Chances are that you know someone who has or will be celebrating a birthday or special occasion during this time of staying home and social distancing. April is a busy birthday month in my family: my grandma turned 97 last week, and this week was my mom’s birthday. Under normal circumstances, she and I would have had a fun girl’s day of shopping or a special outing, followed by dinner out. However, things are a little different this year. My mom is so special to me and does so much for so many people that I wanted to make sure she felt special while still practicing social distancing. That’s where the idea of the birthday sign on the front lawn (found on Amazon) and a drive-thru birthday delivery of a homemade Chocolate Cake from a doctored-up cake mix came to mind.
Since buying a bakery cake was out of the question this year, I decided to try my hand at making a doctored-up cake with store-bought cake mix. I have actually seen my mom use this trick for years with her wedding cakes and birthday cakes, but I have never tried it myself. Turns out, it is so easy, and you really can taste the difference in the finished product. For this recipe, I combined several different recipes I found on Pinterest and came up with my own creative spin. The finished product is a heavenly rich chocolate cake, made even more decadent with cream cheese frosting, sure to put a smile on anyone’s face.
Serves 8-10
Ingredients:
(For the cake)
1 Box of Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake Mix
1 Cup Whole Milk
4 Large Eggs
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
½ Cup Unsalted Butter (melted)
1 Box (5.9 Ounce Box) of Chocolate Instant Pudding
(For the cream cheese frosting)
8 Ounces Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup Unsalted Butter, softened
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Directions for Cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease a 10-inch bundt cake pan with butter or cooking spray for baking (such as PAM Baking made with Flour) and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, mix together devil’s food cake mix, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, butter, and chocolate pudding mix. If you have a stand mixer, I highly recommend using it for this recipe. The cake batter is very dense and will become difficult to mix well by hand or handled mixer. Mix for two minutes at medium speed.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt cake pan. I tapped the pan on the counter, so the batter laid in an even layer in the pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
7. After 10 minutes transfer cake to a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool down and come to room temperature. It is important to remember to let the cake cool completely before frosting it, otherwise, the frosting will melt.
Directions for Frosting:
1. While the cake is cooling prepare the cream cheese frosting.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese and butter. Mix for 3 minutes, until the combination becomes light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.
3. Gradually add powdered sugar, mixing in powdered sugar a little at a time until frosting is smooth and creamy.
4. After your cake is completely cooled, transfer cake to cake stand or plate before you frost the cake.
5. I used a pastry bag with a large round tip, starting from the middle of the cake, and squeezing a line over to the bottom edge. Repeat until the cake is frosted.
6. To make the cake more festive for a birthday, add sprinkles, candles, or a birthday banner.
You can easily try doctoring-up different flavored boxed cake mixes with corresponding instant pudding mixes, such as vanilla or yellow cake mix with vanilla instant pudding mix. I hope you enjoy making this scrumptious doctored-up chocolate bundt cake. During these unusual times, why not practice your baking skills and have your own drive-thru cake drop-off for someone special or someone who could use a little cheering up.
3 Comments
Lynn Ellen Myers
April 28, 2020 at 12:56 pm
Thank you so much, Leslee, for making my birthday special. The cake was delicious and we were able to enjoy it for several days. I even froze 1/4 of it to savor on another day, maybe Mothers Day. A you can count on a special girls’ day when the stay at home order is lifted. Love you, Mommie
chicideology
April 30, 2020 at 10:41 pm
I can’t wait for our fun girl’s day! I miss you so much.
Carrot and Spice Mini Bundt Cake – Chic Ideology
May 12, 2021 at 4:09 am
[…] Spring in my family is filled with celebrations, from birthdays to holidays, which means lots of opportunities to make delicious goodies, including these carrot and spice mini bundt cakes. Over the weekend we had a family birthday celebration for my Mom whose actual birthday was a few weeks ago. She requested a carrot cake and so I went to searching to find the perfect recipe. If you have been reading the blog for a while, you have probably noticed that I love baking, especially bundt cakes. Last year, I made a wonderful chocolate bundt cake for her drive-by socially distanced celebration, and you can find the recipe for that scrumptious cake here. […]