"Treat yourself like you deserve to be treated," it says. I'm game.

When Sandy was here in July, she brought a special gourmet cake mix because our birthday (hers and mine) had just been and gone, and was to be celebrated.

Except, my oven wasn't working, so we didn't make it.

My oven's working now. And, in fact, I'm currently house sitting for someone who also has a working oven. So I made it.

Turns out, it's not a standard cake mix, but a "hot fudge pudding cake" mix.

I'm okay with that.

The thing goes together differently than a regular cake, though. You mix the contents of the Large Packet with milk and melted butter, spread it in the pan, then sprinkle the contents of the Small Packet on top of that, and pour hot water (I used hot coffee) over it all, don't stir, and stick it in the oven.

The three layers--identifiable batter, followed by a fine powder, and topped with liquid--are each about equally deep and I have to say, my main thought as I put it in the oven was that whoever invented this recipe has a lot of self-confidence. It did not look like something that was ready to be baked.

Interestingly, there's no nutrition information on the packaging, so I guess I'll just have to use my best judgment to determine what is supposed to constitute "one serving."