After hearing me complain about being in a baking rut, my friend Taneka, sent over a no-fail chocolate cake recipe. Aptly titled "Never Ending Chocolate Cake", this cake is one of Taneka's prize winners. Update: Skip to the bottom to read what to do about the new smaller cake mix box sizes.
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As much as I like scratch chocolate cakes, I am always interested in trying prize winning box cakes. This one is great, plus it's a little different than some other cake mix enhanced chocolate cakes. Along with the cake mix Never Ending Chocolate Cake has pudding mix, chocolate syrup, buttermilk and oil to make it very moist.
15.25 oz Cake Mix Version of Never Ending Chocolate Cake
Cake mix has been downsized from 18.25 oz a box to 15.25 oz a box. I've tested this recipe using the original 18.25 oz box as well as the newly sized 15.25 oz box of cake mix (specifically, Betty Crocker Super Moist). Even though the original recipe calls for 18.25 oz, you can make the recipe with the 15.25 without adding extra cake mix or making adjustments. If you want to add 3 oz of extra cake mix anyway to make 18.25 oz, you need ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake mix to make 3 oz. This will give you a denser, heavier, cake.
Oh No! More Downsizing! But Good News
Now cake mix comes in a 13.25 oz box. I haven't yet tested this old recipe using the new size, but I feel like the proportions of additional ingredients need to be reduced by about a third. The good news is Betty Crocker has a new version of a cake that's very similar to this one. It calls for the new 13.25 oz box of cake mix plus ¾ cup chocolate milk, 3 eggs, ⅓ cup melted butter, 1 cup sour cream, a pack of fudge pudding mix and extra chocolate chips. I can't wait to try this new version. Recipe is here.
Recipe
Mary K.'s Never Ending Chocolate Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 15.25 oz box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix
- 1 3.9 oz package chocolate instant pudding mix (size might vary slightly)
- 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup chocolate syrup
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Chocolate glaze
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- ⅔ c. evaporated milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a 12 cup Bundt pan with Baker's Joy or other flour-added baking spray.
- Combine cake mix, pudding mix, milk, oil, syrup and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed until mixed, then increase mixer speed to medium and beat for about 2 minutes. Stir in chocolate chips and pour into Bundt pan.
- Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until cake tester comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, and then turn out onto cooling rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for garnish, or drizzle with chocolate glaze.
- Combine chocolate and milk in small saucepan. Cook and stir over low heat until blended and mixture comes to a boil. Lower heat and cook, stirring constantly until thickened.
kitty62 says
I made vanilla cupcakes the same way the chocolate cake was made (with cake mix, chips and pudding) but with a yellow cake, french vanilla pudding and white chocolate chips. I frosted it with homemade buttercream frosting that i put some raspberry extract in. Very yummy and im not a huge white chocolate fan. They were a hit with the family.
hulagirl247 says
hi anna -
just catching up on reading and saw this - oddly enough there was an episode of "america's test kitchen" this weekend on PBS that actually has a lovely lemon layer cake with seven minute frosting (all from scratch) and they explained about the differences in taste and texture scratch cakes versus box cakes. it was very interesting and even though i am a complete chocolate freak i do like other flavours as well (lemon being one of them) and the lemon layer cake they made looked scrumptious! probably would have been a perfect cake for Easter.
hope you get out of your baking funk soon.
i hate when you have to throw something out like that - but i guess it has to happen to all of us scratch bakers once in a while. maybe you just need to make a nice batch of your all time favourite cookies to bring you back to the happy baking frame of mind. (sometimes the simplest pleasures can do wonders)
have a great day!
~hula~
Randi says
Haha, I was VERY active on the cake mix doctor board in 2004. I used 4( including that choc. one) recipes for my wedding cupcakes. They all came out awesome and no one knew they were from a mix. There are so many cake mix snobs out there( esp on egullet). I prefer to bake from scratch now, but if an occasion called for it, I'd still use a boxed mix( doctored up of course). I made the symphony brownies today and everyone loves them. I dont think I'll ever stop making them with the ghiradelli brownie mix.
