Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cake

I figured I could share this on my public blog... Last weekend, after a week of eating healthy, my boyfriend was craving some chocolate cake. He asked me what was for dessert, not knowing that I had a few cake mixes in his pantry, I asked him what he wanted. He told me (expecting me to tell him he was crazy, I guess) that he wanted a chocolate cake. I advised him I had yellow, lemon and vanilla cake mixes, but that I had cocoa powder, so I could turn one of the plain cakes into chocolate. He was ok with that...Then he tells me "Wait, I want chocolate cherry cake." I knew I didn't have any cherries, but that he had given me all of his candies and things so that he wouldn't want to snack on the sweets during the week. I happened to have a box of chocolate covered cherries in the car.

So, a new cake was created. I'm sure that someone, somewhere has come up with this already, but I thought it was pretty creative for me to come up with this on the spot... So without further ado, I give you Chocolate Cherry Cordial Cake:

1 box vanilla cake mix - follow directions on box
1 box of chocolate covered cherries
a couple of tbsps of Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder
Chocolate chips

(for the frosting)
Powdered sugar
milk
butter (2 sticks)
cocoa powder
vanilla

Mix the cake mix per the instructions on the box. Add in cocoa powder to desired flavor. Pour into cake pan. Randomly drop all of the chocolate covered cherries onto the top of the cake mix. Where there are no cherries, sprinkle the chocolate chips. Bake per the instructions on the box.

While the cake is baking, soften the butter, mix in powdered sugar, milk & vanilla, and cocoa powder. add ingredients to taste (I don't measure... He doesn't even have a measuring spoon set!) Set aside until cake is finished.

Normally I don't frost a cake until the cake is fully cooled, but he wouldn't have anything to do with waiting any longer. I stuck it in the freezer for a good 15 minutes, and that was as long as he would give me to get to eat it.

Cover the cake with the frosting. I keep the cake in the refrigerator even after it's been cut into, just because of the milk in the frosting.

It was an instant hit. We took it over to another friend's house for the football games/motocross race on Sunday and it was gone within minutes. You won't be disappointed. S did say the only thing that would have made it better (besides bacon... oy) is that if it was all made with dark chocolate cake mix and dark chocolate frosting...(Which he, after seeing me spend an extra 10 minutes in the kitchen after the cake went into the oven, asked me where I got the frosting from. When I told him I made it (again) he was awestruck. C'mon, frosting isn't that hard!!!