It was one of those days when, once again nothing but something chocolate sounded good to me! As i went through the cabinet looking for cream of chicken soup to use in a casserole later that day, a can of Betty Crocker German Chocolate frosting stared back at me from the shelf below the soups! I had bought it for this very purpose a couple months ago but since i was addicted these past few months to sugar cookies and White Texas sheet cake, I had not been making a lot of chocolate cakes! The only time I use bought canned frosting is for something like this because I always make my own frostings to put on cakes. Homemade frostings can always make the most simplest of cakes….well, heavenly! But on to the recipe! Pulling out a Duncan Hines Devils Food cake mix, I added the 4 eggs , 1 cup of water, 1/2 cup oil and the small package of cheesecake flavored instant pudding! Mixed this together and sprayed the little bundt pans with Pam! Using an ice cream scoop, I put about 1/2 full scoop of batter in bottom of bundt pan! Got a regular teaspoon and put teaspoons of the frosting around on top of the batter! Being careful to not allow the frosting to touch the sides of the pan! I also sprinkled semi sweet chocolate chips over the frosting before covering the frosting with more batter (used just a small handful of chips! Of course never use more than will overflow the cake pan! adjust accordingly to what you need to the size of the pan you are using. i just use small bundt pans so i can share them instead of just cutting slices off of a normal size bundt cake! also the small sizes are so easy to keep in freezer to pull out when you need! Bake until top of cake still looks a little wrinkled! sounds weird but this assures you it won’t be dry as it cools! Had some ganache left over in fridge, so nuked it for about 15 seconds and poured it over the top! it was delicious! I should’ve taken a picture of it before I gave a lot of it away and before we ate most of it but the frosting in the middle just made it so moist and so flavorful and kind of gooey that we loved it. Of course you can use any flavor of the instant puddings. sometimes I use cheesecake flavored, sometimes I use vanilla, sometimes I use white chocolate and sometimes I use chocolate I just like the combination of either the white chocolate or cheesecake flavors in chocolate cake mixes !
Made this cake for a friend this week and it was such a hit. Several friends have ask for the recipe when they saw the picture on FB so here it is. It is easy and so yummy. Also, a friend of mine told me the other day that she didn’t understand how my cupcakes were always so soft and moist. The secret is, keep them in the refrigerator (covered) until about an hour before serving them.
1 Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake mix
We got home from church and since Randy is needing to work overtime on the weekend, I decided that I would bake, while he worked. When I ask him what he was in the mood for, he said anything but chocolate since sometimes eating chocolate in the evenings keeps him from sleeping well. We had talked today about him needing a phone because the hand me down he got from me last year (for me to get a new phone with more memory) is acting up, so between me looking at recipes and new phones on the internet, I also was looking at puppies, since we do want to get another doggie when we end up moving to a new place. I was on a web site that had teacup yorkies when Randy walked in to ask what I had decided to bake. Before answering him, I showed him the cutest little yorkie with a pink bow in her hair and looked at him with puppy dog eyes that immediately told him I found an adorable yorkie. He looked at it and said, “how much does that cute little thing cost?” When I responded that she cost about $3000, he looked at me and said, “$3000? I wouldn’t even pay that for you.” I think this sheltering in place is beginning to show its ugly face. And please don’t write and tell me I’m awful for spending that much money on a dog when they have so many in shelters. We would NEVER pay that much for a dog or anything close to that. I just have fun looking at pictures of cute puppies. So now back to the cake. Going to the pantry to see what I had, I discovered I had the necessary ingredients to make a coconut cake. It ended up so moist and yummy and will have it to snack on for a couple of days. I use a small bundt pan that allows me to make two so I can put one in the freezer for another time. Picture is of the two small cake pans I used
Saw this on Facebook one night and remembered that to take a picture of the recipe. Well, last night I made it. Oh my,where has this been all my life? It was simply delicious and so easy to make. Before leaving for the grocery store yesterday, I actually remembered to look at the recipe to see what i would need to buy to make it. That is unusual for me. Usually I get to the store and think, “what was I needing to get to make such and such?” Then I get home and see the recipe and then think, “ok, next time I will look at the recipe BEFORE going to the store so I won’t have to jump back in the car (well, actually it has been years since I was able to “jump” in anything) and run back to the store, or in most cases, plan on making the new recipe after the next trip to the store. And the cycle goes on and on. But this time, I did actually remember to look and see what I needed BEFORE going. I like to think it is the new Vitamins I am using called Smarty Pants. But, since I got home with the newly bought ingredients to make this simple recipe that made us feel so sophisticated knowing we were eating a French dessert, it just immediately became a favorite. Seriously, it is so good. A cross between a pudding and a cake or a thicker Dutch Baby. Don’t get me started on how much we love Dutch Babies for breakfast. After you have one in Chicago, well, let’s just say that we remember Chicago more than just it’s hot dogs now. So go to the store, buy some raspberries, blueberries or blackberries and make it this weekend. You can thank me later.
One of the things I have missed most about curbside grocery pick up is just the great time of strolling the baking aisle and seeing any new products on the shelf. Monday when I braved the “social distancing while wearing a mask” time of going inside the store, I had a ball. When I saw this box, I knew it was mine.
Chocolate Castles 