Sue says
Happy Easter Anna, Todd, Fuzz, and all of you fellow Cookie Madness Fans!
I think your cake choice sounds really tasty. Someone brought a doctored up cake mix cake to a function I attended on Thursday and it was very good. I'm sure the choice you made will be excellent.
I just put a pie in the oven that I think will be a disaster, but the filling is tasty so even if it's a mess we'll still eat it. The recipe is The Cherry Red Raspberry Pie from a pie contest. It was the winning recipe. I'm going to blog about it later or tomorrow depending on what time allows.
Jenn's Baking Chamber says
My mom uses this recipe all the time! its sooo good! She also makes a vanilla version of it too and puts chocolate chips in it. It has great flavor from the pudding and a nice moist texture, good luck!
Pearl says
wow!
Elyse says
Sounds like a no-fail plan! All of those ingredients sound ultra-yummy and ultra-chocolatey. Can't wait to hear how it tasted!
unconfidentialcook.com says
If it has pudding it it, I bet it's good!
Carol A, says
Thanks for the ideas, Louise! I checked out that PB brownie and it looks great - but it reminded me that I have a Cream Cheese Brownie recipe that I love and haven't made in awhile. So I'm making that, and a cupcake I made up called Chai Latte Cupcakes. Just a good cupcake recipe with chai spices added to the batter, and into the buttercream frosting as well. Very tasty, if I do say so myself. 🙂
Oh and I love lemon bars, too. If my lemon tree was more loaded right now I'd definitely do that. I am going to make those PB brownies sometime too, Anna they look so delicious.
Anna says
There are so many Cake Mix Doctor recipes that I haven't tried or that I think sound good and then forget about. The Upside Down Bananas Foster cake i something my dad would love. I'm going to have to bookmark that for when he comes over. He loves bananas foster and we have fond memories of ordering it at the country club and watching them make it at our table. Hmmm. Maybe I should just make bananas foster one day...but then I'd miss the cake.
Louise says
Oh, Anna. I'm so sorry. I was making suggestions for CindyD and Carol A for what they could make. I thought you were already decided. And, I think some of the cake mix stuff turns out fine. I looked at the one you listed. I have The Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook. I always like the Upside Down Bananas Foster Cake (more for you) and also the Bacardi Rum Cake. 🙂
Anna says
Louise, I wouldn't dream of serving you cake mix cake ;). My step-mother is another one who will not touch cakes made with it. But recently she admitted she just didn't care for cake (insert Agnes Skinner joke here).
I'm beginning to think cake mix is like Vegemite -- you only really like it if you grew up in Australia eating it. You only really like cake mix if you grew up in America eating it? Not sure.
Anyway. I think I've changed my mind and will go with angel food cake, strawberries and whipped cream -- not exciting, but delicious. I found the Whip-it, btw.
snooky doodle says
chocolate cake is always well recieved 🙂
Louise says
If someone was having me to dinner, I'd appreciate another dessert. Peanut butter and chocolate seem like Easter. What about the Peanut Butter and Fudge Brownies with Salted Peanuts that Anna has on this blog, or the Snickers Bar Bread Pudding which Anna has a pointer to on NPR http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96179573&sc=emaf or Lemon Squares (which for some reason remind me of Spring) 🙂
VeggieGirl says
Hang in there with the baking funk!!
Carol A, says
Ha, here I am, trying to choose what to bake to bring to an Easter lunch tomorrow! I need to decide so I can get the ingredients and get at it, but just can't seem to settle. Been looking through your goodies here, plenty to pick from, so that's not the problem. Just need to focus and go.
Thanks for all the great ideas and recipes, I sure appreciate it!
CindyD says
I know what you mean! I'd like to bake something for a gift for the family who has invited us to Easter dinner tomorrow, but I can't decide what to make.