Shoofly Cupcakes. A sweet, moist molasses PA Dutch & Lancaster County favorite made into fun little cakes. Oh, and this delicious treat is vegan if using shortening (which is traditional) instead of butter.

A Quick Lesson on Shoofly

Today I’m sharing my recipe for Shoofly Cupcakes. Sweet, moist, molasses flavored mini cakes with a crumb topping. All the shoofly flavors in a convenient, easy to eat or on the go sweet snack.

A few notes on Shoofly. It’s a Pennsylvania Dutch pie that has gained some popularity the past few years. With it’s gooey molasses bottom, it’s moist center and it’s light crumb topping – it’s a unique dessert you’ll either love or hate. As a local – if you love it, you’ll never grow tired trying the endless variations of it.

Just to clear up much internet confusion – all Shoofly Pie is (and should be) “wet bottom”. If it’s not a wet bottom pie, then it’s pretty much a Shoofly Cake in a pie crust. That’s no good….

Most folks make a Shoofly Cake as a simple moist cake, like these Shoofly Cupcakes. But….if you’re in the know….you know that many Lancaster County residents love this cake made with a wet bottom, served warm straight from the baking dish.

Confession time. It’s been over 10 years that I’ve been working on this blog and I have yet to share my Shoofly Pie recipe. I need to do better lol

Love molasses flavored desserts? You can also check out theses recipes: Old Fashioned Molasses Pie & Mary Washington’s 1784 Gingerbread Cake !

Basic Instructions for Shoofly Cupcakes

These shoofly cupcakes have none of this magical wet bottom I speak of. I’ve tried making them before, but they pretty much just stick to the cupcake liner. Instead they have all the warm & wonderful Shoofly flavors in a cute little cake.

Shoofly cupcakes, much like the pie, are quick and simple to make. You’ll find this with much Pennsylvania Dutch cuisine. The food comes from a culture that was built upon hard work & minimalism. Everything was cooked from scratch and nothing was wasted.  

Thing is, the PA Dutch women of yesteryears didn’t have time to stand around and fuss in the kitchen all day. Many were farmers or hard at work in the family business plus managed a household – kids, cooking & cleaning. They perfected the simplest methods whenever possible.

All that being said, these cupcakes take only a few minutes to mix up and about 20 minutes to bake. These moist little Shoofly cupcakes are a fun, delicious & unique treat.

I hope you enjoy this Pennsylvania Dutch treat. Thanks so much for stopping by! Happy Baking!

Amanda ♥

Shoofly Cupcakes Recipe

Amanda

Shoofly Cupcakes. A sweet, moist molasses PA Dutch & Lancaster County favorite made into fun little cakes. Oh, and this delicious treat can easily be made vegan by using shortening (which is traditional) instead of butter.

3.67 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course baked goods

Cuisine Pennsylvania Dutch

Servings 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• Crumb / Dry Mixture:
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup brown sugar firmly packed
• 1/2 cup shortening or butter room temp
• Liquid Mixture:
• 1 1/2 cups boiling water
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup unsulphured molasses

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
• In a mixing bowl, combine flour and brown sugar.
• Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening/butter until pea sized crumbles.
• Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Set all aside.
• Boil water. Stir baking soda into water. Stir in molasses, remove from heat.
• Add liquid mixture into bowl of dry mixture. Stir until thoroughly combined.
• Fill paper lined muffin tins half full with batter.
• Sprinkle reserved 1 cup of crumb mixture evenly over tops of cupcakes.
• Bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven, put tins on wire rack. Let rest for about 5 minutes and then remove cupcakes from tins and allow to cool completely on wire rack. Store covered.
• Enjoy 🙂

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!