Dense Chocolate Chocolate Cake

Everyone needs a good chocolate cake recipe and this has been my go to recipe for years.  (I even had a 5 year old girl convinced that she wanted this cake every year for her birthday cake, she thought it was that good!).  I have to admit that I love the ease of cake mixes, but I hate how potentially dry they can be.  With pudding, sour cream, and cream cheese added to the mix, this cake turns out perfectly moist and flavorful....just the way I like it!

 Click here for printable recipe.

Post by: Jen
recipe source: Philadelphia Cream Cheese Collection

Ingredients:

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 c sour cream
1/2 c water
2 eggs
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 4 oz pkg instant chocolate pudding mix
1 c chocolate chips, optional

Directions:
Peaheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the cream cheese until it is is smooth. Mix in the eggs, and water and blend until smooth.

 Add in the cake mix and the pudding mix and blend together until all mixed well.

 This is a VERY thick batter.  It may work your beaters!  Stir in the chocolate chips at this point if desired.

Grease and flour your pan.  I love to use a bundt pan for this cake, but it works just fine in 2 round cake pans, or a 9x13 pan.  If I am not covering the cake with a ganache, or frosting, then I like to flour the pan with cocoa powder so as to not leave a flour residue on the cake.  OR if you have the flour/butter spray combo then use that because that stuff is amazing for greasing and flouring pans!

 Spread your batter into the pan.  This is thick, so you will spoon your batter into the pan and then spread it out.

 Bake in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until toothpick in center is clean.  It will take less time if using 2 rounds or a rectangle pan.  I would check around 40 minutes.  But check by looking in your oven rather than opening your oven if possible.

 Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack.  (unless you are using a 9x13 pan, and you want to leave it in the pan)  Cool completely.

 You can put whatever you want on the top.  Frosting, chocolate ganache,  fresh fruit, powdered sugar,whipped cream, pie filling,  etc...  Here it is with chocolate ganache.  It will be very chocolaty.  In fact when I made this again recently, my 8 year old son requested that I make it not too chocolaty.

 I love this recipe because it tastes great and it is great to serve to guests.  Plus it looks really cool with powdered sugar!