Leftover Halloween Candy Cake

Yield: 18 to 20 servings

Ingredients

Cake

12 fun size candy bars - 8 to 8.5 ounces total
2 tablespoons milk
1 (18.5 ounce) box white cake mix with pudding in the mix*
1 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Frosting

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons butter, softened
3 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions

Cake

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter and flour a 13 x 9-inch cake pan.
In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, melt candy bars with milk. Stir until candy has melted. Cool for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, blend cake mix, water, oil and eggs on low, scraping down sides of bowl. Beat for 2 minutes on high.
Stir 2/3 cup cake batter and flour into cooled chocolate and mix thoroughly.
Pour remaining white cake batter into prepared pan.
Spoon chocolate mixture on top. Swirl chocolate into batter with a knife.
Bake for 28 to 32 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Completely cool cake in pan before frosting.

Frosting

In a large bowl using electric mixer, cream together cocoa, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and butter on high.
Gradually add milk and beat until frosting is spreadable. Frost top of cake.

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* 18.25 ounce boxes of cake mix have been replaced by 16.5 ounce and 15.25 ounce boxes.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.

In general, the colder wrapped candy is kept, the longer it will keep. Refrigerated candy stays fresh for several months. Frozen candy will stay fresh indefinitely. When thawing, remove frozen candy from wrapper and re-wrap in plastic wrap before thawing to prevent candy from developing any taste or odors picked up by the wrapper.