Chocolate Chip Funny Cake Pie is an old recipe with timeless appeal. Chocolate fudge is topped with a soft, buttery cake and bakes inside a pie shell. Top with ice cream for a delicious pie a la mode.
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Chocolate Chip Funny Cake Pie
Last Saturday, I ran my first half marathon. Wahoo! Running 13.1 miles was a little harder than I thought, but it was definitely worth it. You can’t have pie without ice cream, you can’t have ice cream without pie, and you can’t finish a long run and not have both. Pie is probably my favorite dessert, but when it’s warm, with a big scoop of ice cream on top, it’s even better! In my opinion, it’s the best way to get your strength back after a run. But it doesn’t matter why you’re eating it, because I’m here to tell you that this Chocolate chip funny cake pie is the best with some wonderful ice cream on top.
If you run like me and my mom, you’ll understand;)
Where did Funny Cake Pie come from?
So where in the world did we get the name “Funny cake pie?” Well, as much as I’d like to take credit for it, I can’t. We came across it in an old Mennonite cookbook, being drawn in by the name. I wondered why they called it that though. Was it because it’s like cake, but in a pie crust, and it’s just weird? Or maybe while they were making it, they were making funny jokes? I’ve read that it is probably based on the method in which you make the pie. Some funny cake pie recipes call for the following layers: pie crust, cake batter, chocolate. Then when the pie bakes, the chocolate falls beneath the cake and ends up being right above the pie crust. You can make it that way if you’d like, but we make the cake pie with the chocolate starting just above the crust.
Homemade Pie Crust Vs Store Bought Pie Crust
If you have time, I highly recommend a homemade pie crust for this pie. Buttery, flaky, delicious. If you’d like a shortcut, simply purchase a store-bought refrigerated pie crust to make this cake pie in. This crust in the picture is just our traditional pie crust recipe. If you’ve never tried it, you need to! This pie crust is simply perfection. Just place into a pie pan and crimp the edges, just like a normal pie.
How to Make Funny Cake Pie
- Prepare the pie crust.
- Next, the fudge sauce. This is a sauce you make by hand, but it’s quick and easy; it doesn’t even need a stove top. Just some chocolate, some sugar, a few other ingredients, pour it in the pie crust, and there you go!
- And then the cake part. Whip up a nice batter (mixing only until the ingredients are combined), and spoon it in on top of the fudge sauce.
- Before you bake the cake pie, don’t forget to sprinkle some mini chocolate chips on top!
Oh yes, and the ice cream. Use vanilla, chocolate, or whatever you think is best. There you have it! The Funny Cake Pie 😉
Enjoy!
OTHER Pie RECIPES
Tools to Make Pie
- Cute Pie Plate: Because if you’re taking the time to make pie, serve it up in style!
- Hand mixer: I don’t pull out my stand mixer for this recipe. It makes a small amount so a hand mixer works perfectly.
Chocolate Chip Funny Cake Pie
Ingredients
Top Part:
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup butter (softened)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup milk
Lower Part:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup baking cocoa
- 1/3 cup hot water
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- Pie pastry for 1 crust*
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar, butter, egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the baking powder and flour.
- Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with milk.
- Mix just until combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and cocoa. Add the hot water and vanilla and mx until combined completely.
- Use a storebought single pie crust or your favorite pie crust recipe ( here's ours! ) and press it into a pie plate.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust, then spoon the cake batter over top the chocolate. Use the back of the spoon to gently spread the batter over top. Be careful doing this and don't worry if it doesn't cover the whole top. It will spread as it bakes. You want the fudgy chocolate to stay on the bottom of the pie and not get mixed in.
- Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the pie.
- Bake at 375 for 27-30 minutes until the cake is set.
June @ How to Philosophize with Cake says
Funny cake–now that is interesting! This chocolate chip variation sounds awesome, I’d totally try a slice of this 🙂
Julie Clark says
I hope you do try it, June! Thanks!
Kelly says says
What type of baking cocoa do we use? Thank you
Julie Clark says
Unsweetened cocoa powder.
Kathy says
Baked this tonight for Thanksgiving. Cant’t wait to slice it up! Smells wonderful.
Julie Clark says
I wish I was coming to your house!
Elsa says
Did you know that in traditional funny cake recipes, you put the cake batter in first and then pour the fudge sauce on top? I think that’s the “funny” part: the fudge sauce sinks down through the cake and leaves a crackly chocolate coating on top.
Julie Clark says
That’s so interesting! Now that you mention it, I think I have seen recipes that call for doing this. I’ll have to give it a try!
Jackie says
I noticed that 1/2 tsp vanilla is listed in the Top Part ingredients, however in the directions it doesn’t state when to mix that in (no mention of it). I only see mention of adding vanilla for the Bottom Part. Do I cream it in with the butter, sugar and egg? Thanks in advance!
Julie Clark says
Yes! And thanks for bringing that to my attention. I’ll update the recipe.
Lurch says
This recipe turned out really well. I used the recipe for the pie crust. Ya’Lloyd solved a long standing problem for my family on why our crust never turned out tasty. We were using all purpose flour, the protein contents is higher than pastry flour. I searched all over tar nation for pastry flour, found myself at the local Mennonite store, should had started there first. We all know they know how to bake! This recipe was delicious. It made my wife’s 30th Birthday special. She could not decide between a cake nor a pie, I Googled cake pie and found several before settling down with yall’s recipe. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you for sharing this old recipe!
Jennifer says
I really enjoyed this recipe! My daughter called it muffin pie she thought it tasted like chocolate chip muffin. I might have done something wrong since i made my own baking powder. I had ran out if mine
DeeDee Lamberti says
I made this for my husband and it was a big hit! I’m making it for the second time tonight. Very easy to make and tasty with vanilla ice cream.
Lucy says
Can self rising flour be used instead of all purpose? I’ve always used self rising for everything when baking and it all turns out just fine. What’s the difference?
Julie Clark says
Self-rising flour has added baking powder and salt. Generally it isn’t recommended to substitute the two flours because they are very different. Here’s a great article about it: https://www.bobsredmill.com/blog/baking-101/self-rising-flour-vs-all-purpose-flour/
Preeti says
What can I use instead of egg so that doesn’t alter the taste of the recipie . Thank you
Julie Clark says
I’m not sure what you can use for an exact change. Sometimes people use greek yogurt instead of an egg, but most likely any substitute will change the flavor a little.