Joe

Josie’s Famous Molasses Crumb Cake

Growing up, everyone we knew was of Italian descent. Our town was full of Italian immigrant families and our Roman Catholic church was full of Italian families (with a sprinkling of Polish and Irish immigrants) following many of the same traditions they had in Italy. No one was boastful about being Italian, it was simply all we knew. When you asked someone where they were from, the answer was never “Italy”—that was a given! The question was asking which region of Italy the person was from, and the answer would almost always be Sicily, Naples (Campania), Abruzzo or, the case of my grandfather, Le Marche. Italian family life was what we knew and lived every day. Italian food is almost the only thing we ate.

In the case of our immediate family, we were a mixture of Marchigiani, Neapolitani and Siciliani. My Uncle Nelson was married to an Irish woman (Aunt Ann) and everyone knew it and would mention it on occasion. When my cousin Mia married Paul, who was of English descent, my Aunt Mary was a little disappointed. My mom and dad each spoke the dialects from their family’s region but they couldn’t communicate with each other in those dialects. The one Chinese restaurant in our town was owned by Italians and had Italian, American and Chinese sections on the menu.

Josie in the garden

My mom was a wonderful cook and mostly made food from Le Marche, which she learned from my paternal grandmother Maria. Though Maria was from Naples, her husband Giuseppe was from Le Marche, so relying on Marchigiani immigrant neighbors and friends, she learned how to cook the food Giuseppe knew. My mother, whose family came from Sicily, in turn switched to cooking the food of Le Marche for my father, learning from her mother-in-law. I remember only two exceptions to the dishes from Italy that my mother made. These all-American exceptions to our otherwise-Italian food were (1) meatloaf and (2) molasses crumb cake. The meatloaf was absolutely terrible, but the molasses crumb cake was always a huge hit at parties, picnics and holiday gatherings.

Old recipe

This six-ingredient “tray-baked” cake is of Pennsylvania Dutch origin; versions can be found all over the internet. How my mom came across it is complete mystery. She wrote down the recipe for me at one point but I never made it until recently, when the happy memories with this delicious cake came flooding back to me.

Make sure to use light or original molasses rather than dark, full flavor, robust or bootstrap. My mother used Brer Rabbit Light Molasses and margarine. I used Grandma’s Original Molasses (I looked everywhere in LA for Brer Rabbit but no luck) and butter.

This is a great cake to have for dessert or with coffee in the morning. I hope Josie’s famous Molasses Crumb Cake makes happy memories in your family as it did in our Italian-American one!

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
cake picture

Josie’s Famous Molasses Crumb Cake


Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 lb unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • 1 cup light molasses
  • 1 tbsp baking soda (NOT baking powder)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉.
  2. Butter a 9″x13″ baking pan. Use a small pat of butter in a paper towel and rub on all surfaces including the corners.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and sugar. Add the butter and rub together into the dry ingredients with your fingers or a pastry blender. Alternatively, use the paddle attachment with a stand mixer. Be sure to leave the butter in pea sized pieces. 
  4. Reserve 1 cup of the flour, sugar and butter mixture for the crumb topping.
  5. In another bowl, add the boiling water. Then add the baking soda and molasses and stir until fizzy. 
  6. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the batter unevenly with the reserved crumbs. The cake will pop up through the open spaces to create a nice-looking cake.
  7. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick come out clean.
  8. Let cool on a baking rack and serve right from the pan.

Notes

P.S. If you’re wondering how this recipe works with just baking soda, the acid in the molasses reacts with the base of the baking soda to create CO₂ to make the cake rise.

Join the Conversation

  1. Good morning from cold Pa….
    This post put an early morning smile on my face. I can Almost smell that cake baking in your moms kitchen…it was one of my favorites…
    A piece of that and a coffee would transport me back to a time filled with laughing, stronge women and always too much food!! I miss Those times. I am So grateful for the memories and the close relationships maintained with you and Michele….our mothers would be proud! ❤️

  2. Georgeann Antonino Kruzel says:

    I love in the original….”tap” water. ❤️

  3. Does the amount of butter stay the same for 1x, 2x,3x as well as pan size and cooking time?
    It appears so when I extend the amounts.
    Thanks

    1. No, it would scale up too. I’ll try and fix the recipe so it auto-adjusts. As for the bake time, it will probably increase especially if you use a deeper pan. You’ll have to test every 5-10 mins. Thanks. Joe

  4. John Kraynak says:

    Thanks Joe. Can’t wait to make this.

  5. Hi Joe,
    May I ask a question? Why did you change the original recipe? I realize you had a problem finding the molasses. It’s more of why to butter than margarine?
    Just curious.
    Thank you.
    Looking forward to trying the recipe.

    1. Imperia: Thanks for your comment. I generally don’t use margarine so I used unsalted butter. I’m sure margarine would work just fine. Thanks. Joe

  6. Made it. Love it! So easy and delicious. I halved the recipe in an 8 x 8, baked for about 38 minutes.






  7. Could I use a Bundt pan for this recipe ?

    1. Gauri: I’ve never tried that but I would give it a try. You would put the reserved crumbs mixture in the bottom of the bundt pan and then the batter. Let me know how it comes out! Joe

  8. Delicious looking crumb cake. For next weekend.






  9. Thank you for the recipe! This makes such a nice fluffy cake. We only had dark molasses so I added a little brandy to smooth out any bitterness and it was a huge hit. Chocolaty, even.






    1. Sharon: Thanks so much! My mom made this all the time and it really brings my childhood back when I make it! Joe

  10. Thank you for the recipe. Is this a wet bottom cake?

    1. Joe Author says:

      You are welcome. No, this cake moist but not wet when cooked. Thanks. Joe

  11. Roxanne M Hoben says:

    Moistest molasses cake I have ever made!






    1. Joe Author says:

      Thank you!! Taken directly from my mom’s handwritten recipe.. Joe

  12. Samantha VanWhy says:

    It’s my mother in laws favorite cake and I am going to surprise her with it for next weekend! She’s Pennsylvania Dutch with some Polish too. I’m wondering what sorghum would do in this recipe? Maybe next time as I want it to be like she wants it. Thanks!

    1. Samantha: Thanks for your comment. We grew up in PA area too but from a big Italian family. My mother must have gotten this recipe from a friend.

      As for sorghum, I’m not familiar with it but the baking soda in this recipe REALLY reacts with the acid in the molasses so that would still be to happen to make the recipe work.

      Let me know if you try it! Joe

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating 5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

Close
Our Italian Table © Copyright 2020. All rights reserved.
Close