This has been a long standing Christmas staple in our house. One recipe makes four loaves of rich, moist (sorry) deliciousness. Give them away quickly because they have a tendency to disappear… more on that on that to follow. For now, the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 (15.25 oz) package chocolate fudge cake mix
1 small (3.9 oz) package chocolate instant pudding mix
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 container sour cream
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips
1 bag Heath milk chocolate toffee bites
Caramel topping or chocolate syrup for drizzle. Or both. Yum.
Directions:
Mix first 6 ingredients together until incorporated, then beat an additional two minutes. Add chocolate chips and stir. Pour evenly into four greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until done in the center. Let cool completely.
After cooling, take wooden pick and poke holes throughout the cake. Drizzle caramel topping across cake. Sprinkle with toffee bites.
If you made these in disposable loaf tins, tie with a bow and deliver to your most favorite people in the whole world. If you made them for yourself, pour a big glass of milk and ENJOY YOUR LIFE.
And, now, the to be continued part of the story….
Like I said, I’ve been giving these away at Christmas for a very long time. I typically wrap the loaf pan in a holiday dish towel, and add a ribbon, like such:
The very best part about traditions are the memories that become attached to them over time. One of my favorites as it applies to this cake is this: My husband is a football coach, and he worked for a very long time at Purdue University for a man named Joe Tiller. We lost Joe last year, far too soon. He was a good man. The best kind of man – simple, honest, clever, kind. In coaching, much of the time, your staff becomes your family. This was certainly true for us during this time in our lives. We were young and growing our family, and Joe and his wife Arnette loved us like we were their own. Anyway, one Christmas I stopped by the offices and dropped off these cakes as little gifts to all the coaches and their wives. Arnette called me the next day and thanked me for the dish towel. You can imagine that as the conversation progressed, she learned that there was actually an entire loaf of chocolate cake that went with the dish towel that did not make it home! Joe had eaten it all that same afternoon, threw away the pan, and brought home the dish towel. Kindly handed it to his wife and told her it was from me! That was probably in 2002. It makes me smile to this day. And it will, as long as I make this chocolate cake at Christmastime. I hope Coach Tiller is resting in peace with his angel friends. I hear the bell ring, and I am confident that he has gotten his wings.