Lazy Day Cake — The Kind of Simple You Bake When Love Has to Travel

The end of October and the world is braced for an election next week that feels like the most important one in my lifetime, which I am old enough to have seen many elections and to have several previous candidates for most-important-in-my-lifetime. I am not going to write about politics in my blog and I am not going to write about it here, not directly—I cook at a table that feeds everyone who comes to it without asking their politics, which is the only approach that makes sense in a fellowship hall and in a life—but I will say that on Tuesday, November third, I am going to vote before I cook, because voting is the civic version of what the kitchen table is: the place where you show up with your whole self and you do the thing that matters and you make your presence known.

I made pumpkin bread this week. Not because I particularly love pumpkin bread—I find it a seasonal confection that people get more enthusiastic about than it quite deserves—but because October is when the congregation expects it and I make it every October for the same reason I make the fruitcake in December and the sweet potato biscuits in February: because the calendar of a church cook is a liturgical calendar, a calendar of sacred foods tied to sacred seasons, and pumpkin bread is October's contribution to the liturgy. I made six loaves. They went fast. There is something about pumpkin bread in October that no amount of culinary skepticism can overcome. The people want pumpkin bread in October. The people shall have pumpkin bread in October.

Willie James called my name on Saturday. The aide called me after his lunch and said he had been asking for Loretta all morning—"Loretta, Loretta"—and when the aide came in with his food he said, "Where's Loretta? She brings the pie." I was not there but the pie had been delivered on Thursday, as it is every Thursday, and he had eaten it, and now on Saturday he remembered the pie and wanted the person who brings it. I drove to Bessemer, straight to the parking lot, and the aide opened a window, and I said, "Daddy, I'm here. The pie is coming Thursday." He seemed to settle. The pie is coming. The love is coming. It always comes.

I said I am skeptical of pumpkin bread and I meant it, but I am never skeptical of the act of baking for people who are waiting—and this week, between the six loaves for the congregation and the Thursday pie traveling to Bessemer, what I kept coming back to was the pleasure of a recipe that does not ask too much of you. Willie James does not need a showpiece. The people in the fellowship hall do not need a showpiece. They need something made by a person who showed up. This Lazy Day Cake is the recipe I reach for when the calendar is full and the heart is full and I need my hands to be doing something faithful and simple at the same time.

Lazy Day Cake

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 16

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Frosting:
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup evaporated milk
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 13x9-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. Mix the batter. In a large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, eggs, crushed pineapple with its juice, baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Stir until just combined—do not overmix.
3. Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for 33–37 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden.
4. Make the frosting. About 5 minutes before the cake comes out of the oven, combine brown sugar, butter, and evaporated milk in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring constantly, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in coconut and pecans if using.
5. Frost while hot. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, pour the warm frosting evenly over the top. The frosting will soak slightly into the cake as it cools, which is exactly what you want.
6. Cool and serve. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before cutting. Serve directly from the pan—this is a fellowship-hall cake and it does not need to be anything fancier than that.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 310 | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 190mg