Off to PA and back with a Shoo Fly Cake

Our ears and appetites always perk up a bit when one of our graduate students has to take a trip home to PA. What's so great about Pennsylvania? Actually there are a lot of great things about the Keystone State but to us it is the home of Grandma Miller and that's where our graduate student heads to.  Not that we are presumptuous and automatically assume that some of our favorite Grandma Miller treats will make the return trip but it is a fairly safe bet.

This is a Shoo Fly Pie

So upon return we got to enjoy - in addition to multiple loaves of banana bread spread out over about six days - the classic Grandma Miller variation of shoo fly pie...a Shoo Fly Cake!  At this moment it might be helpful to digress and wonder where the name came from.  Research shows that the term "shoo-fly pie" first appeared in print in 1926. The pie may get its name because the molasses attracts flies that must be "shooed" away. It is a popular dish amongst the Pennsylvania Dutch which is probably whey we see it from the PA crowd.

Grandma Miller's Famous Shoo Fly Cake

A desert of sugar on top!

A nice light cake instead of that gooey pie!

The pie is very much a pie with normally a bottom crust, a gooey molasses filling, and some sugar on top.  The Miller variation takes the pie and turns it into a cake.  Instead of a crust and filling we get a molasses flavored cake topped with the signature sugar topping.  It's lighter than the pie and again makes for a good companion to a cup of java or some tea. We saw some Internet pictures that include a dollop of whipped cream.  Why didn't we think of that??

Once again Grandma Miller has demonstrated why she remains one of our favorites and we thank her once again for all that she has done for our blood sugar levels and waistlines!