This One-Bowl Ugly Cake Is So Much Better Than It Looks
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing the pan
- 1 (15.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix (preferably Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Cake Mix)
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups whole milk, divided
- 4 large eggs (3 for the cake, 1 for the filling)
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package vanilla instant pudding mix
- Powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- 1
Preparation - Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- 2
Batter - Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk the cake mix, melted butter, vanilla, 1 cup of the milk, and 3 of the eggs until smooth. Scrape the batter into the dish and smooth the top with a spatula.
- 3
Filling - Make the filling: Rinse and dry the bowl. In the now-empty bowl, whisk the softened cream cheese, pudding mix, remaining 1 cup milk, and remaining 1 egg until thick and mostly smooth (some small lumps of cream cheese are OK). Gently dollop the cream cheese mixture evenly over the batter in the baking dish. Smooth over the top with a spatula.
- 4
Bake - Bake the cake until the edges are golden brown and the top is puffed and feels set to the touch, about 40 minutes. To serve warm, set the baking dish on a wire rack to cool for about 45 minutes. To serve at room temperature, cool completely, about 90 minutes (the cake will sink unevenly as it cools).
- 5
Serve - Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar, slice, and serve. Refrigerate leftovers, tightly covered, for up to 4 days.
