Michelle Lilja of Greensburg, Pa., wrote a brief request. "I'm looking for a Kahlua cake recipe. I had this cake at a party but did not get the recipe."
Barbra Leigh Rosenberg of Baltimore responded. "This is a cake I have been making for many years. It continues to be a big hit!
"If desired, you can substitute creme de cacao for 1/4 cup of the Kahlua," she wrote.
Kahlua Cake
Serves 16
1 box devil's food cake mix
1/2 cup vegetable oil
one 4 1/2 -ounce package instant chocolate pudding
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup strong coffee
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons Kahlua (divided use)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large bundt pan well. Combine first six ingredients (using only 3/4 cup Kahlua) in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed until smooth, about 4 minutes. Pour into bundt pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Remove from the pan when cool to the touch.
When cake is thoroughly cooled, melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave (or over very low heat). Add remaining 3 tablespoons Kahlua and stir gently. Drizzle over cake.
Tester Laura Reiley's comments: "A dark, rich chocolaty cake with a pronounced coffee flavor, this cake hardly seems as if it mostly came out of a box. The drizzled icing firms up somewhat into a fudgelike glaze. Don't over-bake it, or the cake will be rather dry. Begin testing with a toothpick at around 38 minutes. Remove it from the oven when just a bit of crumb adheres to the toothpick but it no longer looks really wet."
Recipe requests
Dolories Gurrola of Merced, Calif., is seeking a recipe "called Spinach Marie. The only place I've eaten it is at the Hometown Buffet. It had a bread-type topping. I was told they did not give out the recipe. I would love some help."
Carla Brumfield of Darlington is seeking a recipe for reduced-fat tiramisu. "Does anyone out there have it?" she asks.
If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request for a hard-to-find recipe, write to Ellen Hawks, Recipe Finder, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278.
If you send more than one recipe, please put each on a separate sheet of paper with your name, address and daytime phone number. Important: Please list the ingredients in order of use, and note the number of servings each recipe makes. Please type or print contributions. Letters may be edited for clarity.