Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Amachukalam

Amachuka...what?

Exactly. That's what I thought when I first heard it twenty years ago. That's when my mother-in-law made me this cake for my birthday.

Amachukalam is the frosting, which is famous in my wife's family. Not much is known about its origin, but legend has it this creamy, chocolatey, yummy stuff got it's name many years ago from my wife's great-grandmother.

There are many uses for Amachukalan. Obviously, it's great on cake, but it's also wonderful on pancakes, in a trifle, as a fruit dip, as a topping for hot cocoa, or as a crepe filling. The possibilities are endless. And, I've even been known to just eat it plain.

A main ingredient in Amachukalam is whipped cream. The recipe as given to me calls for a tub of Cool Whip, which I think is fine if you're in a hurry. But, I wanted to recreate the true and authentic recipe, and I wasn't even sure if Cool Whip was around in Great Grandma's time. Thanks to the Internet, I discovered that Cool Whip was introduced in 1967*. So, it had to be real homemade whipped cream.  However, I then started to to wonder about instant pudding. Luckily, Jello introduced instant chocolate  pudding in 1936.

If you know me, I never use boxed cake mixes; however, this cake is one exception. Angel food cakes take a lot of egg whites and a fair amount of work. You can make this cake from scratch (I recommend Alton Brown's recipe), but it is super easy and quick with a mix. And in my opinion, it tastes just as well.

This week was another birthday at work. Whitney turned 20, and since it was 20 years ago that I first had this cake, I thought it was very appropriate.

*While researching, I found out the inventor of Cool Whip, William A. Mitchell, also invented quickset Jello, Tang, and even Pop Rocks.

I know it looks good, but Whitney, can I

get you a fork? 

Happy 20th!

Light and airy like a chocolate snowflake on your tongue
(Thanks, Katie, for that interesting description.)

Chocolate Angel Food Cake with Amachukalam
Ingredients:

• 1 angel food cake mix (14.5-16 oz.)
  
• ½ cup cocoa
  

Combine cake mix and cocoa in a mixing bowl and prepare according to package instructions. Frost with amachukalam, or serve a generous dollop of amachukalam to the side.

Amachukalam
Ingredients:

• 1 small package instant chocolate pudding
  
• 1 cup milk
  
• ¼ cup powdered sugar
  
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
  

In a mixing bowl, whisk together first three ingredients and set aside. In another bowl, whisk or beat cream until stiff peaks form. Gently fold whipped cream into chocolate mixture until well combined.