tom’s birthday cake

a few years ago i asked tom what kind of birthday cake he wanted.  he said he wanted something with chocolate pudding filling.  this cake is dense and fudgey, it also has ripples of chocolatey pudding goodness throughout.  it got tom’s vote and we’ve had it every year for his birthday ever since.  i think i made it once for Christmas, too.  happy birthday, jesus! 🙂

adapted slightly from allrecipes.com

• 1 18.25 oz. pkg. devil’s food cake mix (dark chocolate, chocolate fudge or milk chocolate also work, depends on the kinds of chocolately goodness you’d like)
• 1 3.9 oz. pkg. instant chocolate pudding mix (i use chocolate fudge)
• 1 c sour cream
• 1 c milk
• 1/2 c vegetable oil
• 1/2 c water
• 4 eggs
• 2 c semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350°.  grease and flour a 10′ bundt pan.  (i use pam spray that has flour already in it.)
2. in a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix.  add sour cream, milk, oil, water and mix until blended.  add eggs, one at a time.  mix on a medium-high speed for 4 min.  then fold in 2 c chocolate chips.
3. pour batter into prepared pan.  bake in preheated oven for 40-50 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  (it may not come out clean, depending on where you poke.  if you hit pudding, it will look like the toothpick has chocolate glaze on it, that’s ok.  i put mine in for 45 min and it comes out just fine every time.)  just try and find a cakey spot to poke.
4. cool 10 min. in the pan.  then turn out onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
5. to make the glaze, microwave the butter and 1 c chocolate chips at 30-sec. intervals.  stir with a fork until smooth.  drizzle over cake.

happy birthday, tom!  i love you!

enjoy!