Asher's S'more Cake

Another spur-of-the-moment recipe.

I hadn't really talked to Asher about a cake. Fortunately, after some searching on Pinterest (and explaining to him that I could only replicate cake and frosting flavors, not decorating), we settled on a S'mores cake.

But, I needed something fast, so I made the easiest and best Texas Sheet Cake in the world, putting only half the glaze on top of the cake.

Then, I crushed about 12 graham cracker squares and covered the cake with half a bag of mini-marshmallows. I put that under the broiler for about 4 minutes (3 would have been enough) and added another handful of marshmallows on the top and drizzled the remaining glaze.

I had quite a few kids waxed rhapsodic when talking about the cake at the party.

Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll with Peppermint Whip Cream

Ever since blogger upgraded their site, I've had a hard time blogging--it's pretty different from the old format. That, coupled with Pinterest, has left me pinning favorite recipes and putting my changes in the comment field rather than updating everything here. And, the ease of finding new recipes and pinning them for later means that I'll never try all my "Recipes to try" pins, but if you do, could you let me know how they turn out?

This is my favorite holiday dish. I posted that I was making it on Facebook and had a few people ask for the recipe. It's light, delicious, and the presentation is easy and festive. A small Christmas miracle?

Chocolate Sponge Cake Roll
Mary Clyde

4 eggs, separated
1 c sugar
1 t vanilla
3 T water
1 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
3/4 c flour
1/3 c cocoa
1/2 c (approx) powdered sugar

2 c whipping cream
1 c crushed candy canes or peppermints (you want these pretty fine with a lot of candy cane dust because that will help sweeten the whip cream)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line parchment or wax paper on a 10-15 inch cookie sheet with a 1-inch ridge (also known as a jelly roll pan) and lightly grease

Blend egg yolks and vanilla in electric mixer at high speed until yolks are thick and lemon colored. Add water and mix. Set aside.

In another bowl, stir together baking powder, salt, cocoa, and flour. Add half of mixture with yolks and mix. Set aside.

In another bowl using clean dry beaters blend egg whites until soft peaks form gradually blending in the sugar until glossy peaks form. Fold in yolk mixture and flour mixture just until blended.

Pour onto cookie sheet, making batter even and smooth.

Bake for 10-20 minutes or until top springs back when gently touched.

Sprinkle top with powdered sugar. Remove wax paper and gently roll cake into a loose cylinder. Cover rolled up cake with clean dish towel and let cool (approximately 2-3 hours).

Whip whipping cream to desired consistency (I like it a little firmer than usual because it can ooze out of the cake if it isn't). Add crushed candy canes. Taste whip cream--sometimes, I find I need to add 1-2 T powdered sugar.

Unroll cake, spread with filling, then reroll cake in plastic wrap. The directions say to refrigerate overnight. I've gotten away with refrigrating for a couple hours. The key is to cut slices with a knife warmed in really hot water. Take the knife out of the water, wipe it dry, cut a slice. Repeat (you should have about 12 slices).

To be extra fancy make a chocolate ganache to drizzle over the cake.

THE Chocolate Cake

Now, if only I could find THE chocolate frosting!

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 t salt
1 1/4 c boiling water
4 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 c Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 t instant coffee
10 T (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 c sour cream, room temperature
1 t vanilla extract

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower-middle positions and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 8-inch round cake pans, then dust with cocoa powder and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the boiling water, chocolate, cocoa powder, and instant coffee together until smooth.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, about 30 seconds. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla until incorporated.

Reduce speed to low and beat in one-third of flour mixture, followed by half of the chocolate mixture. Repeat with half of the remaining flour mixture, and remaining chocolate mixture. Beat in remaining flour mixture until just incorporated.

Give batter a final stir with rubber spatula to make sure it si thoroughly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and gently tap the pans on the counter to settle the batter. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few crumbs attached, 15-20 minutes, rotating and switching the pans halfway through baking.

Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a small knife around the edge of cakes, then flip out onto wire racks. Peel off parchment paper, flip cakes right side up, and let cool completely before frosting, about 2 hours.

Joyous Almond Cups

Whenever I make these peanut butter cups I always end up making these Almond Joy-esque cups as well.  I use the same mini cupcake pan, the same spot in the freezer to freeze the two layers, and we end up with two flavors of cups to choose from for a sweet, but nourishing treat.  This recipe is my version after being inspired, as usual, by a recipe from Kimi over at The Nourishing Gourmet.

