Of course, there’s always a downside, even in fairy tales. Judgment sneaks in everywhere, even homemaking. If the homemaker’s dessert, never mind the dinner, wasn’t adequately time-consuming, she could be labeled “lazy.” Thus, Lazy Daisy was some over-worked gal who was trying to shave a few minutes off her dessert. She did that by mixing all the ingredients for a chunky frosting, spreading it on a warm sheet cake, broiling the whole shebang for a few minutes, then serving it directly from the pan. Never mind that she’d just made a from-scratch cake and homemade icing: that girl must be lazy! Truly an oddly judgmental story for a cake title. If the cake and frosting weren’t so delicious, the recipe would have passed in obscurity long ago. But the combination of finely textured, moist oatmeal cake topped with brown sugary, coconutty goodness has proved to be irresistible for generations of bakers. Thank goodness Daisy was “lazy” and left us with a recipe which should be kept at the front of everyone’s recipe file.
This particular recipe is one of seven versions (!) of Lazy Daisy cake in a much-loved local cookbook of my parents. Some of the Best Cooks Live in Santa Cruz County was a fund-raising community cookbook sponsored by the YMCA in 1975. Thank you, Sharon Carmichael and the six other gals for contributing this timeless recipe.
As Lazy Daisy Cake travels very well, for those of us who enjoy retro kitchen gear, having the proper cake pan in which to bake, transport, and serve from, completes the experience. I suggest ordering the original covered 13” by 9” baking pan from The Cake Pan Lady. Suzi has one with a green top, with the Bake-a-Cake graphic gracing the top. We also like the Apron Gals graphic. See the big collection of styles at www.thecakepanlady.com