Since I’ve started baking for people outside of my home, I’ve noticed a trend in what most people want. Let’s be honest – most people want chocolate.  More specifically, most people want this chocolate cake.

I can’t say I blame them.  It’s one of my favorites to make, and at this point I’ve made it so many times I don’t even need to look at a recipe card.  Here’s the catch – it starts with a box mix.  Yep.  I’m not even sorry – that’s how delicious this cake is.  Why apologize for something that works so well, and always yields something fantastic?  So here we go!

Too Much Chocolate Cake AKA The Best Cake EVER!

1 box Devil’s Food Cake Mix – make sure it does not contain pudding in it!
1 pkg chocolate pudding 5.9 oz
4 eggs
1 c sour cream
1 c oil
1/2 c warm water
2 c chocolate chips – mini is my preferencePreheat your oven to 350°

From here on out instructions aren’t really necessary, but I guess you should hear it at least once.  One of the very best things about this cake is how easy it is to prepare.  This is a one bowl cake.  You can really just dump all the ingredients in one bowl and go to town mixing them together with your electric mixer. It’s a pretty thick batter and might not be as easy by hand.  If you must know my preference – I like to put the cake mix and pudding in first and then give those a quick stir before adding everything else.  I would also reserve those chips until the very end – it makes the initial mixing go more smoothly.  Alternately – you can leave the chocolate chips out entirely – but I only do that occasionally (like the other day when I decided to make filled cupcakes).

Another really lovely part about this cake is its versatility.  I’m writing about the cake recipe as a whole, but I probably make cupcakes out of this more than anything.  It’s great as cake rounds, cupcakes, or – as the original recipe calls for – a bundt cake.  You’ll just want to check on your baking time.  If doing a bundt cake the original instructions call for 50-55 minutes.  When I make 9 inch cake rounds I check around 25-30, and for 6 inch rounds I check at 20-25.  Cupcakes can bake as quickly at 15-20 minutes, just watch your oven.

My preferred way to get these into the oven varies depending on finished product: bundt cake – make sure you grease your pan really well so nothing sticks to the crevices; cake rounds – always, always, ALWAYS parchment on the bottom and grease the pan either with spray or your preferred baker’s grease; cupcakes – liners – they’re just so much more efficient than prepping each baking cup individually, and they look pretty when you’re done.

Also, when making cupcakes I like to minimize the mess on my hands by putting all the batter into a ziplock bag and distributing it as evenly as I can into each baking cup.Just snip off the end, and away you go.Easy, peasy.

Once you’re all nice and baked off you should have something pretty like this (they may be a little less smooth on the top if you added the chips, but still quite lovely).This is where I got a little creative and filled them.  Remember the baby cake I made for my family? Me too.  Very delicious, but not enough for friends who also wanted to be surprised with our baby boy news via baked goods.  These are so soft and moist inside that they really lend themselves to being filled. I whipped up a batch of my favorite frosting, took out enough to tint blue for the inside, and topped each cupcake with a heaping pile of fluffy goodness.Tah-dah!  All I need now is some willing participants.  Oh look!  I found some.Yeah, I’m still not over telling anyone and everyone who will listen that we’re having a baby boy!  So excited.  And just FYI, the gentleman in the photo who looks mildly concerned as he stares deep into that delicious bite was positive we were having a girl.  Not that I would have minded, but it was a pretty priceless moment for us.

I digress. This cake will win you many friends, and get you invited to many parties – providing you bring them some cake!

Now go – make something delicious!