Even more so than the peanut butter cups, these joyous almond cups have a lot of coconut oil incorporated into the recipe.  Coconut oil has many benefits.  Coconut oil has a lot saturated fat.  But don't fear.  This saturated fat is good for you.  Yes you read that right.  The saturated fat in coconut oil is comprised of medium chain fatty acids, 50% of which are the fatty acid lauric acid.  Medium chain fatty acids are more easily digested, reducing strain on the liver, pancreas, and digestive system.  Coconut oil benefits a sluggish thyroid by this same logic: it takes less energy to digest coconut oil, freeing up your thyroid to heal and function better.  Coconut oil helps with energy levels and weight loss.  Coconut oil heals you from the inside out.

So when you wonder why I go through all the trouble of researching coconut oil, finding different kinds of coconut oil, and then incorporating it into my diet despite my lack of love for it's flavor, this is why.  I feel better when I have it in my daily diet.  I know the science behind it and am more than happy to have it's help healing my body.

Now let's get back to the treat part.  I make these either with or without chopped almonds.  Sort in the vein of sometimes feeling like a nut...But when I do add the nuts I make sure they are from my soaked and dehydrated stash.  Soaking nuts overnight in salt water helps neutralize the naturally-occuring enzyme inhibitors present in most nuts.  Then dehydrating them returns them back to their crispy state.  The almonds I used in this recipe were soaked, dehydrated, and then toasted for 20 minutes at 300 degrees just to bring out their flavor a little before I chopped them and added them in.

Joyous Almond Cups

coconut base:

1/2 cup gently melted coconut oil

1/4 cup gently melted raw honey

1 1/4 cups unsweetened, shredded coconut

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

1/2 cup chopped almonds, preferably soaked and dehydrated, then toasted for 20 min. at 300 degrees

chocolate topping:

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3 tablespoons raw honey

3/4 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon coffee liqueur

1. Make coconut base: Combine melted coconut oil and raw honey.  Whisk well to combine.  Add shredded coconut and almond extract.  

2. Using a small ice cream scoop, divide among 24 mini cupcake molds.  Sprinkle each one with a little of the chopped almonds, dividing evenly.  Place in the freezer on a level surface for 30 minutes to harden.  

3. In the meantime, make chocolate topping: combine cocoa powder, honey, and coconut oil in a glass bowl set over simmering water.  Whisk until coconut oil is almost completely smooth.  Remove from heat and continue whisking, adding vanilla and coffee liqueur.

4. Remove frozen coconut bases, and spoon a little of the chocolate topping on each cup.  Place back in the freezer for another 30 minutes until frozen and set.  

5. To remove, pop out with a spoon or butter knife immediately after removing from the freezer.  Store in the freezer, or else they will melt.  To eat, I like to remove from the freezer and let sit for a few minutes to soften.  Enjoy with cold, whole raw milk, yum!

(cross-posted at k-land)

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

Okay, so I have wanted to make chocolate hazelnut spread for a long time.  I don't like that Nutella has sugar in it, nor milk powder and soy lecithin.  Plus, I like soaking my nuts before I eat them, that way the enzyme inhibitors are neutralized and they are much easier to digest.

Soaked, Dehydrated, and Roasted Hazelnuts

4 cups raw, organic hazelnuts

sea salt

filtered water

1.  Get out a large glass jar and fill halfway with filtered water.  Add 2 tablespoons sea salt and stir with a wooden spoon.  Add hazelnuts and cover with a cloth or coffee filter.  Let sit at room temperature overnight.

2.  The next day, pour out water and put hazelnuts onto a baking sheet or dehydrator sheet.  If using a dehydrator, dry at low heat, less than 150 degrees.  You can do this in the oven if you oven will set a temperature that low.  Or you can set it as low as possible and open the oven every now and then to let the temperature drop.  Dehydrate either way for 12 hours or more, until the nuts are nice and dry and crisp.  How do you know they're done?  Taste one!

Chocolate Hazelnut Spread

2 cups (soaked, dehydrated, and roasted) hazelnuts, cooled

1/2 cup raw honey

1/3 cup organic cocoa powder

1 1/2 teaspoon Homemade vanilla

1 teaspoon coffee liqueur (I used Kahlua)

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup coconut oil, gently melted (I used expeller-pressed so there is no coconut flavor)

1.  Place hazelnuts, honey, cocoa powder, vanilla, coffee liqueur, and sea salt to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse a few times to combine.  Then turn on the processor and add melted coconut oil in a slow, steady stream.  Add more or less coconut oil depending on the consistency you want.  Serve.

