Hot Fudge Pudding Cake

Several months ago my parents took a trip to Hershey, PA, and my mom brought me back a cute little tin full of Hershey recipes. My parents came over Sunday night for dinner (cheesesteaks from Danny Mac's), and I told Neil to select a recipe from the Hershey box and I would make it for dessert.

What Neil selected was Hot Fudge Pudding Cake.

Hershey's Hot Fudge Pudding Cake
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Hershey's Cocoa, divided
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/4 cups hot water
Whipped topping (make it yourself, it's better!)

1. Heat oven to 350° F.
2. Stir together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 1/4 cup cocoa, baking powder and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla; beat until smooth. Pour batter into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 1/4 cup cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top. Do not stir.
3. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping. Makes about 8 servings.

For the whipped topping I combined one cup heavy whipping cream, a tablespoon of sugar, and a half teaspoon of vanilla. I beat it on high until it was whipped cream. (There is no excuse for Cool Whip!)

Anyway, the cake. I don't know how, but we managed not to take any photos of it. But basically what happens is that the top turns into something cakey in texture, and the bottom turns into a thick gooey chocolate sauce. It's really neat! And also incredibly good. It's very rich without being overly sweet and disgusting.

What's really awesome (and kind of dangerous) about this is that it's made of stuff I always have in the house. And it's super quick and easy. I can make a gooey chocolate dessert (something I get a craving for not infrequently) whenever I want and with minimal effort! And now you can too!