My mom once told me she remembers my grandmother making this cake for her as a kid, that story has always stuck with me and I'm sure is the reason I find this cake so remarkably cozy.
Although there seems to be a million steps to making this cake, it really is remarkably simple. Hot milk and oven work aside, my boys made this cake with almost no help from me.
Lazy Daisy Cake
Cake:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Heat the milk, butter and vanilla together just until the butter melts, remove from heat but cover pot to keep the mixture warm.
In a large bowl beat the eggs and sugar together until thick, alternately add the flour and milk mixtures to the egg mixture beginning and ending with the flour (flour, milk, flour, milk, flour). Beat until everything is just combined. Pour the batter into a parchment lined 8 inch sqaure pan and bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out with only a few crumbs on it. Allow the cake to cool about 10 minutes while you prepare the icing...
Broiled Icing
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp evaporated milk
1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut
Whisk together brown sugar, butter and evaporated milk, then stir in the coconut. Spread the mixture evenly over the warm cake. Place the cake back into the oven under the broiler (you can move the rack in the oven closer to the broiler if you like... I have a bad history with the broiler so I didn't...) and broil until the topping is bubbly and golden.
Let the cake cool slightly, cut into squares and enjoy!
