By November. The birthdays. Babcia would have been ninety-seven. Tom turns sixty. Sixty. My father is sixty years old. The number doesn't compute — Tom at sixty is the same Tom at fifty, at forty, at whatever age he was when he taught me to change my oil: solid, steady, quiet, present. He hasn't changed. He's just become more of what he always was.
I made the mushroom soup for Babcia's birthday. The ritual. The annual stirring. And then I made Tom's sixtieth birthday dinner — not at the Cape Cod this time but at our house. Our dining room. Our kitchen. I cooked the full spread: pierogi, golabki, bigos, mushroom soup, potato pancakes. Plus a roasted pork loin because sixty years deserves a main course that's not soup.
Linda brought a cake. Megan decorated the dining room. Patrick brought Jameson and a card that said, "Welcome to the club." Tom opened the card and said, "What club?" Patrick said, "The old-man club." Tom said, "I'm not old." He's not. He's sixty and he can still rewire a house and change a tire and out-grill me on a Sunday. He's not old. He's just experienced.
After dinner, I gave Tom his gift: the framed photo of the magazine article — the one where I'm standing next to the sour beer barrel with the caption "Jake Kowalski, Sour Beer Innovator." I'd had it professionally framed. On the back I wrote: "Everything I am started with you. Happy 60th, Dad." He read it. He was quiet for a long time. He said, "Okay." But his eyes said everything his words wouldn't. The Kowalski men. We're getting there. One birthday at a time.
Linda brought the cake that night, and honestly, it nearly stole the whole show — sixty candles, chocolate frosting, and a room full of Kowalskis who had already eaten their weight in pierogi. I asked her for the recipe before the dishes were even cleared. For a man like Tom, who doesn’t ask for much and never makes a fuss, a pudding-filled devil’s food cake felt exactly right: unpretentious on the outside, surprisingly rich once you get into it. Sixty years of that, right there in a pan.
Pudding-Filled Devil’s Food Cake
Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min + 2 hrs chilling | Servings: 16
Ingredients
- 1 box (15.25 oz) devil’s food cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 2 boxes (3.4 oz each) instant chocolate pudding mix
- 4 cups cold whole milk
- 1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, for garnish
- Cooking spray, for the pan
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9x13-inch baking pan generously with cooking spray.
- Mix the cake batter. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, oil, and water. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and well combined.
- Bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes — do not cool completely.
- Poke the holes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes all over the surface of the warm cake, spacing them about 1 inch apart. Go deep — almost to the bottom of the pan.
- Make the pudding. In a large bowl, whisk together both boxes of instant pudding mix and the cold milk for 2 minutes until slightly thickened but still pourable.
- Fill the cake. Immediately pour the pudding mixture evenly over the warm cake, working it into the holes with a spatula. The pudding will sink down into the cake as it sets.
- Chill. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight. The pudding will fully set and the cake will become incredibly moist.
- Top and garnish. Spread the thawed whipped topping evenly over the chilled cake. Scatter chocolate chips across the top. Slice into 16 squares and serve cold.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 375 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 16g | Carbs: 54g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 470mg