**Disclaimer: I am NOT one of those women who believes any sort of food, herbal remedy or old wives’ trick can induce labor. I fully believe my little girl will come when she is good and ready, thus making the idea of this cake completely bogus in principal, but nevertheless, good for a chuckle.
Evening primrose oil, castor oil, spicy foods, raspberry leaf tea…I’ve heard of just about every trick out there to induce labor. Of course I believe they’re all complete horse pucky. So naturally, when I was reading on a popular baby discussion forum about all these women baking and eating these so-called “labor cakes” to induce labor, I laughed out loud. Of all the ridiculous notions….yeah sure, a boxed mix chocolate cake is going to kick-start my labor…riiiight. However, I sat there and got to thinking about a warm, gooey, chocolaty cake fresh from the oven and just couldn’t resist. While I don’t believe any amount of chocolate will convince Cassidy to get a move on, any excuse to shove my face full of cake is good enough for me. So I made myself a labor cake. Following the recipe exactly (box mix and all). And it was dang good. Did Cassidy come? Nope. Did I enjoy my cake and go to bed with a smile on my face? You bet.
“Labor Cake” (A dressed up chocolate cake)
1 box Devil’s Food Cake mix
1 small package chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups water
1/2 vegetable oil
1 12-ounce package mini chocolate chips
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and pour into a greased bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
To make mine extra chocolaty, I topped it with my grandmother’s fudge icing:
Nana’s Fudge Icing (adapted to be a thin glaze rather than a thick frosting)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Heat all ingredients except vanilla in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until mixture is melted and beginning to thicken. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Let sit for about 5 minutes before serving.
Cake recipe source: www.justmommies.com
Ha, totally agree! Although, of all the wive’s tales, chocolate would have been my choice, too! 😉
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Comment by Blog is the New Black — January 23, 2012 @ 4:19 AM
Droooool! This is heaven!
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Comment by Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar — January 23, 2012 @ 6:02 AM
Good luck with labor! This cake looks amazing.
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Comment by katie — January 23, 2012 @ 7:28 AM
My water broke about an hour after enjoying some chocolate cobbler last spring that looks pretty similar to this cake. Kind of strange!
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Comment by sarah r — January 23, 2012 @ 8:46 AM
Whenever it happens, I hope you have a speedy labor. In the meantime, enjoy this cake. It looks sinfully delicious.
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Comment by Eliana — January 23, 2012 @ 10:58 AM
I tried all of the fun wives tales on my LO’s due date and within 3 hrs was in labor. I think the really fun one was what got her going 😉 Have fun waiting for your little one to arrive!
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Comment by Margaret — January 23, 2012 @ 10:59 AM
LOL I tried multiple ways to induce labor over the weekend and still no baby….Now I need to make this cake! HAHA I know my baby will arrive when he’s ready but I might as well eat good till then.
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Comment by Jenny — January 23, 2012 @ 1:02 PM
Haha well maybe you should have tried eating the cake while driving down a bumpy road. 🙂 This cake does look delicious, though!
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Comment by Jenni — January 23, 2012 @ 1:24 PM
My baby turns 6 months old this week… too late for a labor cake? Hmmm… I think I should have a sympathy labor cake for you… y’know, just to be nice.
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amy Reply:
January 23rd, 2012 at 4:52 PM
How thoughtful of you! 🙂
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Comment by Laura — January 23, 2012 @ 4:43 PM
This cake sounds wonderful whether it works or not. I love adding pudding mix to cake mix. It just gives a cake the extra love it needs. I know you are counting the days till Baby arrives. Good Luck to ya and Congrats!
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Comment by Shannon — January 23, 2012 @ 4:56 PM
Never heard of a labor cake but all about the chocolate! Enjoy your last moments of just you and Joel!
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Comment by Cara — January 23, 2012 @ 8:00 PM
I thought I heard Mozart when I read the title of your post… whew… hang in there, Cassidy! (And enjoy that cake, Amy!)
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Comment by Kimby — January 23, 2012 @ 9:02 PM
My son was 10 days late. Should’ve had some of that labor cake 🙂 Good luck!
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Comment by gigi — January 24, 2012 @ 1:45 AM
labor cake sounds much tastier than castor oil, which is what one of my friends tried last week to induce labor. hope that baby cassidy makes her appearance soon!
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Comment by elizabeth @ the kitchen counsel — January 24, 2012 @ 11:04 AM
ha this cracked me up==i’ve seen this cake recipe before but never heard it called labor cake!! hang in there, i bet she’ll be here so soon! 🙂
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Comment by natalie (the sweets life) — January 24, 2012 @ 11:32 AM
You’re a smart woman! It drives me nuts when women make themselves completely uncomfortable and think that it’ll put them in labor sooner. Our bodies are extraordinary – they know what to do and when! 🙂 I guess I was just lucky, but both of my kids came precisely on their due dates, although my first gave us a scare at 33 weeks.
This cake looks incredible – maybe coma-inducing? LOL
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Comment by Sarah E. — January 28, 2012 @ 3:24 PM
Out of all the tricks and hoops women jump through in attempts to start labor, this is by far the most appealing. I just stumbled onto your blog a little while ago and I love it. I hope your little one has arrived safe and sound by now. Have a blessed weekend!
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Comment by Mary — February 10, 2012 @ 12:02 AM
I will definitely be trying this in October as my last meal sort of thing before baby! Lol. I know once I am in labor they won’t let me eat until after I deliver. I think this will definitely tide me over 🙂
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Comment by Jelisa Sails — July 14, 2012 @ 4:55 PM
Just put mine in he oven…husband promised a coworker a homemade chocolate cake and I decided I needed this cake since I am due in 10 days 🙂
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Comment by Shayla — September 2, 2012 @ 6:10 PM
Thanks so much! I checked out a couple different recipes and chose yours to make for my lovely friend who is ready to have her lil guy…I’m so glad I tried your recipe, the frosting really makes the cake, I will definitely make it again! Whether or not baby comes soon having a new delicious and easy chocolate frosting is a win! (easy for me to say…not the prego one) 😉 God Bless!
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Comment by Karen — January 23, 2013 @ 1:10 AM
I know this is really old.. and not really the point.. but, I never can help mentioning that EPO and RRL tea are not labor-inducers! It does drive me crazy when people think that either of them are even related to inducing labor. RRL Tea is safe all during pregnancy – it’s supposed to make labor shorter, not induce labor. Of course, you’d never know if it worked. And then EPO is supposed to help with tearing and dilating, but still, not inducing.
Anyways, sorry to throw that in there – just a pet peeve of mine. You wanna talk crazy inducements: castor oil, 7 pineapples in a sitting, the new ‘coffee trick’ that I don’t even understand why anyone thinks that would work… etc.
anyways, I hope that your little one had a good first year of life 🙂
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Comment by iguana maintenance system — May 3, 2013 @ 5:27 PM
please no one try the castor oil trick! its actually dangerous. however this cake looks amazing & im definitely trying it :-p
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Comment by hayley — May 30, 2013 @ 1:25 AM
I had never heard of the devil’s food cake to induce labor back when I was pregnant 15 years ago — until some people threw a party for me, told me about it, and feed me said cake. It was 3 p.m. when I ate the cake, and by 10:30 p.m. I was feeling crampy. By 2:37 a.m. I had a new baby! It’s worth a shot, right?
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amy Reply:
October 20th, 2013 at 8:53 PM
How funny!
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