Mocha Pudding Frosting

Mom made a lot of birthday cakes -- at least seven a year for her seven kids. There were many kinds, but the one I remember most had a chocolate-coffee frosting, which I will call Mocha Pudding Frosting. Mom usually used decorator icing to write happy birthday. Decorating a cake is a lot harder than it looks--as you can see from the cake I made for MDS.

Chris and I remember this frosting being put on a chocolate cake. Mom thinks she used it on a yellow cake. Perhaps Mom just made the type of cake that the birthday kid wanted. While I will eat just about any type of cake, I prefer chocolate, so maybe that is why I remember the cake being chocolate. The cake was usually a pan cake, but there were times when Mom made other types of cakes. In our family lore, the most famous other cake was the blueberry layer cake Mom made for Grandpa, but that is a story for a future Spaghetti and Gravy post.

This frosting is easy and tasty. Its use of coffee disguised in chocolate must have been the beginning of my coffee addiction. All you need is a box of instant pudding, dream whip, instant coffee and milk. I loved to help Mom make this frosting because she would let me lick the bowl after she frosted the cake.

Mocha Pudding Frosting

• 1 box chocolate instant pudding
• 1 or 2 envelopes of Dream Whip
• 2 Tbsp. instant coffee
• Milk

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Use one half the amount of milk called for on the box of the pudding and Dream Whip. If desired, you can use more instant coffee. Using a hand mixer, beat on low until the ingredients are blended. Then beat on high for about five minutes until soft peaks form.

If needed, you can refrigerate the frosting to help it stiffen. This frosting works best on sheet cakes, but could be used on any type of cake.