Semi-homemade But Delicious Chocolate Pound Cake

Whenever I want to make a cake on the spur of the moment, I make this cake.  I often have the ingredients in my house, and it takes about 10 minutes to get this cake in the oven.  If I’m bringing it over to someone’s house, I usually slice about half of the cake and put it on a platter, and then I keep the rest at home.  If I’m just making it for my kids, then I usually cut the cake into thirds. Then I slice up one third to serve for dessert that night, and I freeze each of the other two thirds unsliced, first wrapping in heavy duty foil, and then putting in ziploc bags. My kids love this cake!

• 1 box Duncan Hines Deep or Dark Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (low-fat is fine)
• 3 extra large eggs
• 1/2 cup corn or vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (regular or Dutch processed)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease sides, bottom, and tube of tube (angel food cake pan) or bundt pan.  In electric mixer, pour cake mix, eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and cocoa.  Mix on medium speed until fully incorporated and pretty lump free. Pour chocolate chips in, and mix by hand until incorporated.  Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake 45-55 minutes until cake has separated from sides, is springy to the touch, and a toothpick comes out clean.  (Your toothpick may run into some of the melted chocolate from the chips, so you may not be able to rely on the toothpick test to test for doneness.)  Cool on a cake rack.  When cake is fully cooled, run a knife around the outer edge and around the tube to separate.  Then lift the cake up.  Either cut it in halves or thirds right on the bottom of the pan.  Lift sections off the bottom.  Either slice or freeze.

***Cupcake Variation:  Omit chocolate chips, put paper cups in 2 standard 12 muffin pans, bake 20 - 25 min. till toothpick  comes out clean.