Deliciously down in the dumps

Two elderly ladies were sitting on a park bench, chatting. "Whenever I'm down in the dumps," said the first, "I get myself a new hat." The other lady, without missing a beat, replied, "I've always wondered where you got them."

That's an old joke. In fact, I could trace it back at least as far as the October 1946 issue of Boys Life, and it was probably old then. It certainly seems ancient today given that, despite the Red Hat Society and the British penchant for fascinators, women don't wear hats much anymore.

But stale as the joke may be, it underscores the fact that the word "dump" is almost always pejorative. A word that comes from Old Norse, it can mean, as in the joke, a garbage site, or it can mean a dreary and unpleasant place, a dung heap, or when you're down in the dumps, being sad.

Hence, the term "dump cake," which refers to a cake made by literally dumping the ingredients into a pan without stirring, may be the worst name ever for a dessert. Maybe that's why the Oxford Companion to Food in its discussion of cakes includes just about every cake you've ever heard of, and several you probably haven't, but not dump cake. Nor will you find the cake mentioned in Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible, even if you peruse it religiously, as I have. Likewise, I can find no reference to it in any of Julia Child's works. (I'm not sure why I even looked.)

Frankly, I must confess that until recently I have always been similarly dismissive of dump cakes. But that was before the general manager of KRCU radio, where they let me have my own show, brought in a dump cake his wife had made. When your boss brings in a treat made by his wife, it is, of course, your duty to try it and to praise it as well. But that was no problem, because the cake was delicious. Ever since I have developed a new-found respect for the dump cake.

Though the name might be off-putting, this easy to make Sticky Toffee Dump Cake, being trucked to the dinner table, is as delicious as any more difficult to make cake.Submitted by Tom Harte

It's not clear when the dump cake was invented. Most historians say the name was coined in 1980 by Duncan Hines in a holiday baking brochure included in boxes of the company's cake mixes. But others contend that the concept of the cake itself may go back one hundred years or more.

In fact, at least as early as the 1930s and '40s there were similar recipes going by names like cockeyed cake, crazy cake, or most often, wacky cake, which was said to be instrumental in Mrs. Russell Inskeep's victory in the 1957 Mrs. America contest. But they weren't actually dump cakes as they required a little more than merely tossing ingredients into a pan.

In the '60s, after cake mixes firmly took hold, true dump cakes, by whatever name, were making the rounds at church suppers and potlucks, though when a Florida newspaper got around to publishing a recipe, readers called to complain that it was so easy it must have been a misprint.

Nowadays home bakers are anything but skeptical, dump cake recipes are all over the Internet, and cooks realize that quickly and easily getting dessert on the table might require getting down in the dumps.

Sticky Toffee Dump Cake

Sticky Toffee Dump Cake, made literally by just dumping ingredients into a pan before baking, comes out of the oven looking like it was a lot harder to make than it is.Submitted by Tom Harte

This is the dumpy version of the popular British dessert, Sticky Toffee Pudding, which actually had its origins in Canada. The recipe is adapted from one by Roxanne Wyss and Kathy Moore, who literally wrote the book on dump cakes (Delicious Dump Cakes, St. Martin's Press, 2016).

• 1 cup dried dates, chopped
• 1/2 cup brewed Earl Grey tea
• 1 box (15.25-18 ounce) spice cake mix
• 1-1/4 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup chopped English toffee bars
• 1 stick butter, melted

Evenly distribute dates in a greased 2- to 3-quart dutch oven. Bring tea to the boil and pour over the dates, letting them stand for five minutes. Sprinkle dry cake mix over the dates, drizzle with half-and-half, and sprinkle to cover with toffee bits. Carefully pour melted butter evenly over all and bake 55 minutes or until cake is barely set and golden brown. Serve warm in bowls, topped with whipped cream.