Chocolate and Pumpkin in Cake....Oh My! Recipe

Julia Child once said "Whatever happens in the kitchen, never apologize." This was my mantra today, as I made mistakes over and over again with a fantastic recipe. That it turned out fantastic anyway is a real tribute to its creator.

A few weeks ago, my husband saw a recipe for a cake in one of my cooking magazines--Amanda's 4 Layer Chocolate Dappled Pumpkin Cake. He has been wanting me to make it ever since, and being that it is his birthday week, I decided to give it a whirl.

Let me tell you, I know that the first rule of following any recipe is to read it through to the end first. And I did. A few days ago. Shoot, I had all the ingredients. Well, except that I had chocolate chips instead of a bar of semi-sweet chocolate,…