Farmer’s daughter cake is a simple 8-inch square vanilla cake topped coated in chocolate frosting. The cake recipe uses heavy cream instead of butter, so it is easy to make. This simple cake for a small gathering or for when you are craving a little something sweet.
This whipping cream cake is simple but really good. The cake has no butter or oil in it, just cream. Perhaps it was a dairy farmer’s daughter who created it!
The fudge frosting is a great pour over frosting that tops it off just right. It’s smaller size and tasty combination is sure to work its way into your heart.
This recipe for Farmer’s Daughter Cake has had a life of it’s own ever since I posted it in September of 2016. So I figured it was high time I updated the pictures and add a video.
This simple cake is great because it makes a nice small square cake. Plus there’s the fudgy frosting!
You make it in a saucepan, let it cool for a while and then pour it over. That is if you don’t eat it with a spoon first.
It reminds me a lot of a chocolate pudding only thicker. As it cools, it sets up nicely on the cake for a tasty pairing.
When choosing a recipe to make from Maida’s Cake Book, this one definitely stood out and I knew I had to make it.
The ingredients are simple, which is always nice. It is also a great size, making a one layer square cake.
So, you don’t have to have a crowd to justify making one. And there is no pressure to layer and decorate a masterpiece.
I don’t actually have a square cake pan. It’s hard to believe, I know. But I did have a square glass casserole dish. Had this cake been a layered cake, the hard edges would have been more important.
But I figured in this case with one layer and a more rustic feel to start with the rounded edges of the casserole pan would work fine. In the end I actually liked the rounded look, but again would not recommend using a pan like this if I were stacking.
Tips for Making the Chocolate Icing
The chocolate icing can be a little hard to deal with. Maida made it clear that you had to pour very slowly or you’d end up with a cake in a pool of frosting. She wasn’t kidding!
The first time I made the cake, I thought I was working slowly enough and the next thing I knew there was frosting pooled around the cake. Luckily I had rimmed the cake with wax paper strips.
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I just spooned a bit of the frosting at a time back onto the cake until it mostly stayed put. Other than that, I really liked the frosting.
It did form a skin as time went on and the cake traveled fine to dinner. But when you cut into the cake, the inside of the frosting was still super soft and moist.
It was almost like a thick chocolate pudding. It went really well with the cake.
As you can see though, if you let the frosting cool completely, it actually works quite nicely. Just check out the video to see how easy it can be!
More Smaller Sized Cake Recipes
If you like the idea of making a smaller sized cake, I have a few more recipes for you to try. These will give you a great dessert option for a smaller group or just for your family without having a ton leftover.
Chocolate mayonnaise cake is rich and delicious. This recipe makes a one layer round cake with some fluffy chocolate frosting on top.
For a fruitier option, try making caramel apple upside down cake. We usually make it in a cast iron skillet, but you could also make it in a 9-inch cake pan.
Or make a coffee pound cake in a loaf pan. You can serve it as it is with a dollop of whipped cream or make a quick powdered sugar glaze to drizzle over it if you prefer.
If you are a frosting fanatic like me, check out my Frosting 101. It goes through the different types of frosting and links to all sorts of delicious recipes!
Whipping Cream Cake With Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Chocolate Icing
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
- ½ cup cold milk
- 1⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 Tablespoon butter generous
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease and flour an 8x8x2 pan. (I usually use the spray with the flour in it)
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, or your mixer, beat together the eggs, vanilla & almond extracts and sugar until combined.2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, 1 cup granulated sugar
- Add the cream and mix until incorporated.1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Stir in the dry ingredients, beating just until smooth.
- Pour into prepared pan and smooth out the top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick tests clean. (Maida warns that the top may dome, but will flatten and that is may crack and that is ok.)
- Let cool for 5 minutes before inverting onto a rack to cool completely.
- Once cool, place upside down on a cake plate so that you have a flat surface on top.
