Mom's Pennsylvania Dutch Funny Cake Recipe

This is my mom's Funny Cake recipe. We made it together while I was visiting her and dad.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• One 9-inch pie crust, store-bought or homemade
• 1-1/4 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup shortening, preferably non-hydrogenated
• 1/2 cup milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 large egg, unbeaten, room temperature

Fudge Sauce:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup hot water (nearly boiling from microwave)
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. 
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. 
3. Cut in the shortening. 
4. Add the milk and vanilla. 
5. Beat for 2 minutes with electric mixer. 
6. Add the egg and beat 1 minute more. 
7. Mix sugar, cocoa, water and vanilla to make chocolate syrup.
8. Pour batter into pie crust.
9. Pour prepared chocolate sauce over batter. 
10. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until top springs back to touch. 
11. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired. 
12. Leftovers can be refrigerated, then brought to room temperature before serving.

Carole's Notes:

This recipe is my mom's scratch-made version of Pennsylvania Dutch Funny Cake. (My dad is from Pennsylvania, and I think his mom used to make a version of this for him.)

You can also make up a yellow cake mix and use Hershey's syrup as the fudge sauce. Using the mix, you will make two pies, so you will need two pie crusts.