Gender roles are obviously well entrenched in Amish society, although that does seem to be changing gradually. There was an Amish woman I met in Geauga County recently who sounded a very unusual note when she told me that she liked to "focus on running the family's businesses and not staying home and cranking out babies." Yes, those words from an Amish woman.
I couldn't believe my ears. But she definitely was/is not the norm. Most Amish women still stay home and raise families and perhaps participate in a home-based business. Which brings me to this cake, I suppose when you work as hard as most Amish women do you can be forgiven for wanting an easy-to-whip-up cake, hence, being named Lazy Woman's Cake. This cake could be considered vegan, a surprise, because there is no egg in the recipe. That's not an omission. But this quirky cake is good with a thick layer of frosting or dusted with powdered sugar. This is a photo of it, and you can check out the recipe below.
or Chocolate Mayo Cake w/ Fluffy White Frosting
Also, there is another recipe that would be common in a Mennonite kitchen especially if happened to be short on eggs. Make this cake and use the fluffy white frosting recipe from a Mennonite woman in Virginia which appears below.
Most Amish homes have a plentiful supply of eggs on hand. Still, hens aren't always like clock work or sometimes an Amish homestead just doesn't have anything laying hens living there. This might especially be true for an elderly Amish couple who are downsizing. But no matter one's age a craving for cake will still happen! So even if one doesn't have any eggs, this cake can be a sure bet in a pinch! And it really is delicious. I've tried it. I use mayo as a substitute and mayonnaise is, essentially, just eggs in a jar. The mayonnaise in the recipe makes the mayo cake so moist. But whichever you prefer you can't go wrong with either of the cake recipes below if you are looking for a quick cake for company or to satisfy your sweet tooth!
🎂 Lazy Woman's Cake Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoons cocoa
- 2 heaping teaspoons baking soda
- 1 scant cup cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons vinegar
- 2 cups cold water
📋 Lazy Woman's Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda in large bowl.
- Sift in cocoa powder, and whisk all together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water.
- Mix until thoroughly combined into a smooth batter.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost.
🎂 Chocolate Mayo Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 /4 cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoons soda
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
📋 Chocolate Mayo Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda in large bowl.
- Sift in cocoa powder, and whisk all together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water.
- Mix until thoroughly combined into a smooth batter.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost.
🧁 Frosting Ingredients
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- 1 /3 cup boiling water
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 egg whites
📋 White Frosting Instructions
- Stir together first six ingredients over simmering water in double boiler. Leave until clear.
- Remove from heat.
- Add egg whites and beat awhile.
- Put back and beat 3 minutes longer or until you have semi-stiff peaks.
- Can be put on cake while frosting is still warm.
👩🍳 Recipe Variations
Cake is cake... but what about frosting?
One of the easiest ways to adjust either one of these easy cake recipes is to try a different icing. Our Brown Sugar Icing is our highest searched for recipe on Amish365.com so we've tried it on a bunch of different cakes and its... AMAZING
🎂 Additional Easy Amish Cakes
🖨️ Full Recipe
Lazy Woman's Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups white sugar
- 3 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoon cocoa
- 2 teaspoon baking soda heaping portion
- 1 cup cooking oil scant
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 cups cold water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Combine sugar, flour, salt, and baking soda in large bowl.
- Sift in cocoa powder, and whisk all together.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients; add oil, vanilla, vinegar, and water.
- Mix until thoroughly combined into a smooth batter.
- Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost.
Chocolate Mayonnaise Cake
Ingredients
Chocolate Mayo Cake
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups flour
- 1 /4 cup cocoa
- 2 teaspoon soda
- 1 /2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Fluffy White Frosting
- 1 cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup
- ⅓ cup boiling water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 egg whites
Instructions
Chocolate Mayo Cake
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add wet ingredients and beat well.
- Pour into a greased and floured 9 X 13 pan.
- Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.
- Delicious with any fluffy white icing.
Fluffy White Icing
- Stir together first six ingredients over simmering water in double boiler. Leave until clear.
- Remove from heat.
- Add egg whites and beat awhile.
- Put back and beat 3 minutes longer or until you have semi-stiff peaks.
- Can be put on cake while frosting is still warm.
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