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I have had several requests for this recipe.  I wish I could take credit for it or say it was a family recipe that has been in the family for years, but I can’t.  I originally cut this recipe off a box of cake mix by Betty Crocker (Peppermint Patty Poke Cake).  However, I no longer make cake from a box and prefer to make just about everything from scratch, so the chocolate cake and frosting recipe I use is off the Hershey’s Cocoa box which, by the way, is the best chocolate cake ever.
So, this recipe can be made three ways, depending on your eating habits.  You can use a box of cake mix and a can of frosting, you can make the cake batter using the attached recipe with conventional white flour and sugar, or you can make it with natural, whole products.  When I make the cake I, more often than not, use whole wheat pastry flour and for the sugar I use unrefined, unbleached whole cane sugar (Rapidura) otherwise known as succanet.  For the frosting I prefer to use the Rapidura powdered sugar, however it is difficult to find, so even when I make a “healthy” cake, I still might have to use a white, refined powdered sugar.  If that is the case, I will at least use organic.
A natural alternative for Jell-O is the chocolate pudding mix by Dr Oetker.  This pudding is cooked, however if you wait until it is a little cool but not set, it should work just fine.
If you want to make this a peppermint pudding cake for the Holidays or anytime in the winter, just add ½ tsp of peppermint extract to the filling ingredients and add ¼ tsp of peppermint extract to the frosting when adding the vanilla.  Top with crushed candy canes, peppermint candies or ¾ cup of crushed peppermint patties.
Enjoy!!