Real Chocolate Chip Cookies

M has been begging me for chocolate chip cookies.  I had not found a good real food recipe yet, so I didn't have one on hand when he asked.  I spent some time perusing Teh Interwebz for a good recipe to modify, but nothing really spoke to me.  Then I remembered that my sister T has a good recipe in the Martha Stewart Cookies book that I had made before.  So I tracked that one down, modified it with real food and it turned out beautifully!

I haven't been making much food in the past several days, since developing a nasty cold given to me lovingly by my boys.  It was nice to mix up some cookie dough and make the house smell warm and homey while knowing that the next morning my little M would wake up to cookies for breakfast.  I didn't worry about the fact that they were eating cookies for breakfast, and here's why:

grass-fed butter is good for you

palm shortening is good for you

sprouted whole grain flour is good for you

sea salt is good for you

pastured eggs are good for you

rapadura is good for you (in small amounts, not at every meal)

cacao nibs are good for you

I made these cookies, and they were not only good for my kids, but tasted pretty good too.  The recipe yields a flatter, chewy cookie.  The rapadura and homemade vanilla give a nice earthy, carmel flavor.  The cacao nibs give a nice chocolatey crunch.  Enjoy it with glass of crisp, clean raw milk and afternoon snacktime is a big hit.

This recipe makes quite a bit of dough.  Feel free to freeze half the dough in logs wrapped in plastic wrap and then placed in a freezer bag.  That's what I did.

Real Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks (1 cup) grass-fed butter (I used Kerrygold)

1 cup palm shortening* (I used Tropical Traditions, it's made by non-exploited workers)

3 cups rapadura, or other whole sweetener* (I used Rapunzel I bought from Azure Standard)

4 large eggs (I used duck eggs.  Yes, duck eggs!)

2 teaspoons Homemade Vanilla Extract

3 1/2 cups sprouted whole grain flour (I used soft white wheat berries)

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt (I used Celtic Sea Salt)

2 teaspoons baking soda (I used aluminum-free from Food Wise)

1 1/2 cups cacao nibs (I bought these in bulk at Whole Foods)

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside.  In a stand mixer, cream butter and palm shortening until creamy.  Add rapadura and cream together until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.  Beat in eggs and vanilla.  

2.  Into a large bowl, combine dry ingredients: flour, salt, baking soda.  Whisk with a wire whisk to remove lumps and sift ingredients together.  Add to wet ingredients in stand mixer slowly.  Mix until combined.  Fold in cacao nibs.

3.  Drop by large spoonfuls (2-3 tablespoons) either with a tablespoon or small ice cream scoop.  Space at least 2 inches apart to give them room to spread.  Bake two cookie sheets at a time with racks placed in the upper and lower thirds of your oven.

4.  Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden.  Remove from cookie sheets and let cool on cooling racks.

Basic Brownies

These brownies have such a nice flavor. I can't really describe it, but it reminds me of Cadbury chocolate or something. At any rate, they are easy and yummy. I just sprouted some wheat berries a few days ago and yesterday dehydrated them and ground them up to use for flour. Soooo worth it to make treats :)

Basic Brownies
from my friends Taryn and Corey

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
8 T. (1 stick) unsalted grass-fed butter (I used Kerrygold)
1 cup rapadura/sucanat/palm sugar
2 pastured eggs
½ cup sprouted flour (I used soft white wheat)
pinch sea salt
½ tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and line with buttered parchment paper an 8-inch square pan. Set aside.
Combine chocolate and butter in a saucepan over very low heat, stirring occasionally. When just melted, remove from heat and continue stirring until smooth. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in sugar. Beat in eggs on at a time. Gently fold in flour, salt and vanilla.
Pour into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 20-25, or until barely set in the middle. Cool on a rack completely before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, wrapped. Then remove and cut into even squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Eli's Birthday Cake

Nourishing Cake (adapted from this recipe)

1 cup butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled I used half butter, half coconut oil
3/4 cup buttermilk I didn't have any so I did half whole milk and half whole milk yogurt, then added a splash of raw apple cider vinegar
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups whole rolled oats
¾ cup honey I did half honey, half rapadura*
2 eggs
1 t. sea salt
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vanilla
1 cup raisins, chocolate chips or other dried fruit I doubled the recipe and made three small cakes: 1. Eli's Cake: candy-coated chocolate pieces and finely chopped almonds, 2. cinnamon raisin, and 3. chopped dates and chopped almonds)

*(but 1 c. rapadura equals 3/4 c. honey, so I did 1/2 c. rapadura and then eyeballed the honey somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 c.)

