One Box of Mix

It isn't always necessary to start from scratch to create a delicious end result. I have two favorite cakes that I always keep the ingredients on hand for when the mood strikes. Lemon Cake and Chocolate Cake. Now the Lemon Cake is derived (I lost the recipe and had to make it up) from a secret family recipe, so I will not be sharing it here, however, the Chocolate Cake is free for the taking.

1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix (the richer the better)

1 small box instant chocolate pudding

1 c sour cream

1/2 c oil

1/2 c warm water

4 eggs

1 c chocolate chips

Yup, that is it. Mix it all together, toss it in a bundt pan (just because it looks pretty) and pop it in the oven for an hour or so at 350* When it comes out sprinkle some powdered sugar over it and serve it with ice cream. Around Christmastime, peppermint ice cream is best, but vanilla is always a great stand-by.

What I like most about a recipe like this, is how flexible it is to what you have on hand, or what mood strikes you. Today the mood was chocolate peanut butter. For me, nothing compares to Tillamook Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream.... pure bliss. So, today I grabbed the chocolate cake mix, the chocolate pudding, and instead of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips. I tossed in the whole bag for good measure, more is better in this instance, and the result was wonderful. I could use some ice cream to go with it, but the strawberries worked, and look so pretty!

Enjoy!