself.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- Heaping 1/4 teaspoon cloves
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 baking pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add molasses, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla and beat on low to medium speed for two minutes. Add eggs and beat, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times; beat for an additional 2 minutes.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes; top with chopped toasted pecans and continue to bake for another 15-20 minutes, until top of cake springs back lightly when touched and a cake tester comes out clean.
Once cake is completely cool, make drizzle; stir together powdered sugar and enough water to make a thick drizzling consistency. Use a spoon to pour drizzle over cake.
Store, covered, at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Makes 12 servings.
amy bakes in the 'burgh 