This Death by Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing is simple, delicious…and sure to become a family favorite!

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but I grew up in a Southern kitchen. There was always something delicious baking in our kitchen when I came home from school. When I was really young, I just enjoyed eating all of the delicious creations. But as I grew older, I started taking an interest in how to actually make all of the tasty treats. (And of course I still enjoyed eating them, too!)

Today’s post is a second installment in Bon Appetit’s “Out of the Kitchen” series. (If you missed the first one, click here to check out these delicious Hazelnut Biscotti.) When you think about it, cooking and baking is about more than creating delicious food. We all need to eat, but our best food memories are usually more than just the food itself. For me, those memories center around the other people involved. I still remember when my mother first taught me how to bake a cake (it was this Death by Chocolate Cake). And I have fond memories of the first time I made dinner for my wife in our new house (it was fondue set up on a card table in the middle of our empty living room). What are your favorite food memories? In their “Out of the Kitchen” series, Bon Appetit has written a number of articles that share a behind-the-scenes look into several popular NYC restaurants (including one where the servers hand-write each menu for each guest). Click here to read more!

This Death by Chocolate Cake was absolutely a household favorite when I was growing up. You see, it actually took the whole family to make this cake. My mother mixed and baked it while my sister and I fought over who got to lick the bowl. And, of course, Dad was always there to taste test the finished product! This was the very first cake that I ever learned how to bake, and it’s an easy one since it starts with a boxed mix! I remember my mother first showing me how to use an electric mixer and the difference between the various attachments. (Mom, why can’t I use the whisk attachment for mixing a cake?) Once baked, a hot fudge icing gets poured on top, and I remember Mom showing me how to use the stove to make the icing. (I also still remember burning my tongue on it because I was too impatient to wait for the fudge icing to cool.) When I think back over my food journey, this Death by Chocolate Cake shows up in a lot of those memories. And man, those are some good memories!

I’d love to hear about some of your food memories. What are your favorites? Do you have a recipe that’s been passed down through the family? (Oh, that reminds me of my grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies…I think I ate my weight in those when I was a kid!) Don’t forget to click over to Bon Appetit’s “Out of the Kitchen” series and check out some of their fun food articles!

Want to know how to build a successful restaurant? Check out BonAppetit.com’s “Out of the Kitchen”, a glimpse into the inner workings of two successful restaurants. Meet the back of the house inner circle and see how face-to-face relationships keep custom ers coming back for more.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bon Appetit. The opinions and text are all mine.