Surprisingly enough, photo’s taken with my iPhone while driving down the road!

Last minute cake, literally…

Earlier in the week I volunteered to prepare a cake to sell in a fundraiser. I thought about many options for a “go to cake” and just couldn’t settle on one. I needed something sturdy, climate safe and eye-appealing. This cake kept coming up, but it wasn’t until about 6:00 this morning, (2 hours before it was due) that I finalized the selection. Of course this required a store run… At any rate, long story short this cake is easy to prepare, and delivers a simple, yet beautiful cake. It is moist and rich, but not overly sweet. I chose to just dust it with powdered sugar versus a glaze.

I would suggest serving this cake with a cold glass of milk, or for a more delicate occasion, a nice cup of tea would do well. I rank this “cake mix” cake in my top 5, maybe even top 3… Try it!

Vanilla Rich Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake (adapted from a McCormick recipe)

What you need:

• 1 box (18.25 oz) yellow cake mix
• 1 box (4 serving size) vanilla pudding
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup miniature chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray.

Beat all ingredients except chocolate chips in a large bowl on low to moisten, then on medium for 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and pour into pan.

Bake in the center of the over for 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert cake onto wire rack. Cool completely. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or glaze (powdered sugar and milk mixture).

*Note: Using miniature chocolate chips ensures that the chips are evenly dispersed throughout the cake. You can also dust the chips with a little cake batter before adding to the batter.