Easy Dark Chocolate Cake

If you visit my blog often you know I am not a fan of sifting. So when it comes to satisfying a craving for chocolate which both my husband and I seem to crave a lot in our older ages, having a boxed cake mix in my pantry for just those occasions suits me fine. And I think box mixes are pretty darn tasty.

We grew up with the likes of Betty Crocker® and Duncan Hines® cake mixes. Years ago I recall my mother adding pudding mix to the cake mix to add extra moisture and depth of flavor. Today it's no secret that if you change the ingredients to add to the mix you can come up with one terrific and almost bakery like cake.

Simply replace the oil with a 1/2 cup of melted butter. Add one extra egg and instead of using water use milk instead.

For the Chocolate Icing:
This makes plenty to ice a two layered cake.

• 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 1/2  + 2 tbsp. cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1. With a hand held mixer or stand mixture whip the cream cheese and butter together.
2. Next, add in 1 cup of the confectioners sugar and the cocoa. Mix well.
3. Add in the vanilla and the rest of the confectioners sugar and blend well.

If the frosting is too thick for your liking, thin it down with milk, 1 tsp. at a time.