Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Cake

I have no idea how this recipe hasn't made it onto this blog until now.  It has been one of my tried and true standby recipes since the hubs and I got hitched over 12 years ago!  The hubs is not a big fan of cake, but this recipe is an exception as it incorporates at least 3 forms of chocolate- 4 if you add a chocolate glaze!  He and I have eaten the entire cake on our own. 

It may seem a little odd that the Died and Gone to Heaven Chocolate Cake is made from a devil's food cake mix, but we've all gotta start somewhere...  ;)  You don't want to use any other kind of chocolate cake mix, trust me.  Don't mess with perfection.

Just in case all of that chocolate isn't enough for you, adding strong brewed coffee to the batter bumps up the intensity of the chocolate flavor.  I know...right??  If you don't want to add coffee, just use water or milk instead. 

You can cut the calories by reducing the chips to 1 cup, substituting egg beaters for part of the eggs, and using fat free sour cream.  The main difference I've noticed is that the lower calorie version is more dense and doesn't rise as much.  You still get all of the same flavor.  I make the low cal version for us, but use the regular one for guests or special occasions.

It's amazing served warm or at room temp.  Try plating it up with a big scoop of Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream and you'll seriously think you've died and gone to heaven!

Recipe
Adapted from: AllRecipes.com
1 Devils Food Cake Mix
1 small pkg Chocolate Fudge Pudding Mix (sugar free)
1/2 c warm coffee
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1 c light sour cream
4 eggs (or 2 eggs and 1/2 c egg substitute)
2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Dust and flour a 10" Bundt pan.  
2. Combine everything but chocolate chips in a large bowl.  Mix on low until combined, scrape down sides of bowl and continue mixing on medium speed for 4 more minutes.   Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Spread into pan and bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a cooling rack. 
5. Dust with powdered sugar or top with a glaze before serving.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Icing and an Easter Recap

Is this not the cutest????

Easter is quickly becoming one of my favorite holidays, but in all honestly just about every holiday is soooo much better now that we have our little boy to share it with.  It's amazing how much a child can change and improve every aspect of your life.

Benjamin experienced his first Easter egg hunt after church Sunday morning.  All of the kids under 2 were given a section of the lawn to "hunt" for eggs.  The babies were more interested in the grass than the Easter eggs, so it was probably the longest egg hunt in history.  ;)

 

This Easter was really special for us because we were actually home for the entire weekend for the first time in 8 years so we could host Easter dinner in our home.  The hubs and I seriously hate eating out for holidays which is what we've done for the last 8+ Easters so to eat a home cooked Easter feast was AWEsome.  Sharing it with the hubs entire family was just the cherry on top.

Now that Easter is over, the house is clean and dishes are done, I can't wait to get caught up with blogging!  To start out I want to share my favorite strawberry cupcake/ cake recipe.  I use fresh strawberries since they're in season right now, but you could use frozen.  Since it was Easter, I used some fun Easter picks that I found at Hobby Lobby, but fresh strawberries and mint would make a lovely garnish.  

 

The icing is a light, not too sweet icing with a touch of cream cheese and fresh strawberry.  I could seriously eat just the icing by the spoonful shovelful.  Hmmm...it might even be good as a pie filling... The cake is dense with a delicate strawberry flavor.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this spring/summer treat!

Cake Recipe

1 3 oz pkg strawberry Jello

1/2 c cold water

1 pkg french vanilla cake mix

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

3 Tbsp flour

3/4 c finely diced fresh strawberries and juice

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line 24 muffin tins or grease and flour them if not using liners.
2. In a large bowl, dissolve Jello in the cold water.  Add cake mix, eggs, oil, flour and strawberries.  Mix for 5 minutes at medium speed.
3. Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to help divide batter into muffin tins.  
4. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick.  Remove from pans and cool on a wire rack.  These are dense and do not have a huge crown.  If you want more of a crown, you might try making 18-20 cupcakes instead of 24.

Source: AllREcipes
Icing Recipe
1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
2 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 - 3/4 cup finely diced strawberries

1. Chill squeaky clean beaters and metal bowl (if you have one) in the freezer for 20ish minutes.   (Even the smallest amount of grease or shmutz on your beaters/bowl will keep your cream from getting nice and fluffy.  Once your bowl is nicely frosted, pour in your cold whipping cream and whip until stiff peaks form.  Set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla until smooth.  If your cream cheese is nice and soft, it shouldn't take long.
3. Fold whipped cream into cream cheese mixture until no streaks remain.  Chill for a couple of hours and fold in strawberries.  
4. Swirl icing onto cupcakes with a piping bag and large star or round tip or you could use a ziplock bag with the corner cut off.
5. Refrigerate until serving. 

Source: AllRecipes.com