Spiced Pudding Cake

I made this dessert for home fellowship this past Friday. I love fallish recipes, and also love making dessert. Also I love recipes that use a bunch of spices I already have in my cupboard, that way I don't feel like I wasted money on any of them. This one I didn't actually even try, even though it smelled great. I had worked the previous 2 nights, and by the time dessert time rolled around at the Hincliffe house, was feeling rather nauseated and ready for the day to be over. But I am assured by those that tried it that it was good. Even though it's called "pudding cake," there is no pudding mix in it. I think it has to do with what you do at the end...just read it and see. So here is the recipe, from Taste of Home Aug/Sept 2010 (my sister's magazine, since she gets this one and I get Simple & Delicious. She always passes them onto me when she's done. I do not do the same for her, hee hee. It's a one-way partnership. But it's working well for me. She does, at least, read the blog, so she benefits somewhat from it. Even though I don't think she's actually ever made anything I've posted...)

Spiced Pudding Cake
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup molasses (I ended up only having 3/4 cup in my jar, so I filled the measuring cup up the rest of the way with honey...same consistency so I thought it would be fine...pretty sure it was)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup butter, cubed
Whipped cream

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg; beat well. Beat in molasses. Combine the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with the 1 cup water, beating well after each addition. Transfer to ungreased 13 x 9 baking pan; sprinkle with brown sugar. In microwave, heat cubed butter and 1 1/2 cups water until butter is melted; carefully pour over batter. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes back clean. Serve warm (I didn't). Garnish with whipped cream.

Okay so when you pour the water on top, you have to be really careful putting it into the oven. Then by the time it's baked, the water has all soaked in. In fact, weirdly, when you serve it, there is a pudding-y layer on the bottom which I was not expecting. Guess that's why it's called "pudding cake." When this comes out of the oven, the cake is heaving and roiling the way I imagine the land near a volcano must when it is near eruption. Then it just looked regular once it was cooled. But then, like I said, cutting into it, there is a liquid-like layer on the bottom, like caramel almost. So this is like magic. The water is on top when you put it in, then all the liquid sinks to the bottom and turns into caramel. The magic of cooking and chemistry and stuff. Not the bad kind of magic, which I do not condone. There is no spell-casting or anything in the making of this cake. No potions or brews. Just yummy cake making.