Busy day?

By Judith Evans/St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Donald Harmon's search for a cake recipe his mother used to make opened the floodgates, resulting in a deluge of recipes - and of reminiscences.

“My father, who is 78 years old and who grew up in Granite City, Ill., remembers quite fondly a cake called ‘busy day,'” wrote his daughter, Debbie Harmon, of Milton, Ga.

“We were reminiscing about the great bakeries in St. Louis and in Illinois....” He would love for me to find this cake recipe and bake it for him. (It's just the simple things in life that are the best.)”

The recipes began to pour in as soon as Harmon's request was published in January in the Post-Dispatch's Recipe Exchange column, with 26 readers ultimately contributing. Most of the recipes were for one-bowl yellow cakes topped with coconut, nuts or both. A few were for chocolate cakes, and a few were for cobblers.

The sources included Betty Crocker, Pillsbury and Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks. One reader even unearthed a 1940 advertisement for Gold Medal Flour that promoted its version of Busy Day Cake, showing just enough of the recipe to whet a baker's appetite. To see the remainder, she had to buy a bag of flour.

The names of the readers' recipes varied, but most alluded to the ease of assembly: Quick Lunchbox Cake, Slapped-Together Cake, Panic Dessert, Kitchenette Cake. Despite that, some of the early recipes were a bit more involved than modern cooks are used to. As Arleen Herring of Elsberry, Mo., noted: “Baking methods have really changed. Sift three times in a recipe for a busy day struck me.”

Eleanor Mosser of Staunton, Ill., sent a version from “Better Homes New Cook Book.” “Found this a while back, probably on a cold snowy day and didn't want to go out to buy a mix,” she wrote. “After making it, I had to say to myself, why get it in a box? This is easier.”

Some bakers have been making Busy Day Cake for decades.

“It seems I was raised on Busy Day Cakes. Those and the pies made from the fruit of our orchard were my mother's specialities,” wrote Marilyn McDougall.

“My aunt lived with my mother and me when I was growing up,” wrote Betty Hoppe of St. Louis. “Money was scarce, and therefore we rarely had desserts. My aunt would make this Busy Day Cake on special occasions. I really loved this cake, and when I had a family I made it for them, and they thought it was great, too.”

“This request brought back childhood memories to me, as my mother, who lived in Shenandoah, Iowa, baked this cake quite often,” wrote Joan Elsey of Potosi, Mo. “My sister and I could barely wait until it was finished baking so we could consume it!”

“I learned to bake in the mid-1960s with this recipe from the red-and-white plaid ‘Better Homes and Gardens' cookbook that belonged to my mom,” wrote Donna Glass of Chester, Ill. “We topped it with a broiled topping, and it was very good.”

In addition to those listed above, these readers sent recipes: Jean Kan of Webster Groves, Mo., who contributed the published recipe for Busy Day Cake; Sandy Pilarski, who contributed the published recipe for Busy Day Chocolate Cake; and Anne Hixson of Washington, Mo., who contributed the published recipe for Lazy Day Cobbler.

Also Ruth Schafer, Ballwin; Douey Davis, Beaufort; Patricia Schowe, Berger; Donna Griffith, Bland, Mo.; Jeanne Briddell, Caseyville; Rose Wilson, Cedar Hill; Diane Friedmeyer, Chesterfield; Shirley Hertel, Fenton; Mary Schwarzbauer, Florissant; Katherine Dissler, Glen Carbon; Charles Geer, Granite City; Jeanette Weller, Jefferson City, Mo.; Mary L. Hill, Kirkwood; Kathy Krueger, O'Fallon, Mo.; Nancy J. Schukai, St. Louis; Theresa Grass; and Carol and Toni Antonacci.

We'll send all the recipes to the Harmons, with the prediction that Debbie Harmon will have many busy baking days ahead.

Lazy Day Cobbler

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1 1/3 cups granulated sugar, divided

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can pitted sour cherries, drained

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place butter in a 2-quart casserole. Put casserole dish in the oven until butter melts. Remove from the oven.

2. In a bowl, beat together 1 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, salt and milk to make a smooth batter. Pour over butter; do not stir. Pour cherries over batter; sprinkle with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Per serving (based on 8): 325 calories; 12g fat; 8g saturated fat; 35mg cholesterol; 3g protein; 52g carbohydrate; 39g sugar; 1g fiber; 190mg sodium; 55mg calcium.

Note: This recipe also works well outdoors in a Dutch oven.

Recipe provided by Anne Hixson, Washington, Mo.

Busy Day Chocolate Cake

Yield: 9 servings

1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (see note)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup solid vegetable shortening (see note)

1 cup buttermilk or sour milk, at room temperature (see note)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, melted

Whipped cream or frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and lightly flour an 8-by-8-inch, 9-by-9-inch or 11-by-7-inch baking pan.

2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Add shortening, buttermilk, egg, vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat 3 minutes by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Batter will be thick.

3. Scrape batter into the prepared pan. Bake until done, 35 to 45 minutes. Do not overbake. Serve warm with whipped cream, or let cool and frost as desired.

Per serving (without frosting or whipped cream): 265 calories; 10g fat; 4g saturated fat; 25mg cholesterol; 4g protein; 40g carbohydrate; 24g sugar; 0.5g fiber; 305mg sodium; 40mg calcium.

Note: Sift or whisk flour before measuring. To substitute self-rising flour, decrease the amount of baking soda to 1/2 teaspoon and omit the salt. For better flavor and texture, substitute softened butter for the shortening. To make sour milk, pour 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar into a measuring cup; add milk to the 1-cup mark. Let sit for a few minutes before using.

Adapted from Pillsbury's “Best of the Bake-Off Collection” (1959)

Busy Day Cake

Yield: 9 servings

For cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup milk

1/3 cup solid vegetable shortening (see note)

1 egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

For topping:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons milk

1 cup sweetened flaked coconut

1. Make the cake. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease and lightly flour a 9-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan.

2. Combine flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, 3/4 cup milk, shortening, egg, vanilla and salt in a small mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined, then increase the speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes.

3. Scrape batter into pan; bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

4. Make the topping. Combine brown sugar and butter in a mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy. Stir in 2 tablespoons milk, then stir in coconut. Spread over warm cake in pan.

5. Turn on the broiler. Broil cake 4 inches from the heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until golden, watching carefully. Serve warm.

Per serving: 365 calories; 16g fat; 7g saturated fat; 36mg cholesterol; 4g protein; 52g carbohydrate; 33g sugar; 2g fiber; 330mg sodium; 75mg calcium.

Note: For better flavor, substitute softened butter for the shortening.

Adapted from “Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book” (1981)