Page 141 - Chocolate Cake Doctor

C H O C O L A T E P O U N D C A K E S 123

All About Pudding Mix

am often asked which type of time required, and give the support
I pudding mix to add to cake batters— needed to suspend chocolate chips, nuts,
instant or cook-and-serve? (The instant and dried fruit in the batter.
pudding is assembled with cold milk; the Why add pudding mix to a plain cake
cook-and-serve is made with hot milk, mix when you can buy a cake mix with
and then the mixture is chilled.) When the pudding already inside? The plain
adding dry pudding mix to a cake mix cake mix will bake up taller and is less
batter, I find little difference between the likely to shrink back from the edges as it
two types (although what I have read cools. You can use the mix with pudding
suggests the instant should dissolve inside, but the cake will not rise as much.
better in cold batters). The real difference And what about preparing the pudding
here is selection: There are more flavors mix with milk as the package directs and
of instant pudding mix (banana, pistachio, then folding the pudding into the cake
white chocolate, as well as the usual batter? I have tried this, but I find the
vanilla and chocolate) than there are of cakes too heavy. What does work is the
cook-and-serve. pudding cake method, in which prepared
Why add pudding mix? It makes a cake pudding is poured over the batter before
more moist, makes the crumb more dense, the cake goes into the oven and the cake
and gives the cake more structure. That’s bakes up with a moist and gooey center
why pudding mix cakes are especially (see the Molten Chocolate Pudding Cake,
suited to Bundt and tube pans—they hold page 230, and the Chocolate-Cinnamon
their shape, withstand the longer baking Banana Pudding Cake, page 233).

2. Place the cake mix, pudding mix, scraping the sides down again if needed.
water, oil, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the
Blend with an electric mixer on low chocolate chips and cherries, making
speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and sure they are well distributed throughout
scrape down the sides of the bowl with a the batter. Pour the batter into the pre-
rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed pared pan, smoothing it out with the rub-
to medium and beat 2 minutes more, ber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.