I recently had a birthday... yeah, it wasn't my favorite. I am aging, slow but sure. Want to know what made me feel better about it?
My Mom made my favorite cake. Its not the typical kind of Birthday cake with tons of sugary overbearing frosting. It's a delicious dense chocolate cake, with a pudding/cream topping. Topped off of course with shavings of a chocolate Hershey bar.
One great thing about this cake, is it can be made way ahead of time so that the topping is very chilled before serving.... ummm ummm. Give it a try! It's a family favorite!
(Note: you can make this cake with a box cake if you want, I prefer the following recipe, as it creates a more dense and hearty cake. I think it goes better with the topping that way.
Recipe:
Mix two cups of sugar and two cups of white all purpose flour together in a bowl.
In a saucepan, melt a stick of butter and add 3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 cup water, and 1/2 cup Crisco shortening. Bring mixture to a boil and pour over flour and sugar. Mix together with a mixer.
Add 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
(if you do not have buttermilk on hand, substitute with homemade: 1/1/2 teaspoons lemon juice and enough milk to make 1/2 cup. let it stand for a few minutes to thicken)
Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 glass pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Toothpick test to check doneness.
Mix two cups of sugar and two cups of white all purpose flour together in a bowl.
In a saucepan, melt a stick of butter and add 3 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, 1 cup water, and 1/2 cup Crisco shortening. Bring mixture to a boil and pour over flour and sugar. Mix together with a mixer.
Add 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 eggs, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
(if you do not have buttermilk on hand, substitute with homemade: 1/1/2 teaspoons lemon juice and enough milk to make 1/2 cup. let it stand for a few minutes to thicken)
Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 glass pan. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes. Toothpick test to check doneness.
LET CAKE COOL COMPLETELY
Mix one large packet of chocolate Jell-O pudding. Let this chill in the fridge until very cool.
For the whipped cream, you can either use a small container of cool whip topping, or you can make your own by mixing a small carton of heavy whipping cream and enough powdered sugar to lightly sweeten.
After the cake has cooled fully (DONT RUSH IT!) you can spread the chilled pudding on top. Then over the top of the pudding, spread your whipped cream. Be careful not to get any chocolate pudding on your spatula or it will make your pretty white topping look messy.
Next take a Hershey's chocolate bar and a cheese grater and grate chocolate all of the top of the cream. Its a beautiful finishing touch.
GLUTEN FREE VERSION: I like to use a boxed Betty Crocker Gluten free cake. It makes for a dense cake as well. The jell-O pudding is already gluten free and the whipping cream obviously as well.
GLUTEN FREE VERSION: I like to use a boxed Betty Crocker Gluten free cake. It makes for a dense cake as well. The jell-O pudding is already gluten free and the whipping cream obviously as well.
Store cake in the fridge and serve chilled. If you have any left over (by some miracle) you can store in the fridge until the next day.
I hope you love this cake as much as I do!
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