$40 cake!

This is why I do not bake!
I received a free copy of "Cuisine at Home".
Thumbing through the pics - on the last page - was a 'scratch' cake mix and frosting mix.
It says:
Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake - This is not a molten-middle chocolate cake.  It's the kind of cake grandma used to make, with devilish good looks and one -of-a-kind flavor.
Also it said:
This cake is special.  If you are a believer in (and user of) Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, then you need to try this recipe.  (I WAS RAISING MY HAND PROUDLY!)
You'll never go back to the box again.
Why? For one thing, this cake is super-moist due to the oil.  It also means the cake keeps well (not that there will be many leftovers!)  But the big reason this cake is so great is that it's easy - easier than a mix, actually (NO, IT IS NOT!).  In fact, you probably have all the ingredients on hand, and making cake from a mix requires a trip to the store (EMPHASIS ON A - ONE TRIP TO THE STORE!)

So - I jumped on the band wagon. On the way home from dropping the dogs off at the groomers,
I picked up the ingredients I was missing (from memory).
instant coffee
cocoa
heavy cream.

Came home and scanned the recipe - oops - I'm missing
baking soda
vanilla

Ran back to the store - picked them up and came home and started to mix.

Oops-
I don't have 3 cups of flour...


Now I'm starting to not feel as excited as I was earlier... back to the freaking store!
Of course - each time I picked up a few extra things.... total bill, 3 x's to the store -
$54.

Okay - I'm finally ready to bake!

I had my fearless helper and frosting taster, Melanie at my side helping me :)
We got 'er done!
Tastes great - the frosting tastes like a melted chocolate bar... so yummy.
The cake was a bit dry - but then, I could have baked it a bit too long.  I am totally not a baker.
What I really liked about this recipe is that it had no eggs in it.  How cool was that?

                      Miss Mel doing her part and licking the batter!  No. 1 taster!

                                                                     The recipe!

Right out of the oven - might have been over baked a tad, was a bit dry... but a dollop of frosting fixed that!

 This frosting had to be cooked on the stove - then 'thicken' for 3 hours

The finished product.  Everyone loved it.  I thought the frosting didn't get quite thick enough, was more like a ganache... but tasted wonderful!

Would I bake it again - HECK NO!  I will go up to Top Food (Haggen's) and buy one of their cakes!
Like I usually do :)

Now I am eyeing up their recipe - "Classic Pot Roast"...  it says:
There might not be a dish that conjures up more comforting memories than good old-fashioned pot roast...  Am I a SUCKER or what?