Do You Love Cake?

So I've had a hard time deciding what to post for my turn at Random Recipe this week. Lots of different things have been floating around in my head, jostling for first place with regards to this weeks post. I'll try and post a few of the ideas in my head later in the week, but for now I've settled on sharing Italian Love Cake with everyone. I guess the deciding factor in posting this recipe is that I've made it a few times recently and each time I make this Love Cake everyone asks for the recipe. And then everyone who makes the Love Cake for themselves raves about how easy it was and how everyone at their gathering loved it. So many rave reviews can't be wrong, right? The above scenario is exactly how I happened upon this Love Cake recipe, Love Cake sashayed into my blissfully unaware life during college. One of my roommates invited me home for dinner one evening and her amazing mother served Italian Love Cake for dessert. I begged for the recipe, and my roommates mother (thankfully) obliged! Italian love Cake tastes like heaven and is deceptively easy to make (although you could potentially make it a labor intensive process - more on that in a minute). Are you ready for heaven?

Italian Love Cake

16 oz. Ricotta (I know, I know, but TRUST ME!!!)
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp Vanilla (I tip a bit more in, just for good measure)
1 box chocolate cake mix (You'll need all the ingredients to make this as well)
1 box chocolate pudding (You'll need the ingredients to make this too!)
1 container cool whip
Grease a 9x13 pan (I actually like to use two smaller pans, but whatever floats your boat)

Make cake according to directions, place in pan.

In a separate bowl mix ricotta, sugar, and vanilla, while beating in one egg at a time. When smooth spread evenly across chocolate cake batter.
Bake for 45-50 minutes. Test with a knife for done-ness.

For frosting, make chocolate pudding according to package directions and mix in container of cool whip. Frost after cake in completely cool.

How easy is that?!? I like the semi-homemade element, but you could definitely make a chocolate cake from scratch. You could also make a Chocolate Mousse for the "frosting" if you preferred. I like to bak mine in two smaller pans and then flip them out of the pans onto a platter. I then frost them, I just think the presentation is a bit nicer than simply smoothing frosting over the top of a 9x13 pan. Although it's a bit tougher to pull off. I flip the cake out of the pan onto a plate and then flip the cake from the plate onto my serving platter. I don't know if it's worth the extra step to you, if it is though then it is also definitely worth baking in two pans. The last time I made Love Cake I baked it in one large pan and then tried to pull off the double flip...it didn't work out so well.

Christmas Edition Italian Love Cake!

I know, you're still thinking about the ricotta, aren't you? trust me (actually, trust my roommate's mother). It's amazing without being ricotta-y. The layer of ricotta is the magic layer, you spread it on top of the chocolate cake and then while it's baking it does a sort of magic flip thing and the ricotta ends up on the bottom of the pan. (I realize that it's not really magic, and there's a perfectly sensible explanation - such as the ricotta mixture being denser than the cake mixture - but you wouldn't want to ruin the magic of Italian Love Cake...would you? I didn't think so. We'll stick with the "magic" explanation, shall we?)

Okay, go forth and make Love...Cake....Love Cake.