No Icing Chocolate Cake - AKA - Chocolate Love in a Box!!!

I have been making this cake since I learned the recipe from a General's wife in Darmstadt W. Germany back in 1986-1987.  This cake, as easy as it is, will make you look like a baking rock-star at gatherings.
This is the ONLY chocolate cake I will eat HAPPILY without icing. I am an icing maniac – but with the almost ‘cheesecake’ marbling and the chocolate chips – it is great without messy icing. This makes it very portable for family gatherings – picnics and etc.

No Icing Chocolate Cake

Cream Cheese Addition:

• 1 (8+- ounce) pkg cream cheese of your choice – SOFTENED at room temperature maybe an hour or 2
• 1 egg beaten
• ¼ c granulated sugar
• ¼ - ½ tsp vanilla

Cake Portion:

• 1 box Betty Crocker (Pudding in the mix) Devil’s Food Cake Mix
• (Make sure you have the ingredients you must use with the mix – i.e. eggs, oil, etc)

The Love:

• 1 (12+- ounce) package chocolate chips (regular size or mini) – semi sweet – any brand. I have never used the whole package. Usually half a package – but hey, it is YOUR cake!

Equipment:

• Hand mixer (unless you are crazy enough to whip this up by hand power)
• 1 mixing bowl large enough to handle the Cake Portion
• 1 bowl large enough to hand the Cream Cheese addition
• 1 scraper for scraping bowl sides
• 1 knife to run through the batter/cheese to give the ‘marbled’ effect.
• Cake pan of your choice

Cream Cheese Portion in 1st bowl:

• Using the hand mixer, cream the cream cheese brick.
• Add the sugar and cream that in.
• Add the egg and beat that in.
• Add the vanilla and beat that in.
• Set aside.

Cake Portion in 2nd bowl:

• Prepare the cake mix per the recipe on the box.
• Pour batter into the cake pan of your choice

Finish:

• After pouring the batter into the pan, I tap the pan on the counter to help settle the batter in it.
• I sprinkle however many chocolate chips I feel like – on the top of the batter at this point.
• Take the spatula and place 6-8 large dollops of the cream cheese mixture around the top of batter in various spots.
• Drop more chips on TOP of the cream cheese dollops.
• Run the knife/flat spatula up and down the batter to create the marbled effect.

Bake per directions on box.

Suggestions:

• Set out the cream cheese a couple of hours ahead of when you want to make this recipe. Adjust time according to how hot/cold your environment is. And do NOT use a microwave to try to speed the process. I say THIS from EXPERIENCE….
• Mix up the cream cheese/cheese cake portion first so the cake with its leavening components is not sitting waiting in the pan.
• Scrape bowls periodically during mixing.
• Shiny metal pans are the first choice for baking cakes.
• Dark non-stick cake pans may require you to reduce heat by 25F because they absorb heat and brown faster.
• I use the largest cake pan the box calls for. I have never tried this recipe for cupcakes or tiers.
• Bake in center of oven.
• I absolutely use the longest baking time called for on the box for the size cake pan I am using.
• Cake is done with a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
• Cool cakes on a wire rack away from drafts.
• Due to cream cheese mixture, I refrigerate the cake if I am going to be keeping it for several days, but it will work at any event without cooling.