Off-Topic with Tammy

Good Morning, friends! Today's post marks the second installment of the new Thursday blog series, "Off-Topic with Tammy," and I'm going to share another well-loved family recipe with you. This week's recipe comes from my second-favorite food group after "Snacks" - DESSERT - and this recipe has a little bit of well-loved history.

I'm a mom, and if you are a mom, you know that much of our time and activities are devoted to our family members. We cook and clean and plan and organize and make sure that everyone has everything they need and is where they need to be at all times. We pour ourselves into our families, grieving with them over their losses and celebrating their successes and milestones, and life kinda becomes a lot about taking care of those that the Lord has entrusted to us. As a result, sometimes we overlook our own little celebrations and milestones - like birthdays, for example.

While never expecting much on my own birthday, a few years ago, I received a true SURPRISE from a friend. After arriving at my now college-age son's middle school soccer game, I was greeted by with a big beautiful chocolate bundt cake, all wrapped up in cellophane and tied with a big happy bow - for me - for my birthday! I was stunned! Someone who was not my mom had baked a cake for ME! What a treat! And, let me just tell you, that cake was the absolute best cake that I think I've ever tasted (so moist and with chocolate chips baked inside so that it tasted like icing running throughout the cake; it truly didn't even need frosting). So of course, I asked her for the recipe, and it turns out that this uber-delicious cake starts with a boxed cake mix, which in my opinion, makes it even better. Since then, the "Bundt" is a much-anticipated treat at our house.

(The vanilla version, with white chocolate chips.)

Over the years, I've used all different flavors of cake mixes, and now I frequently bake the mix as cupcakes instead of in my bundt pan. But when I want to serve a special cake that looks as amazing as it tastes (and I don't want to mess with frosting), I go with a chocolate cake mix and Ghirardelli chocolate chips. (The chocolate cake just seems to bake up fluffier and prettier than any other flavor (it's thicker), and the Ghirardelli chips melt into the cake like butter.)

So, here is my all-time favorite go-to cake recipe. This is one to try if you want to make a boxed cake mix taste like a bakery cake!

CHRISTINE'S YUMMY BUNDT CAKE:
1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 small box instant chocolate pudding
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
1 bag of Ghiradelli Chocolate Chips

Mix all ingredients together except chocolate chips. (I used my stand mixer.) Fold in the chocolate chips. Grease a bundt pan (or whatever pan you want to use) and pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.