Aunt Tiff's Spectacular Birthday Cake

Last summer was a crazy time for our family.  The above picture of my sister was taken 2 days before she almost died in a horrible car accident.

Fast forward 4 months - after days in ICU and then the Orthopedic Floor of our local hospital - and I knew I wanted to make a very special birthday cake to celebrate 2 things about which her doctors were amazed:  That my sister survived the accident at all, and that she still has her arm (which was almost torn off as she was ejected from her car).

The good news:  This cake is delicious.  It is also quick and very easy.

The bad news:  While I am sure that it can be made just as well from scratch, I actually doctored up a cake mix for this one.

Thanks to Pinterest, the decoration was easy: after frosting the cake, I just put Kit Kat bars around it, and filled the top with M & Ms.

Here is how I made it:

Aunt Tiff's Spectacular Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

1 (18 1/4 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 (4 ounce) box instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

chocolate frosting

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Grease 2 9-inch round cake pans.
3. Dust with flour and tap out the excess; set pans aside.
4. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl.
5. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute.
6. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. On medium low speed, continue to blend for 2-3 minutes more.
8. The batter will be very thick and should look well combined.
9. Pour batter into prepared pans and smooth it out.
10. Bake for 27-32 minutes
11. Allow to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes.
12. Prepare frosting.
13. When cake is cool, frost.

 

This past summer, one of my uncles died at 60 years old.  My sister was in that horrific accident, and one of my aunt's suffered a massive stroke.  Take every opportunity you can to let the people you love know it - and celebrate life every chance you get!

 

{Printable Recipe}