Set your oven to 325 °F first, then mix the cake ingredients in a bowl.

Whisk together the box mix, eggs, oil, and pudding. I like to add vanilla puddings to recipes because they thicken the moisture of the batter and add some extra sweetness.

Prep three 8” pans for the tiers and grease them. I use margarine, but you can use whatever you like to keep the cakes from sticking.

Pour the batter into each pan and bake them for 20 to 25 minutes. While the cakes are baking, make your frosting.

For frosting, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, white sugar until it’s clean and smooth. Then, fold in the whipped topping, the chopped chocolate, and pecans and mix it until it’s smooth again.

Once the cake has fully cooled, spread the frosting between the layers, then around the outside of the cake. I like using a rotating cake stand to ensure the frosting spreads cleanly on the cake.

Finally, decorate the cake with candies as you see fit. Candies like chocolate kisses, chocolate-covered almonds, wafers, or any others you want. I’ve made floral-looking designs, as well as hearts, or just simple circles.