Boston Cream Pie Cake

1 yellow cake mix*, made according to directions

1 5 oz. box instant vanilla pudding mix. made according to directions

2 2/3 c. chocolate chips

1 c. heavy cream

1/2 c. butter

*cake mixes used to be 18 oz., but they are only 15 oz. now so you'll need to add an additional 2/3 c. yellow or butter cake mix to the yellow cake mix. Adding the addition will not affect the flavor of the cake and can be used with any flavor cake. Don't change the other ingredient amounts. 

Make cake in 9x13 pan. Allow to cool completely. Using a wooden spoon, poke holes in the cake, spaced 1" apart. Pour the prepared pudding over the cake. Spread to the edges, making sure it makes a seal around the pan. Place in refrigerator for 30 minutes. Heat cream and butter in saucepan on medium until almost boiling. Place chocolate chips in heat resistant bowl. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate chips and let it sit for 5 minutes. Stir to combine. Let the mixture sit for 20-30 minutes until it is thickened and cool. Remove cake from refrigerator and pour ganache over top. Tip the pan, or use a spatula to cover the entire cake. Chill for at least an hour before serving. Keep stored in refrigerator.

*may be made 3 days in advance.

1st picture is the cake with pudding over top. Unfortunately, I made it a little too soon so it had already thickened up too much to really go down inside the holes of the cake..but it was still yummy! 2nd picture is the cake with chocolate ganache on top. It was all the way at the top of the dish since the pudding was sitting right on top too. 3rd  picture is a serving of the cake where you can see (if you look closely) the pudding inside the cake. This cake tasted just like the much more labor intensive Boston Cream Pie my mom used to make when I was growing up.