Stir together butter/coconut oil, buttermilk, flour and oats in a glass bowl. Cover with a cloth and allow the grains to soak on your counter overnight or for at least 8 hours.

Stir in honey, eggs, salt, baking soda and vanilla. Fold in raisins, chocolate chips or dried fruit. Pour into a buttered 9×9 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cookie Baking Extravaganza 2009: Chocolate Lump Cookies

I love these simple almond-milk chocolate ball cookies, since I was a little k.

Chocolate Lump Cookies

¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 ½ cups sifted flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 bars (5 oz. each) Cadbury “Dairy Milk” chocolate bars, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg and blend completely. Add flour, salt, almond extract, and vanilla extract. Combine. Add chopped chocolate bars and mix by hand with a wooden spoon.
2. Scoop out by the tablespoon and roll into 1 inch balls. Place on parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes, until barely brown on the bottom. Do not over bake.

Cookie Baking Extravaganza 2009: Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

These cookies are a satisfying blend of chocolate and peanut butter, even better than those peanut butter cookies with kisses in my opinion! Here is the original recipe, exactly the same as below but linked to give credit where credit is due.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

from Martha Stewart

½ cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar, for rolling out the dough
36 mini peanut butter cups, unwrapped and chilled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl fitted with the paddle attachment, cream peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add brown sugar; beat until combined, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until incorporated.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. With mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour mixture in two batches.
3. Scoop off the dough in tablespoons; roll into balls. Place granulated sugar on a plate; roll balls in sugar, coating completely. Place two inches apart on a parchment-lined nonstick insulated baking sheet.
4. Bake until cookies begin to puff up slightly, about 7 minutes. Remove from oven. Press one peanut butter cup into the center of each cookie. Return to the oven; continue baking until cookies are golden brown and chocolate has begun to melt, about 6 minutes more. Let cool at least 10 minutes on baking sheet before transferring cookies to a rack to cool completely.

Cookie Baking Extravaganza 2009: Checkerboard Cookies

Checkerboard Cookies
by Nick Malgieri

French Vanilla Sables

12 Tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1½ cups all-purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth, until well mixed, light colored, and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes. Beat in vanilla and egg yolk. Continue beating until very smooth, about 2 more minutes. Scrape the bowl and beater well and beat in the flour.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a 1 inch thick square and chill for several hours and up to several days.

Dark Chocolate Sables

1½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup alkalized (Dutch process) cocoa powder, sifted after measuring
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg

In bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium speed until well mixed and fluffy, about 4-5 minutes, then beat in vanilla and egg. Continue beating until very smooth, about 2 minutes more. Scrape bowl and beater very well and beat in flour mixture.
Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a 1 inch thick square the same size as the vanilla dough, and chill for several hours.

Checkerboard Cookies

1 batch French Vanilla Sables
1 batch Dark Chocolate Sables
1 egg white for adhering the dough

1. Remove vanilla dough from refrigerator and roll out to an 8x12 inch rectangle on a floured surface. Slide onto a cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and chill again until firm, about 30 minutes. Repeat with chocolate dough.
2. Remove vanilla and chocolate doughs and uncover. Paint entire top of vanilla dough with egg white and then place chocolate dough on top, pressing with cookie sheet, gently, to adhere completely. Immediately cut dough in half and paint one half with more egg white, then stacking other half on top and pressing gently again with a cookie sheet to adhere completely. Wrap completely in plastic wrap and chill again for several hours. At this point you may double wrap and freeze, only to be defrosted in the refrigerator when you are ready to continue.
3. Remove the dough and unwrap. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough across the 6 inch side into sixteen 3/8-inch-thick slices. Place one slice cut side down and paint with egg white. Stack a second slice on top making sure that the vanilla and chocolate doughs are lined up oppositely. For example, if the first slice was vanilla, chocolate, vanilla, chocolate, then the second slice should go chocolate, vanilla, chocolate, vanilla. Continue painting the second slice with egg white, adding a third slice, painting the third slice and topping off with a fourth slice. This stack is finished once there are 4 slices adhered together. Start a new stack exactly the same way, ending with 4 slices adhered together. You should end up with 4 stacks of 4 slices adhered together, since you started with 16 individual slices. Wrap the individual stacks tightly in plastic wrap, taking care to gently press them together. Return to refrigerator to chill for another several hours. At this point they may be double wrapped and frozen, only to be defrosted in the refrigerator in order to continue when you are ready.
4. When you are ready to bake, get your parchment-lined baking sheets ready and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make sure the racks in the oven are placed in the upper and lower thirds of the oven.
5. Remove dough from fridge and unwrap. Cut with a sharp knife into ¼ inch thick slices and place immediately onto sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until puffed somewhat and dull and firm to the touch. Slide the papers from the pans onto cooling racks and let cool completely. Store between sheets of parchment paper in an airtight container.

