Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 12 ounces semisweet or milk chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup walnuts or pecans, finely chopped
• 1 (18.25 ounce) box chocolate cake mix with pudding*
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces instant chocolate pudding mix
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 pound frozen raspberries or fresh raspberries

Glaze

• 1/2 butter
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 8 ounces confectioners' sugar, more or less

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a tube pan well.

Cake

1. Coat nuts and chips with 1 tablespoon of cake mix; set side.
2. Combine cake mix, eggs, oil, water, vanilla extract, pudding mix and sour cream. Blend for 3 minutes in large bowl at medium speed of mixer.
3. Fold in coated chips, nuts and raspberries.
4. Turn into prepared pan, and bake for 1 hour, or until knife in center comes out clean.
5. Cool for 30 minutes and turn out on rack.

Glaze

1. Boil butter, milk and cocoa for 3 minutes, stirring ntinuously.
2. Reduce heat to low and add vanilla extract.
3. Stir in confectioners' sugar; little at a time, mixing well. If mixture becomes too thick, increase heat but watch carefully not to burn. Make sure glaze is warm enough so it drizzles over top and sides of cake.
4. Top can be decorated with pecan halves, walnuts or candied cherries.

Notes

* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes. To compensate for the volume loss in a 16 ounce box, whisk 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour into the dry cake mix before proceeding with the recipe. To compensate for the volume loss in a 15.25 ounce box, add 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour and 1/4 teaspoon baking powder.