Kahlua Cake

I got the recipe for this delectable cake at our local supermarket. At first, I was intimidated by how expensive it looked to make it, but since I already had a bottle of Kahlua on hand and bought the remaining ingredients at Aldi, it really wasn't too bad. In searching online for recommended Kahlua substitutes, I noticed that some suggest using strong coffee with a hint of powdered cocoa. However, plain Kahlua does not actually contain any cocoa/chocolate. If I were going to substitute it, I would just use double-strength coffee with a dash of vanilla extract; this wouldn't give the exact same flavor as using liqueur but the cake should still taste wonderful.


Kahlua Cake

4 large eggs
2 pkgs. instant vanilla pudding
1 box devil's food cake mix
16 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. Kahlua liqueur
1/4 c. canola oil
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 block (4 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 container (8 oz.) whipped topping, thawed
1 c. whole milk

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs. Mix in 1 package of pudding, cake mix, sour cream, Kahlua, and oil. Add chocolate chips and stir until just blended. Spread batter evenly into a greased and floured 12-cup Bundt pan. Bake at 50 to 60 minutes or until top springs back when lightly pressed. [I recommend checking the center with a toothpick also.]

Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cake plate to serve warm, or cool completely on wire rack.

Meanwhile, prepare vanilla topping: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth; fold in whipped topping. In a small bowl, whisk remaining package of pudding with milk. Stir pudding mixture into cream cheese mixture until well blended. Serve warm cake with vanilla topping. Yields 16 servings.
　
Note: 2% milk works just fine. :) Also it's important to beat the cream cheese thoroughly. I didn't and it ended up rather lumpy. Still tasted good though!