Chocolate Cake Dress Up

Here's a quick and simple way to dress up a basic chocolate cake.

Take your favorite chocolate cake mix or recipe.

Once you've mixed and put it in the pan add this topping.

Topping

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped pecans

Mix together and sprinkle over cake

Put the cake in the oven and bake.

Once it is baked and cooled drizzle the cake with caramel topping.

Here's the recipe for the chocolate cake that I use.

Chocolate Cake

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla

2 eggs

1 cup lowfat buttermilk (I make my own using 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 cup 1% milk)

Heat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour 13x9-inch pan.  In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.  In large bowl, beat sugar and margarine until light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla and eggs.  Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk, beating well after each addition.  Spread batter evenly in grased and flour pan.

Add topping.  Bake at 350F for 27-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely.  Drizzle with caramel topping.

This is one of my favorite cakes to take to potlucks or a friend's house because the topping makes it look dressed up but also makes it easy to transport.  You don't have to worry about icing getting smucked during the transport.

I am joining Alison at "Prairie Story" for Recipe Swap Thursday

And Lisa at "Sweet as Sugar Cookies" for Sweets for a Saturday