Holiday Dessert Recipe: Chocolate Italian Love Cake

Posted By: Victoria Tropiano

This past weekend, I celebrated Christmas with my eldest sister's family in Herndon, Va (outside of Washington D.C.). My family is spread throughout the country with different schedules, making it difficult to get together on Christmas Day, so we opt for the second best opportune time. I was blessed in May with an adorable niece, Tatum, so we'll go to any measure to make sure we are together as a family for the holidays, even if that means opening Christmas presents a smidgen early. Patience doesn't really run in my blood anyways.

Since Christmas came early, so did Christmas dinner and dessert. I wanted to write a recipe post for a Christmas dessert for the holiday season, and now I can include a review! My sister, Ann Marie, loves to bake when she can find the time. Not only does she enjoy it, she likes to try a new recipe every time, rather than make a dessert she's already mastered. This year, I helped her create Chocolate Italian Love Cake. Fitting for us Tropiano's.

Ingredients: - 1 package chocolate cake mix and ingredients needed for cake mix - 2 lbs. ricotta cheese - 4 eggs

- 3/4 cup of sugar

- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

- 1 (5.1 oz.) package instant chocolate pudding mix

- 1 cup milk

- 8 oz. Cool Whip 1. Preheat oven to 350*F and spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick spray (Make sure to use baking spray and not cooking spray. There is a difference and it will ruin your cake.)

2. In a large bowl, mix together your cake mix according to the directions on the box. Set aside.

3. In a seperate bowl, using a hand mixer, beat together the ricotta cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla until smooth. *The following directions are correct, I promise. The neat part about the baking process is that the layers switch places while in the oven! We were skeptical, but as you can tell, it worked.

4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Spread to fill the pan evenly. Once the cake batter is in place, carefully pour the cheese mixture evenly over the top of the cake batter. Spread to cover the cake batter as best as you can.

5. Bake the cake at 350*F for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before frosting.

6. Once the cake is cool, stir the pudding mix and milk together with a whisk until combined. Carefully, fold the Cool Whip into the pudding until combined.

7. Spread the pudding mixture over the top of the cooled cake. Cover the cake and refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving.

Review: Highly recommend!

The Chocolate Italian Love Cake not only turned out delicious, but it was moist and the layers baked perfectly. The taste was unforgettable but so was the presentation. It was simple to make while being a major crowd favorite.

At first, we were a little skeptical about using 2 lbs. of ricotta cheese. Then again, we remembered the main ingredient in cannolis are ricotta (Mama Mia!), so we felt more confident with the end result. We almost didn't add the chocolate pudding into the Cool Whip. We thought there would be enough chocolate taste from the cake. Don't do this! We're so glad we mixed the pudding and Cool Whip together. It truly made the cake irresistible.

What I'd do differently next time: The only improvement I would make is to cut the Cool Whip and chocolate pudding amount in half. We had a ton left over. Then again, what's so bad about that?

Skill level: Easy. Literally anyone can make this cake. These are minimal steps, and you use cake mix. What's your favorite holiday dessert? Do you have a go-to family recipe you enjoy?

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