Classic Yellow Cake with Milk Chcolate Icing

You probably have me figured out by now that making and eating dessert is an occasional necessity rather than a passion for me. So for my husband's birthday, I asked him, just to be nice, "What kind of birthday do like best? The ice cream cake?" thinking I was going to get out of making the cake this year.

"I would like a good boxed yellow cake with good MILK chocolate icing!" he said. Shoot, I tried. So as a good wife, I got a good boxed cake mix, Duncan Heinz Classic Yellow, and made the cake and the icing. I know, that was a big sacrifice....


Duncan Heinz Classic Yellow Cake Mix:
Baked in 2-8 inch round pans
Bake as directed except I used 1/3 Cup of melted butter instead of vegetable oil

Milk Chocolate Icing

This recipe was doubled for 4-layered cake
3 1/2 ounces milk chocolate
3 ounces semisweet chocolate
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

For icing:

Put the chocolates in a medium heatproof bowl. Bring a saucepan filled with 1 inch or so of water to a very slow simmer; set the bowl over, but not touching, the water. Stir the chocolate occasionally until melted and smooth.

Alternatively, put the chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 to 2 minutes more.

Add the confectioners' sugar, milk, butter, vanilla extract, and salt and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Cool completely before icing, occasionally beating the icing.