Ugly Cake

In the town in which we live, our electricity and water come from the same place. Well, that might be a hazard, they are billed together. A few years ago, when you got your bill you also received a newsletter with a recipe on the back page. I think they were all desserts, but I'm not really sure. In recent years they stopped printing the newsletter with the recipe and just raised our rates. What else is new? I miss the recipes. Where did the recipes come from you might be asking yourself? Well, the employees of the city. Occasionally, I would clip the recipe and put it in my file for later. Today's goodie is one that I saved. This one came from a worker in the finance department. The absolute only reason I cut this one out is because I wanted to see just HOW UGLY WAS IT!
A few things to note: The crust is a lot like a very thick chocolate cookie dough and a little hard to press down in the pan. Using your hands to mash it down works well. The topping also is a little hard to spread, but because the crust is so firm you do not have to worry about the two mixing together. However, still a very simple recipe to make.
What does an Ugly Cake taste like? Wonderful. It is the moistest, chocolate, nutty cake with a topping that is so hard to describe. You taste a mixture of creamy sugar with nuts and a caramelized coating on top. The hardest part is waiting until it cools.
The devil in me doesn't want me to show you a picture so you would have to make it yourself to see how ugly it is! But, I'm choosing to be nice.


Ugly Cake
1 box German Chocolate Cake Mix
2 cups chopped pecans
1 stick of butter, melted
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 box powdered sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
For crust, mix together melted butter, cake mix, 1 cup of chopped pecans, an egg, and vanilla in a medium sized bowl. Press mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
For topping, in a large bowl, combine softened cream cheese, vanilla, remaining pecans, powdered sugar and chocolate chips. Spread onto of crust.
Bake for 35 minutes or until topping is lightly browned. Cool before cutting.