Blueberry Funny Cake

A funny cake is neither fully cake nor fully pie, and that’s exactly why it works. This Pennsylvania Dutch tradition bakes a vanilla cake batter inside an unbaked pie shell with a warm blueberry sauce folded through it. During baking, the layers sort themselves out: the sauce sinks to create a gooey fruit bottom while the cake rises to the top.

The blueberry sauce gets made first. Two cups of berries simmer with sugar and lemon juice until the sugar dissolves and the berries just start releasing their juices. Cool this to lukewarm before folding it into the batter. Hot sauce will melt the butter and kill the leavening.

The cake batter is a classic creaming method: butter and sugar beaten until fluffy, egg mixed in, then flour alternated with milk. It’s a thick, sturdy batter that needs to be, because it has to support the weight of the fruit sauce and hold its shape as it rises inside the pie shell.

Fold the sauce in gently. You’re not trying to fully incorporate it. Streaks and swirls of blueberry running through the batter create pockets of concentrated fruit flavor in the finished cake.

Pro Tips

• Use an unbaked pie shell. A pre-baked shell will overbake and turn hard by the time the cake sets.
• Cool the blueberry sauce to lukewarm, not room temperature. Slightly warm sauce folds into the batter more easily without seizing the butter.
• The cake is done when it springs back to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean. Berry areas will still look wet.
• Serve at room temperature. The gooey blueberry layer on the bottom firms up slightly as it cools.

Variations

• Chocolate funny cake: The original Pennsylvania Dutch version uses chocolate sauce instead of fruit. Try cocoa, sugar, and water simmered into a sauce for the classic version.
• Peach version: Swap the blueberries for diced fresh peaches with a pinch of cinnamon.