Shawn's Darn Good Chocolate Cake

Today was Shawn's 30th birthday so I wanted to do something extra special for him. When I asked him what he wanted he just said something chocolaty and cake-like. It didn't take me long to pick one of my favorite, tried and trusted recipes. I almost feel as though I'm cheating because there is cake mix involved, but it has never let me down. The Cake Doctor deserves all the credit for this basic recipe, however I've "Julia-ized" it just a bit to make it more chocolaty:

Darn Good Four Chocolate Chocolate Cake

• 1 box devil's food cake mix (without pudding added!)
• 1 box chocolate pudding
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1-2 T of dark chocolate cocoa powder
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
• 1 cup dark chocolate (I used a bar and cut it into chunks)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a bundt pan. Put everything except the chips in a bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minute. The batter will be VERY thick. Scrape the bowl down (look for dry pockets -- they are in there) and mix on medium speed for another 3 minutes. Put chocolate chunks and 1 tablespoon of the cocoa powder in a separate bowl and mix, coating the chips with the cocoa. Add chips to the exceedingly thick batter. Pour the batter into the pan, bang it on the counter a few times to release trapped bubbles, and bake for 50-60 minutes, turning once halfway during baking. It's done when a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 5-10 minutes and invert to on a cooling rack.

I frosted Shawn's cake with a dark chocolate butter cream while the cake was still warm. It melted and left a beautiful sheen to the cake. I also added a few multicolored sprinkles just for some fun.