Doctored Chocolate Cake Mix Recipe

For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray two 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray and line the inside bottom of each pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the dry cake mix, granulated sugar, dry pudding mix, and unsweetened cocoa powder together. Set aside.
3. In a separate medium bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together (on low speed) the butter, milk, eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract just until combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until fully combined, about 2 minutes. While beating, use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl where the dry mix may have settled.
5. Pour the cake mix evenly between both prepared cake pans. Try to make the amounts in each pan as equal as possible (about 682 grams per pan) so that they bake at the same speed.
6. Bake for 32-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
7. Let the cakes cool in the pans (on a wire rack) for 15 minutes before removing.
8. Let the cakes cool completely, then use a large serrated knife to cut the dome tops off both cakes so they both have a flat top. Be sure to let the cakes cool completely before this step.
9. To make the cakes firmer before frosting, cover the cakes completely in food-safe plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. This isn’t a required step, but it does help the cakes to be firmer before frosting so they don’t fall apart while frosting.

For the Frosting

1. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the powdered sugar, butter, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract together on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. If the frosting seems too thick, beat in 1-2 tablespoons of heavy cream until you reach the desired consistency.

For Assembly

1. Place a bit of frosting (about 2 tablespoons spread thin) on a cake board or cake plate, then place one cake (cut side facing up) on top of that frosting. This helps to hold the cake in place while you’re decorating it.
2. Add a layer of frosting on top of that first layer then place the second layer (bottom facing up) on top of the first layer. You’ll now have a two-layer cake.
3. Frost a thin layer of frosting around the top and sides of cake. This is called the “crumb coat”. This layer is meant to secure all the crumbs to the cake so you don’t have crumbs showing in your final layer.
4. Place the cake in the freezer for 10 minutes so the crumb coat hardens up a bit before frosting the final layer.
5. Frost the outside of the cake with the final layer and then decorate the cake as you like.
6. For swirls around the top cake border, I used a Wilton 1M tip. I then sprinkled chocolate sprinkles over top. If you don’t have chocolate sprinkles, use a vegetable peeler and a block of solid chocolate (like semisweet Baker’s chocolate) to create your own chocolate shavings.