Chocolate Cream Cake

I was at the store today with the intent of just quickly picking up some Cool Whip. I noticed cake mixes were on sale. I went back to the store entrance and exchanged my basket for a cart so could stock up.
My thoughts returned me to my most memorable childhood Christmas.
On that cold December night, long ago we stood in awe for a moment of the service done on our behalf. After we brought all if the tall brown grocery bags into the house, we unloaded each one with delight. It had been a few years since we had this much food in the house at one time. One of the sacks had a couple of cake mixes in it. All of our eggs had been used to make the Holiday Pumpkin Bread, so it wasn't possible to make a cake. Nonetheless we dumped one of the mixes into a large bowl and the six of us kids huddled around it eating the dry mix by the spoonfuls. We were thrilled by our treat.
The recipe I share today isn't written down in any of my recipe indexes. Thus- I haven't made it in a considerable amount of time. But it's a simple dessert that is a hit anywhere I take it.

Chocolate Cream Cake

Use a 12 x 17.5 baking sheet. Begin by making Yummy In My Tummy Chocolate Cake, omitting the chocolate chips. This is a refrigerated dessert. If you make the cake with chocolate chips, they will be hard and produce an undesirable crunch to your dessert.
Chill the cake.
Spread the chocolate cream onto the cake layer.

Chocolate Cream
12 oz. softened cream cheese
3/4 cup dry chocolate pudding mix (about 5 oz.)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. almond extract (optional)

I use the food processor to thoroughly blend all of the ingredients until smooth.
Then, fold in 12oz. Cool Whip.

Spread 12 more ounces of Cool Whip onto the chocolate cream layer.

Refrigerate for several hours.
Before serving, drizzle with room temperature Chocolate Glaze.
Serve cake well chilled and refrigerate leftovers.

The 12 x 17.5 baking sheet makes nice snack size informal desserts. You can also make this into a round, square or rectangular layer cake.

I have been experiencing some memory glitches lately- can’t remember why I enter a certain room, names of people I’ve known for twenty years are unable to be recalled, etc. A friend who is just a few years older than me has assured me it is just a phase. She told me I’d never again be as sharp as I was in my twenties, but I won’t settle into middle age long term being quite this bad. My family was delighted that I could still remember this recipe :) It was enjoyed tonight after the Stromboli we ate for dinner.

Stromboli

Today is Y’s last day of basketball tryouts. He will be home around 6pm with the news of whether or not he made the team. If I were to bake his favorite thing, I know in an instant what it would be. It’s not a treat, but rather a pepperoni and sausage pizza enclosed in the crust, saving the sauce for dipping. We call it Stromboli. You begin with dough- enough for one pizza. You can make your own, defrost a loaf of frozen bread dough (this takes over 5 hours) or purchase some at your favorite pizzeria.
When my eldest, B, was 4 and Y was 2, we moved to a community near Washington D.C. for a temporary work assignment. We could be found many Friday nights at Bertuccis in Herdon, Virginia. It was a great Italian restaurant with brick oven baked pizza. Each time we would go, the waiter would bring the boys a small ball of dough. He told them to make it into any shape they wanted, and then he would bake it for them, and bring it back ready to eat. He suggested a car shape, a boat, their favorite zoo animal- whatever. The boys worked over their dough for quite some time. Finally the waiter returned and asked “Didn’t you want to make a shape?”
B, speaking for both of them said, “They’re basketballs!” Y raised both hands in the air with tiny clenched fists and said “Yeah!!!”
The waiter returned with some baked balls of dough not looking much different than they had been initially delivered to our table twenty minutes prior. And I had two delighted young boys.
So after securing some dough, follow the directions to make your own version of Y’s favorite:

Stromboli
Ingreedients:
Dough
Pizza toppings
Cheese
Italian spices

Shape the dough into a long rectangle, no longer than your baking sheet, and about half of the width. Sprinkle it with Italian seasonings. Line the very center with pepperoni. Layer grated Italian cheeses on top of the pepperoni, and then cover the cheese with sausage. It is important to keep the cheese in the center or it will bake into the crust, and essentially disappear. Next, gather both edges, meeting in the center, pinching them closed, being sure to also seal the ends. Flip your Stromboli over onto your baking sheet, sealed side down. Dust with cornmeal, garlic salt, and or parmesan cheese. Bake it for 20-30 minutes(depending on size) at 350 degrees or until done. Serve with warm marinara or cheese sauce for dipping.
I’m sure you are already thinking of variations for this recipe to make it your favorite- ham and pineapple, chicken and spinach, veggie delight. A word of caution- Watch out for too much moisture. Ingredients with a lot of moisture can make your finished product soggy.
Make.Bake.Share.
Y,
I’m doing my part in the kitchen today to try and tell you that no matter what- team member or not, I’ll always be your biggest fan!
Love,
Mom