A Cake That Tastes Good With No Frosting?

Back when we were dating, I had expressed a hatred for the "holiday" known as Valentine's Day. My husband was determined to change my mind. He took me to a fancy restaurant and showered me with gifts. It was all very thoughtful, but it was the next year that he truly impressed me. He is a fantastic cook and made me coconut shrimp with a delightful dipping sauce, but the dish that took the cake was the cake he made me. He never bakes, so when he made this truly decadent cake for me, I was really impressed. While I am not a fan of recipes that use boxes of mix because I have become a purist, if boxes can make a cake taste this good, I am all for it. The most amazing part of this cake to me is that it doesn't actually NEED frosting. That is kind of unheard of to me, because I think frosting makes everything better.

V-Day Cake

1 package (18.25 ounce) Devil's Food cake mix
1 package (3.9 ounce) instant chocolate pudding mix
2 cups sour cream
1 cup melted butter
5 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract (I use vanilla because I think almond extract is nasty)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (minis are the best for this)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 10 inch Bundt pan. You can also use 2 8 or 9 inch square baking pans.

Stir together cake mix and pudding mix in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and almond extract. Beat on low speed until blended. Scrape bowl and beat for 4 more minutes on medium speed. Stir in chocolate chips and pour batter into prepared pan(s).

Bake in preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.