Birthday Cake, Part I

A while back at work I decided I was tired of guessing what type of birthday treat everyone liked for their birthday, so I made all of my co-workers fill out a staff survey. I figured that was fair, due to the fact that I was tired of trying to sneakily figure out if they liked cake and if not, what other birthday treat they would prefer.

You see, at my office, when someone has a birthday, we always have a potluck. We try to go about it in a covert manner - not let the person actually know we are having the potluck in their honor, not let them know the theme, but it has become standard practice around work to have the potluck, so the only time it is a suprise is if they forget your birthday and you DON'T get one. No bitter feelings about my birthday last year...

It was recently my coworker B's birthday, and on her sheet she said she liked "Ooey Gooey chocolate-y carmel cheesecake". So I asked her if she would prefer a cake or a cheesecake. This caused her some dilemma, so I told her not to worry about it, I would figure something out. After a little Google searching I came across this recipe for Cheesecake Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cake. Wonderful, two birds, one stone. I made some alterations, I made my own cake instead of using a box mix, and I used Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting instead of from a can.

Ok, this was one of the best cakes in the world. I don't know if it was the combination of chocolate cake and cheesecake or the dreamy frosting, but whatever it is, it caused a fight between two people over who got the one piece. SUCCESS!

.

Cheesecake Stuffed Dark Chocolate Cake

From Christmas with Southern Living

.

Ingredients:

Unsweetened cocoa

1 (18.25-oz.) package devil’s food cake mix

1 (3.4-oz.) package chocolate instant pudding mix

3 large eggs

1 1⁄4 cups milk

1 cup canola oil

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1⁄2 tsp. chocolate extract (optional)

1 tsp. almond extract

3 (1.55-oz.) milk chocolate bars, chopped (we tested with Hershey’s)

3 (16-oz.) cans homestyle cream cheese frosting

3 (7.75-oz.) boxes frozen cheesecake bites, coarsely chopped (we tested with Sara Lee)

1 (12-oz.) jar dulce de leche caramel sauce (we tested with Smucker’s)

Double chocolate rolled wafer cookies, coarsely broken (we tested with Pirouline)

Chocolate fudge rolled wafer cookies, coarsely broken (we tested with Pepperidge Farm)

.

Preparation:

Grease 2 (9") round cakepans, and dust with cocoa.Beat cake mix and next 7 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute; then beat at mediumspeed 2 minutes. Fold in chopped milk chocolate bars. Pour batter into prepared pans.Bake at 350° for 32 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Cool cake in pans on wireracks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.Wrap and chill cake layers at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. (This step enables you to split cake layerswith ease.)Using a serrated knife, slice cake layers in half horizontally to make 4 layers. Place 1 layer, cut side up,on a cake plate. Spread with 1⁄2 cup cream cheese frosting; sprinkle with one-fourth of choppedcheesecake bites. Repeat procedure with remaining 3 layers and cheesecake bites, omitting cheesecakebites on top of last layer. Frost sides and top of cake with remaining frosting. Drizzle desired amount ofcaramel sauce over cake, letting it drip down sides. Chill until ready to serve. Decorate cake with rolledwafer cookies and remaining chopped cheesecake bites. Store in refrigerator.