Applesauce Chocolate Chip Cake

My favorite thing about this cake is the cardamom. It gives it a unique and flowery flavor. Not quite sure what I mean by flowery. The cake doesn't taste like flowers. Not really.

Anyway, I love a good bundt cake. Here's the recipe:

1 stick melted butter

1/2 cup canola oil

2 cups applesauce

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cardamom

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Mix well. Fold in however many chocolate chips you want.

Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Spoon batter into the pan and bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. I dusted it with powdered sugar to make it pretty.

Shhh, Don't Tell...Chocolate Fudge Cake

The title insinuates that this cake is half homemade, and half box cake. There was an incident where two sisters each made a cake. One was from scratch, and one was a box. They had a blind taste test at a dinner party.

Which cake won?

The box cake.

The scratch couldn't compete with the moistness of the box cake. Thus, to validate the box cake, the recipe was altered slightly to add the homemade touch. Truly, the frosting is the "icing of the cake"....

Cake:

1 box Devil's Food Cake
1 C water
3 eggs
1/3 corn oil
1/3 sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 salt
1 C semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Position rack in center of oven. Butter three 8" cake rounds (or two 9" cake rounds). Combine the cake mix, water, eggs, oil, sour cream, vanilla, and salt in a bowl of your kitchen aid, or use a hand electric mixer. Beat on low speed till well blended. Increase speed to medium (for kitchen aid users) and high for hand mixers. Mix for two minutes. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans, and bake for 25 min for 8" pans, and 27 min for 9" pans.
Transfer pans to cooling racks to cool for 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans and let cool completely.

Icing:

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cups milk
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Put the chocolate chips in a metal bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment...alternatively, use a hand mixer. Combine the sugar, milk, butter and salt in a medium sauce over high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Boil vigorously for exactly 1 minute. Pour hot sugar mixture over the the chocolate chips and add the vanilla. Beat on medium speed until the mixture begins to thicken to a spreadable consistency. 10-15 minutes.

To assemble, place one cake, flat side up on a platter. Spread 1/3 of the icing over the top of the cake. Top with second cake, flat side up. Spread 1/3 of icing over the top. Top with 3rd cake and spread remaining icing over top and sides of your tall creation. Refrigerated cake will be more set. This cake is beautiful when garnished with deep reds, such as roses or berries. Left over icing becomes a decadent fudge.