Tag: Pennsylvania Dutch

Funny Cake

Funny cake is a family tradition for Thanksgiving at our house. Sometimes we request it for Christmas, too. My mother got the recipe from my grandmother Hocker. It can easily be modified for gluten-free cooking.

Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:30-40 minutes
Yield: 2 9″ pies

Chocolate Sauce

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake Batter:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon Crisco
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

To make the chocolate sauce, add the sugar, cocoa, and warm water to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil while stirring and cook for 10 minutes, then add the vanilla. Pour into an unbaked pie shell in a 9″ pie pan.

In another bowl beat the egg yolks, crisco, and sugar together. Add the sifted flour and baking powder to the mix, alternating with the milk and vanilla extract. Beat the egg whites and fold into the mix. Pour over the cooled chocolate sauce and bake in a 375-400 degree oven for 30-40 minutes.

Optionally, to make the cake fluffier, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar and a little sugar to the egg whites before you beat them.