Chocolate Angel Lightning Cake

Chocolate Angel Lightning Cake
Dorcas Annette Walker

I finally had a more normal week- meaning that I was able to stay home for a change instead of running my husband to one of his numerous doctor appointments, cardio rehab, or having another hospital episode- spending the week catching up on several things indoors and out that needed urgent attention when my week ended in a big bang. Saturday evening right after supper my husband and I were relaxing in the living room. A summer storm had arrived, thunder was rolling, and lightning flashing. I was enjoying hearing the sound of rain falling outside envisioning all my thirsty plants greedily drinking when suddenly right out of the blue a loud noise exploded and lit everything up like the noon day sun. Living here on the mountain we’re used to having violent storms come through- not to mention having a neighbor, who loves to shoot guns until it sounds like a war is in progress some days- but when I heard this explosion I knew something close by had been hit.

My husband asked, “What in the thunder was that?” as I jumped out of my recliner and ran to the back of the house. Rain was pouring down making it hard to see in the darkened twilight, but I noticed that the henhouse lights were out. My heart sank as I figured that my henhouse had been struck by lightning since I couldn’t see damage anywhere else. It was still storming when we went to bed. I was heartsick imagining discovering fried chicken the next morning in the henhouse. Nothing like a bolt of lightning rattling the henhouse and killing hens to put off egg laying for any of the surviving chickens left.

The next morning as soon as I awoke I ran to check the henhouse. My heart gave a leap of joy when I saw fat hens waddling around the pen busily scratching for worms looking quite unconcerned over their death-defying experience of the previous evening. While I fixed Sunday dinner, Dana went outside to investigate. A couple of minutes later Dana came back inside shaking his head telling me, “You’ve got to come outside and see this for yourself.” Lightning had struck the huge tree at the front corner of Dana’s workshop splitting it, ran down the tree, put a hole in the roof of the workshop, went inside blowing out paneling, insulation, window trim, light switches, etc (knocking out the henhouse lights that run from the workshop), then traveled across the yard to the main pole beside out house, flipped a main switch, and disabled our phones. The miracle is that nothing caught on fire, not a feather was singed, and we are still all in one piece.

My Chocolate Angel Lightning Cake will zap your taste buds with an explosion of melting chocolate, Carmel, and crunchy peanut butter surrounding the velvety angel food cake texture filled with chocolate chips that with either turn you diabetic or send any chocolate lover into orbit. The Chocolate Angel Lighting Cake has the appearance of a lightning strike right down the center. Preparation time for my Chocolate Angel Lightning Cake is around fifteen minutes (not counting baking or cooling time) and serves twelve.

Chocolate Angel Lightning Cake

1 angel food cake mix
1 c chocolate chips
½ (11.75 oz) jar Carmel ice cream topping
2 c powdered sugar
4 tb cocoa
2 tb crunchy peanut butter
1 tb shortening
¼ c hot water

Prepare angel food cake mix according to the directions folding in the chocolate chips before baking. Let cool. Spread melted Carmel topping over the top of the cake. In a small bowl mix together the powdered sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, shortening, and hot water with a Wisk until smooth. Pour over the top of the cake letting the frosting run down the sides and serve!

Weekly tip: When adding chocolate chips or nuts to a batter first dust with flour to prevent sinking to the bottom of the cake!

Dorcas Annette Walker is a published author, columnist, speaker, freelance magazine writer, and photographer from Jamestown, Tennessee. Contact her at: dorcasannettewalker@gmail.com For more recipes check out her Creative Tennessee Mountain Cookin blog at: www.dorcasannettewalker.webs.com