Frat Parties and Chocolate Cake

I am a proud member of the co-ed fraternity Delta Theta Sigma.  I like to think of it as my extended group of friends.  Seriously, these guys are great!  This year I am living in the house and I am LOVIN it.  There is always amazing people to hang out, I got to paint my own room, and there is often Lady Gaga singing throughout the household.  In terms of my cooking situation, things are not ideal.  The kitchen is a little scary...seriously check out the mixer!

Delta Theta Sigma is practically my family now.  I am the secretary for the Little Sister Organization and it has been a blast.  We are definitely a quirky bunch.  My hand mixer recently broke and one of the brothers helped my out by attaching my mixing tools to a power drill.  Yep, that's right, I bake with power tools.  

Anyways, my fraternity has figured out by now that I love baking and I have noticed that they love eating my food! We had a fraternity-only get together a few weekends ago and I honestly made the most AMAZING cake of all time.  It was super fun to make and it was even more fun to eat! Plus, it brought everyone together for a fun and deliciously good time.

Chocolate Candy Chocolate Cake

This recipe is enough batter for 2 8-inch round cakes and 12 cupcakes

Cake:

One 18.25-ounce box of chocolate cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large eggs

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1/2 cup salted butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 pound powdered sugar, sifted (I used about 3/4 of a pound)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dark chocolate chips (or chopped dark chocolate)

Decor:

Three 4.5-ounce Giant Kit Kat Bars (you'll need 36 Kit Kat sticks total)
One 12.6-ounce bag M&M's

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans and line a cupcake pan with 12 liners

2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.

3. Scoop the batter into 12 cupcake liners 3/4-full. Divide the remaining batter into the prepared round pans. Bake the cupcakes for about 25 minutes, and bake the cake rounds about 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove the cake layers to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. When the cake is cool, you're ready to assemble. (I refrigerated the cake for 30 minutes). Place one layer on a serving plate.

5. Prepare the frosting: In a large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended.

Increase speed to medium, and slowly add milk and vanilla, beating until smooth. Microwave chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted and smooth, stirring at 30 second intervals. Gradually add melted chocolate to mixture; beat until blended and smooth.

6. Frost the 1st cake layer. Set the 2nd layer on top of the first. Frost the 2nd layer and along the sides of the cake too. Stick Kit Kat's to the sides of the cake, leaving a very small space in between each Kit Kat (1/4-inch). Wrap a bow around the cake, securing the Kit Kat's. Fill the top of the cake with M&M's. Use any extra frosting to frost your 12 extra cupcakes. You are going to have PLENTY of frosting so go to town with it because it is amazing!

7. If you refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours or so, it will be much easier to cut and serve.