This super simple recipe for Hot Fudge Pudding Cake gives you both hot fudge and a brownie — just add a scoop of your favorite vegan ice cream for a quick and easy sundae.

This recipe comes from my grandmother’s infamous church cookbook. It perhaps isn’t so much “pudding cake” as as it is cake swimming in a warm pool of hot, fudgy goodness. Though I was at first taken aback by how wacky the recipe is — just pour hot water on top and bake? are you kidding? — I knew I had to try it because it might be the only accidentally vegan recipe in the entire cookbook. Whether we’re talking casseroles or vegetable side dishes, other recipes in this particular cookbook contain, on average, 5-7 animal products each. The contributors to this book evidently believe a dish isn’t complete if it doesn’t include mayonnaise, buttermilk, sour cream, and heavy cream. As such, I like to think this sugar-laden dessert is like health food to Midwesterners.

Okay, so maybe not. The end result is a thin layer of chocolate cake with a brownie-like crust on top and drenched in warm chocolate sauce. It’s very sweet and sticky, and would probably hold up just fine if you reduced the brown sugar and increased the cocoa powder. For a fun twist, you could fold in chopped walnuts or stir in a teaspoon of vanilla or hazelnut extract.

