Better Than Sex Cake

(Click on photo for larger view)

1 box Duncan Hines butter cake mix
1 8-oz. package chocolate chips
1 8-oz. package pecans, chopped (optional)
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 box unsweetened German chocolate, grated
1 8-oz carton sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
4 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all the ingredients with the cake mix. Pour into a greased and floured Bundt pan. Bake 1 hour. When the cake is cool, make the icing.

Frosting

1 8-oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 box confectioners' sugar (3 3/4 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Chopped nuts
Flaked coconut

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the vanilla. Ice the cake. Sprinkle with the nuts and coconut.

I discovered this recipe in Michael Lee West's Consuming Passions: A Food-Obsessed Life, which I reviewed here. I have to say it was a bit of a challenge trying to figure a few essential details! For instance, how many servings in a box of instant vanilla pudding mix? 4 or 6? How many ounces are in 1/2 a box of unsweetened German chocolate? 4? Now that confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar) comes in a bag, how do you know how many cups are in a box? Thank goodness for Google, at least on that last question. I went with a 4 serving size box of pudding and a 4 oz box of chocolate. I'm happy to report that the cake was delicious!

One more thought. This cake is so yummy, you could serve it without any frosting and still have a hit. I don't care for coconut, so I left that (and the chopped nuts) out of the frosting. Maybe that's why it tasted too sweet. The nuts and coconut might help cut that extra-sugary taste.