Mini Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping — Perfectly Sized for Two (with Leftovers)

To know this cake is to love it.

Lately, for kind of obvious reasons, I’ve been scaling down my favorite dessert recipes to serve two to four. Recently, I made one of my all-time favorites: Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping.

My mother’s 1965 cookbook.

This cake comes straight from the 1965 edition of my mother’s Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book — and it was immensely popular in its day. After all, back then, cooks didn’t have millions of cake recipes at their fingertips; most only had a handful, but they were always reliable, go-to, happy-making cakes. And in our family, this was one of the best.

Yours too? Indeed, I bet you’re over 45, you know this one. And if you’re younger, it’s high time you got introduced.

What makes this simple one-bowl yellow cake irresistible is the topping: a simple matter of brown sugar, butter, a splash of milk, coconut, and, if you like, some nuts. You spread it over the warm-from-the-oven cake and run it under the broiler for about 4 minutes, when it becomes a buttery-sweet and nutty, crunchy-in-spots topping for the tender, buttery cake.

Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping for Two with Leftovers

By the way: You will need a six-inch round cake pan for this baby. I’ve been having terrific luck with the Fat Daddio Cake Pan from Amazon.

Mini Busy-Day Cake with Broiled Coconut Topping – Serves Four+

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 small egg or 2 tablespoons of egg measured from a whole beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Broiled Coconut Topping (recipe below)
Sweetened whipped cream, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 6-inch round cake pan.

2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add milk, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined. Beat on medium speed for one minute more. Spread into prepared pan.

3. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

4. Spread warm cake with the broiled coconut topping. Broil 4 inches from heat 2 to 3 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes. Serve warm with sweetened whipped cream, if you like.

Broiled Coconut Topping: While cake is baking mix 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar and 1 tablespoon softened butter. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons milk. Stir in 1/4 cup coconut and, if desired, 2 tablespoons nuts (I love pecans in this!).

P.S.: Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days; freeze leftovers for a month. Reheat gently in the microwave to serve.

P.S.: More “recipes for two” to come! So, if you’ve enjoyed this post, please consider signing up for my email newsletter. Don’t worry, I only send out a letter about once a month, and you can unsubscribe at any time! Thank you for your consideration.