My mom got this chocolate pound cake recipe from a neighbor in Florida. Since I don’t usually use boxes for things, I came up with my own from-scratch version that’s also pretty easy. I love this cake because it doesn’t require frosting and doesn’t dry out like many cakes do.

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a tube pan.

Mix Version

Mix all of the following ingredients together on low speed:

1 yellow cake mix

a lg. box chocolate pudding mix

1 c. oil

4 eggs

1 c. sour cream

2 t. vanilla

1/3 c. water

1 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

Scratch Version

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside:

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/3 c. sugar

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. powdered milk

1 T. baking powder

1 t. salt

In a mixing bowl, put together and let sit until slightly cooled:

1 c. boiling water

1/2 c. cocoa

Why did I just do this step? Blooming the cocoa helps intensify the chocolate flavor.

Mix into the cocoa and water mixture:

1 c. oil

1 c. sour cream

2 t. vanilla

Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until just combined. Add and stir until combined:

1 1/2 c. chocolate chips

1 c. pecans or walnuts

Why no eggs? I used to include the 4 eggs, but I had trouble with the cake needing to cook longer, then falling in the middle and looking really ugly. I tried it without the eggs once and liked that version better. The taste is a little different, but that is due to something in the pudding mix that I can’t quite replicate: not a negative thing, though.

Baking for Both Versions

The batter may have a few lumps, but that’s okay. Pour it into the prepared tube pan and bake for 1 hour at 350. The middle might be a tiny bit gooey, but it’s really tasty like that. It’s also a really big cake. If you wanted to put it in cake pans, it would take up 2. This recipe makes 24 cupcakes, and they bake for about 15 minutes.

Serve the chocolate pound cake with ice cream or by itself. It’s great warm or even the next day because it stays moist.