A fellowship dinner at church was the perfect excuse to make a chocolate dessert.  (But then you know me- ANY excuse is good enough to make something chocolate!)

Dagmar had checked out a Pillsbury Bake-Off Desserts Cookbook from the library, and after drooling through all the amazing pictures, decided to try the Caramel In- Between Cake.

I really don’t want to confess how many pieces I ate! The chocolate- caramel combination is one of my favorites.

Caramel In-Between Fudge Cake

Best of the Pillsbury Bake-Off  Desserts

Filling:

28 caramels (half of 14-oz. bag) up wrapped
1 tablespoon butter or margarine
1 can (14-oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

Cake:

1 box (19.5 oz.) dark chocolate cake mix with pudding
1 cup water
1 tablespoon shortening, if desired
3 eggs

Frosting and Garnish:

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 envelopes (1 oz. each) premelted unsweetened baking chocolate or 2 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate melted
3 tablespoons half-and-half or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease bottom only of 13X9-inch pan with shortening; lightly flour. In 2-quart saucepan, place all filling ingredients. Cook over medium-low heat about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until caramels are melted.

2. In large bowl, beat all cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Spread half of batter (about 2 cups) evenly in pan. Bake 20 minutes.

3. Spread filling evenly over partially baked cake; cover with remaining batter. Bake 20-25 minutes longer or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. In small bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter, the chocolate, half-and-half and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Gradually add powdered sugar, beat 2 or 3 minutes or until light and fluffy. Frost cooked cake. Sprinkle almonds over top.

Enjoy!