- Icing
- In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, stir together milk and sugar. Add chocolate and heat over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Be sure to stir frequently as you go. Remove from heat.½ cup cold milk, 1⅓ cups granulated sugar, 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
- In a small bowl, whisk egg yolks just enough to break them up. Gently temper with a bit of warm chocolate mixture. (I added a few Tablespoons of chocolate mixture and beat vigorously then repeat the process to temper the yolks and keep them from scrambling in the hot chocolate mixture.) Then add egg yolks to the remaining chocolate mixture, beating to combine.2 egg yolks
- Warm the chocolate mixture over low heat, whisking constantly, for one minute. (Mine stayed pretty smooth, but Maida warns that it may not and you should forge on anyway.)
- Transfer chocolate mixture to the bowl of your mixer and stir in the butter and vanilla. Let stand until cool. This may take a while, but I put mine in the refrigerator for a bit to hasten the process.1 Tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Beat the icing at high speed for 10-15 minutes. It should be smooth, shiny and about the consistency of corn syrup.
- Be sure to place wax paper strips under you cake as this icing can get messy if you are like me and are short on patience!
- Pour about half of the icing on the cake and then step back for a minute or so. Then continue to pour the icing just a bit at a time onto the center of the cake. If you poor too quickly, all of the frosting will run down the sides. Gently coax the frosting with a spatula if it needs help going in a certain direction.
- If you went slowly enough, the frosting should have stayed mostly in place. If not, just scoop the large puddles off the wax paper and place back on the center of the cake until most of the frosting is on the cake. Carefully remove wax paper strips.
- Let the cake sit for a couple of hours so the icing sets.
Video
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I used to be the queen of writing fast papers too! I was never much of a "spend multiple days on a long paper" kind of girl 😁 And that frosting? I was sold at "thick chocolate pudding"!
I always did much better if the deadline was looming and I could just sit and follow one thought all the way through. I tried to do a bit at a time a couple of times, but I always end up just starting from scratch and powering through at the last minute anyway! The style suited me just fine 😉 Isn't that frosting kind of dreamy?
I am always on the look out for new recipes and this looks like a great one for my bookmarks. It looks fantastic, will be trying it out next 🙂 # WAYWOW
Thank you so much! It is a fun one, especially when you don't need a huge cake!
I love this cake, Carlee! It's so nice not to have a huge cake – but to have a couple fun ones just to whip up for a weekday or a simple party…we used to call them snack cakes and back in the day, no one had special pans. We all used our 8 x 8 casserole dishes! I think it's charming!
Thanks, Mollie! I kind of thought so too. I need to look into more snack cakes. It was fun to be able to just stir it together and have it be ready in no time with no real effort!
This cake looks awesome! Thanks for linkin' up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
Thanks so much, Karly!
I found the frosting a bit finicky as well. I after pouring just a bit on top I stick the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. It was much easier to work with after that!
I bet it was a lot easier after a trip to the freezer! I kind of had fun playing with it, but having it a bit more set would have helped a lot!
Carlee, once again I have not eaten breakfast and I'm looking at this cake wanting to pull it off the screen! I love pour over frosting, I do that with my bundt cakes and brownies, but I have been lazy and just warmed the frosting I buy from the store. I know that this is not the most healthy way to do frosting. I will be using your recipe from here on out, this way I know what we are eating! Thanks for sharing! You are the best!
It's dangerous to go looking at food posts before breakfast (or really any time of day in my case!) I have really loved getting introduced to so many new frosting ideas through this group. I know we are both frosting girls at heart, but I am learning how limited my repertoire was before. I am loving this broadened and dangerous world I'm living in now 😉 I love the ease of a pour over and the smooth finish, so this was a fun one!
I like the way your frosting look on your cake, and good to know that the cake took to travelling well! Happy that some at your get together went for seconds!
I love it when people go back for another round! The frosting had such a fun consistency, I think I'll have to make it again soon!
Your cake turned out perfectly. I love how the frosting looks. It's really awesome when everyone likes it.
Thanks, Kathleen!
Mmm…looks so simple and delicious!
You have to love a cake you can just stir together real quickly! Thank you!
Glad that you made the frosting.It sounded like a great one, but difficult. Your cake looks wonderful!
It was kind of fun. A bit of a mess (probably because I have the patience of a toddler sometimes) but really delicious and it turned out with a really fun texture!