Chocolate Chip Cake

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but I’m not a huge fan of cake frosting. There are exceptions of course, (I do love cream cheese frosting) but I prefer more of a glaze or a ganache on my cake instead of traditional cake frosting. About 10 years ago, I made my Chocolate Cake but used vanilla cake mix and vanilla pudding instead of chocolate. It was incredible and I’ve been making it ever since. Half the time I use powdered sugar on top and the other half of the time I use chocolate ganache. The ganache is super rich and makes the cake even more decadent.

Ingredients:

• 1 box vanilla cake mix

• 1 box vanilla pudding mix (2/3 cup)

• 4 eggs

• ½ cup vegetable oil

• ½ cup water

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1 cup mini chocolate chips

• Powdered sugar for topping OR chocolate ganache (see recipe below)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place all ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, into the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl and use a handheld mixer). Mix for several minutes until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into a well-greased angel food cake pan and bake for 50-55 minutes. Once cake has cooled, remove from pan and onto a cake stand. Then either sprinkle with powdered sugar or top with chocolate ganache.

Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chocolate chips

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Place the chocolate and heavy whipping cream in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth. Remove from heat and allow the ganache to cool slightly and thicken a bit (I like it on the thicker side). Then pour the ganache over the cake and garnish with fresh berries