Leonore's S'mores Bars

My friend, Leonore, first introduced me to these beauties 2 years ago at a Primary Presidency meeting. She created these all on her own, and I kept bugging her for the recipe. She said, "They're like Rice Krispie Treats but you throw a handful of marshmallows and chocolate chips once they're in the pan."

I'm a concrete recipe follower, so such instructions made me a little anxious. Last night, I was brave enough (or desperate enough--Nate and I start P90X on Monday) to make these. I wrote down what I did, but I still think Leonore's are better :)

Leonore's S'more Bars

1/4 c butter or dairy-free margarine
3 1/2 c Golden Grahams
3 1/2 c mini marshmallows
1/2 c chocolate chips

Melt margarine and 3 cups of marshmallows. Add all Golden Grahams and stir until covered.

Put mixture in a greased 8X8 pan. Sprinkle 1/2 c of chocolate chips and remaining marshmallows over the top.

Broil pan for 2-5 minutes to get chocolate melty and marshmallows golden brown.

Hungarian Chocolate Mousse Cake Bars

That's a mouthful of a title, isn't it?

This recipe is in the top 5 of most difficult AND time intensive recipes I have made, but it is so very worth it. The apricot jam (I had scored some homemade from the fabulous Kate H.) add a depth and complexity to the bars--almost a mocha flavor.

I used my handy Gourmet Cookbook to make this and probably wouldn't have posted it here (it's a LONG recipe to type). Fortunately, Epicurious.com has the recipe. I've just attached pictures I took of the big steps because it's a scary recipe. I would have loved to see that I was doing things right along the way.

They aren't kidding when they say you'll be making two layers of VERY thin cake!

Chocolate mousse filling over the thin apricot jam layer

Whip cream filling
My only suggestion with this recipe would be to cut off the crispy edge of both cake layers and perhaps trim a bit more off the top layer to help with placing the 30 tops on top of the whip cream filling.
TahDah (I was too tired to try to make this look nice)

Creme Brulee with Chocolate

5 egg yolks

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided

2 cups whipping cream

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped, divided

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In large bowl whisk egg yolks and 1/2 cup of the sugar. In small, heavy saucepan, heat cream to simmering over low heat. Add to yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Add vanilla, whisk to blend, and set aside.

Divide chocolate among four 3/4 cup custard dishes or ramekins. Ladle cream mixture over chocolate. Place cups in baking pan and add enough hot water to pan to come halfway up sides of cups. Bake until just set in center, about 55 minutes. Remove cups from water and cool. Cover and chill overnight.

Preheat broiler. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon sugar over top of each chilled mixture. Broil, watching carefully, until sugar melts and browns slightly, about 2 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 servings

Copied from The Junior League of Denver's cookbook entitled Colorado Collage

Chocolate Bundt Cake with Vanilla Glaze

This is easy, moist, and so yummy. I've made it three times in three weeks... and have been having it for breakfast, lunch & dinner some days. :) I got the recipe from my grandmother-in-law, but I also found it on allrecipes.com.

1 box Swiss Chocolate (or other chocolate) cake mix
1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix (the small box)
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup water
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup or more semi-sweet chocolate chips

Grease and flour a Bundt pan. Combine cake mix, pudding mix, oil, eggs, water, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F. (I think one hour is too long... I went with about 50 min.)
Allow to cool. Glaze with Vanilla glaze.

Vanilla glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 1/2 TBSP milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 TBSP butter

Melt the butter and add to rest of ingredients. Mix until creamy. You may need to add more milk slowly to get the consistency that you want.