This is excellant--one of our favorites--it's more brownie-like, actually Chocolate Carrot Cake 1 cup white flour 1 cup whole wheat flour 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup granulated sugar 2/3 cup baking cocoa 1/2 cup wheat germ 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 cups grated carrot 1 1/3 cups oil 4 eggs 1/4 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 cup sunflower seeds or chopped nuts 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13" pan. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the carrot, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla. Beat 2 minutes. Spread in prepared pan. Sprinkle with seeds or nuts and chocolate chips. Bake 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool. You can frost with cream cheese or chocolate frosting, but we don't think it needs it.

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake * Prep Time: 10 mins * Total Time: 50 mins * Servings: 8 About This Recipe "Magically making its own fudge sauce this cake will become one of your favorite last-minute desserts. Serve it with ice cream for an extra special treat. Note: if you use a dutch process cocoa you will have a richer, darker result. TIP: some reviewers have recommended "baking" this in a crock pot on High for about 2 1/2 hours and then letting it cool slightly before serving. Thanks for the tip!" Ingredients 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, divided 1 cup all-purpose flour 7 tablespoons cocoa, divided 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup milk 1/3 cup butter or 1/3 cup margarine, melted 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 1/4 cups water, hot whipped topping Directions Heat oven to 350'F. In medium bowl stir together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, flour, 3 Tbs. cocoa, baking powder and salt. Blend in milk, butter and vanilla, beat until smooth. Pour batter into 8- or 9-inch square baking pan. In separate bowl, stir together remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar and remaining 4 tablespoons cocoa; sprinkle mixture evenly over batter. Pour hot water over top; do not stir. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Let stand 15 minutes; spoon into dessert dishes, spooning sauce from bottom of pan over top. Garnish with whipped topping. This is one of my favorite chocolate cakes. Sue

When I first posted this recipe, I had no idea I would spend more than 5 minutes considering its possibilities. Can you believe I've spent the past hour playing with variations and options? First, I tried Cloud Swift's version. Frankly, I found it a tad dry. I microwaved it, so as to give the most effective side-by-side comparason (besides, I don't like the bake feature in my toaster oven, a small appliance that may not survive the transfer to the new kitchen). My following experiments were cocoa free attempts for two of my sewing buddies (yes, I sew when I can escape from the kitchen). I'm so glad none of them are gluten intolerant....#1 was a burnt sugar butterscotch type thing. I micro'd 2 tbsp butter with 3 tbsp brown sugar, then mixed in an egg, 3 tbsp milk, 6 tbsp flour, plus vanilla extract. It was OK, but bland. If I had some of those little butterscotch baking chips, or even some chopped walnuts, I'd have added those. Next, and most successful, if I may say so, was the orange poppyseed log. BTW, I cut down on the sugar and fat of these two experiments, as recommended by a few critics. The slightly reduced volume is just enough to keep the mixture from jumping out of my mug during the bake process. Anyway, for this one, I used 5 tbsp flour, 3 tbsp sugar, egg, 3 tbsp milk, 2 tbsp oil, 1 tsp poppyseeds, and a spash of orange extract. Samples of each are sitting on the kitchen counter, awaiting the teenaged son to return from work. For myself, I still prefer chocolate. Also the texture resulting from the egg and milk, ingredients that I always have on hand. Once again, it is a huge mistake to compare these to real baking. If I have to make enough cake for more than myself, I'll use a more conventional method. If I make a more conventional cake for just myself, I'll eat the whole thing anyway, and that will precipitate other consequences...

An update on my chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I used the Ghiradelli Double chocolate cake mix and the same brand for the icing. I added an extra egg, butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. Thanks Tina and Mtn! The cake turned out amazing and my friend loved it. I actually thought it was delicious as well (given I am not a big fan of chocolate). I have never made chocolate frosting before. I used loads of butter, half and half, cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract. It turned out perfectly. My friend loved the cake and took it home. I would share a photo but it wasn't a pretty cake. I did a bit of decorating in the limited time I had (and I live in a small apartment) and made her wear this banner which she loved. We drank champagne and played some silly games and we had a blast. It is so wonderful when you and your best friend get together and it feels like you had a huge party! Thanks so much for everyone's input!