Grandma's Echo Cakes

Grandma's Echo Cakes - Simply delicious strawberry jam-filled cupcakes with a pie crust bottom and one-egg cake top. These simple little treasures are a family-favorite recipe from Grandma!
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Grandma's Echo Cakes are simple, in every sense of the word.

Simple flavors.  Simple ingredients.  Simple to put together.  And full of memories from a simpler time.

These little cakes are one of my all-time favorite sweet treats.  Not only do they taste divine, they also hold very wonderful childhood memories - Memories from a time of life that just seemed simpler.

My Mom used to make Echo Cakes for my brother and me all the time, and my Grandmother used to make them for my Mom and her two sisters all the time before that.  And now? - I make them for our daughter all the time, too.  It's a recipe that's been lovingly passed down throughout our family for generations.

Grandma's Echo Cakes are quite simply a strawberry-jam-filled cupcake with a pie crust bottom and one-egg cake top, dusted with powdered sugar.  That's it.

I remember having them pretty frequently as an after-school snack.  And now that we're adults, Mom usually makes these for us as a little treat at Christmas time.  I still love them as much today as I did when I was a kid!

Grandma's Echo Cakes are quite simply a strawberry-jam-filled cupcake with a pie crust bottom and one-egg cake top, dusted with powdered sugar.  That's it.

They're sweet, but not too sweet - just perfectly sweet, in my opinion.

My Mom and I aren't sure where the name Echo Cakes comes from, but we think they're named for the Echo brand muffin tins they were originally baked in.

But for us, it doesn't really matter how they got their name - We just know Echo Cakes sure taste good.

And they're actually really simple to make.

They start with a pie crust bottom.

The jam bakes into the center of the Echo Cakes like a little surprise inside, giving each bite a nice hint of strawberry jam flavor.

Now, I'm sure my grandmother and my mom both made their pie crust from scratch.  And you certainly can do that.  But me?  I buy the ready-made pie crusts found in the refrigerator section of the grocery store.  Just unroll it from the package, and you're good to go!

To get these tasty little Echo Cakes started, just roll out your pie crust (homemade or store bought) and cut circles about 3 ½ - 4 inches in diameter. 

My Mom figured out that a plastic stadium cup like you get at sporting events is the perfect size to use as a cutter, so that's what we use ... a biscuit cutter or appropriately-sized round cookie cutter works great, too.

Fit the pie crust circles into the bottom and up the sides of muffin tin cups.

Then put about a teaspoon of strawberry jam in the center of each pie crust bottom shell.

It's tempting to add a big plop of jam, but keep it to just a heaping measuring teaspoonful.  If there's too much, the jam seeps out all over the place when the Echo Cakes bake.  Yes, that's something we've learned that the hard way!

Top each muffin cup with a dollop of a simple one-egg cake batter ...

Just plop some batter on top of the jam and spread it out a little bit to completely cover the top.  It can be pretty rough ... the batter will "smooth" out and join up with the pie crust bottom as it bakes.

Once the Echo Cakes are baked and cooled, dust the tops with a little powdered confectioners' sugar to finish them off.

I have a little powdered sugar shaker that works quite well for the job.

And then they're good to go for enjoying.  That's all there is to making this simple little treat!  Not too hard, right?

The jam bakes into the center of the Echo Cakes like a little surprise inside, giving each bite a nice hint of strawberry jam flavor.

Now, even though this recipe is a classic from Grandma, being the recipe tinker-er that I am, I wanted to make a few with different flavors of jam filling just to see how they'd be.  When I called my Mom to ask her about how they are with other jam flavors, her response was "Oh, I don't know how they'd be - I've only ever made them with strawberry."

Really, Mom?  After making these for over 40 years you've never tried another jam flavor??  And so, there was even more incentive for me to tinker.

When you make these simple little treasures from Grandma, I recommend sticking with her original strawberry jam filling, or going with blackberry jam.

I decided to try out fig, apricot, raspberry, and blackberry jam.  Here's my flavor report:

• Fig - NOT good, and I had such high hopes
• Apricot - okay, but not wonderful
• Raspberry - okay
• Blackberry - really good!

So when you make these simple little treasures from Grandma, I recommend sticking with her original strawberry jam filling, or going with blackberry jam.

And when you do make them? - May Grandma's simple little Echo Cakes bring you and your family as many wonderful memories as they've brought ours.

Thank you for stopping by The Kitchen is My Playground. We'd love to have you back soon!

echo cakes recipe, jam cupcakes, recipe

Cupcakes

Yield: 15

Author: Tracey | The Kitchen is My Playground

Grandma's Echo Cakes

Simply delicious strawberry jam-filled cupcakes with a pie crust bottom and one-egg cake top. These simple little treasures are a family-favorite recipe from Grandma!

prep time: 30 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 50 M

ingredients:

• pie crust (enough for a top & bottom crust pie)
• about ½ c. strawberry jam
• confectioner's sugar for dusting

One-Egg Cake:

• 4 T. shortening
• 1 c. granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

instructions:

How to cook Grandma's Echo Cakes

1. Make the One-Egg Cake: Cream shortening and sugar with an electric mixer. Add egg, and beat until well combined.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add flour mixture to the sugar mixture, alternately with milk. Beat after each addition. Then, stir in vanilla. Set aside.
3. Assemble the Echo Cakes: Lightly spray 15 muffin tin cups with non-stick cooking spray. Cut circles from the pie crust about 3 ½ - 4 inches in diameter. (My Mom figured out that a plastic stadium cup like you get at sporting events is the perfect size to use as a cutter. Or, use a biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter.) Fit pie crust circles into the bottom and up the sides of each muffin tin cup.
4. Put about 1 teaspoon of strawberry jam in the center of each pie crust-lined muffin tin cup. (Don’t put too much jam, or it will spill out when cooking).
5. Top each with one-egg cake mixture - just plop some on the top of the jam, dividing evenly between the 15 cakes.
6. Bake the Echo Cakes:  Bake at 375℉ for 20-22 minutes until cake topping is baked.
7. Cool. Sprinkle tops with confectioner's sugar (a powdered sugar shaker works well).

https://www.thekitchenismyplayground.com/2011/02/echo-cakes-simple-pleasure.html

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You might also like these other family-favorite snacking sweet treats:

Applesauce Muffins

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bites

Grandma's Old-Fashioned Donuts

Glazed Poppy Seed Muffins with Strawberry Butter

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins

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