Oreo Chocolate Cake and Yummy Lotion

Wow. I got so many comments about that cake! And sadly, it was quite dry and only a little bit delicious (not VERY delicious, like a cake should be). And it's not that my mom didn't do a good job, either. She was a professional wedding cake designer and decorater for years, so if she can't make it yummy, no one can. However, she does have a chocolate cake recipe that she made every year for my brother Taylor's birthday (until he got older and decided he didn't like chocolate) which really is VERY delicious, and we combined our efforts to add Oreos and a white garnish frosting to make it look just like the one in the picture, and you will love it. I don't know where the recipe originated, but I will give credit where credit is due: My dad's mom made it for her children growing up, so thanks to Grandma I.

Chocolate Cake

-Use one chocolate cake mix – bake as directed in two 8-inch cake pans, cool and then cut in half horizontally.

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Whip the whipping cream. Then add powdered sugar and vanilla. Mix the cream cheese in a separate bowl until nice and soft, then fold into the whipped cream and crushed Oreos (if you choose to make an Oreo cake).

Chocolate Icing:
Put in saucepan on medium heat– ½ cup butter, 1/8 cup baking cocoa, 1/3 cup milk. Stir occasionally. Bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 lb. (1/2 bag) powdered sugar. Beat well and cool until spread-able consistency.

You will have four skinny 8 inch cake halves. Put one on your plate or serving dish, add 1/3 of filling. Then put another cake half on top, add 1/3 of filling, another cake half, 1/3 of filling, then last cake half on top. Frost with chocolate icing.

This is really yummy in and of itself. If you want to make it into an Oreo chocolate cake, crush 8 or 9 Oreos (with your hands) and add them to the filling portion of the recipe when you are folding in the cream cheese. And then on top of the frosted cake, you can add this as a very top layer (like the picture of my birthday cake):

4 Tbls. soft butter
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
3-4 Tbls. Milk (approx.)
pinch of salt
Mix all together adding milk a little at a time until it is of thin enough consistency to place on top of cake and work with the back of a spoon to edges of the cake to drip down the sides just a little bit. Crush 4-6 Oreos and put on top as garnish.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it. If you make it, let me know how it turns out (and if my instructions don't make sense, call me and I'll explain.)

My mom brought me two tubs of this really yummy lotion as part of my birthday present. It's called Dairy Made Skin Cream (website http://www.genevasprings.com/), and I LOVE it!! It isn't greasy at all, so you put it on your hands and you don't leave fingerprints everywhere for the next hour. My mom even uses it right before she quilts, which if you sew, that means a lot. I put it on my heels after my shower, and within two days I could feel a difference. My feet were soft! I'm not a distributor or anything, I swear, but I just love this stuff. Sweet Pea is my favorite, but Raspberry is yummy too. I'm sure all of them are delicious. Check it out if you have a love/hate relationship with lotion, like I do (because I hate greasiness), because this stuff is so good!!!