Tag: cake mix

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Cake, Chocolate, Desserts, Food

Chocolatey Brownie Cake

Posted on by lmc

This cake combines a box of chocolatey cake mix with a box of decadent brownie mix. Adding a cup of coffee and a dollop of sour cream makes for a moist, dense, and flavorful delight.

Chocolatey Brownie Cake

  • 1 (18 oz) box chocolate fudge cake mix 
  • 1 (15.25) box fudge brownie mix
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • ⅓ cup sour cream
  • 1 cup coffee, cooled
  • 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a Bundt pan with cooking spray. Combine cake mix, brownie mix, oil, sour cream, coffee, and eggs in a large bowl; beat until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 
  2. Pour into the prepared pan.  Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.
  3. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a table knife around edges to loosen. Invert carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack.
  4. Let cool, before topping with your favorite chocolatey icing.
Posted in Baked goods, Baking, breakfast, Brunch, cookies, Food

Easy Biscotti

Posted on by lmc
Cherry and White Chocolate Biscotti

I found a cookbook at a local resale shop last week. The book looked like it had never been opened. As I thumbed through the recipes, I noticed lots of delicious looking treats. There were pages and pages of biscotti recipes, all of which were made from a foundation of cake mix and other pantry items. The Cranberry White Chocolate Biscotti recipe caught my eye so I quickly purchased the book for 78 cents.

Bargain Buy – Second Hand Cookbook
Form dough into rectangular bars before baking

This weekend I made a batch. I had to use dried cherries because I had run out of dried cranberries.

Baked and Cooled Biscotti
Slice and Return to Oven to Make Crisp

This turned out to be a great recipe. My family loved the sweet, crunchy exterior with mugs of piping hot coffee and tea. I’ll be making this one again!

See the recipe in the cookbook image below…

Cake Mix Biscotti

1 box white cake mix

1 cup flour

1 stick butter, melted

1 tsp almond extract

2 eggs

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup white chocolate chips

Mix everything into a stiff dough. Place two logs on parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes. Carefully slice into 3/4” slices on diagonal. Place cut side down on cookie sheets. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Turn off oven and leave biscotti to bake until dark golden and crisp.

Original Recipe but Made with Dried Cherries
instead of Cranberries
Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, breakfast, Cake, Food

Yummy Cake Mix Banana Muffins

Posted on by lmc

Freeze your overly ripe bananas and pull them out for this delicious recipe!

Yummy Cake Mix Banana Muffins

3 overripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
1 (15 oz) box yellow cake mix
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin pan with muffins liners (or spray with nonstick cooking spray) and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the bananas, eggs and oil/butter until mixture is smooth. Add the cake mix and gently mix until combined. DO NOT over mix. Optional: fold in chopped nuts
Scoop batter into the muffin pan filling the cups 3/4 of the way full (use an ice cream scoop for ease). Top each with a sprinkle of streusel crumble and tap lightly into batter.
Bake for 18 – 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.


Streusel topping –
1 ¼ cup
½ cup light brown sugar tightly packed
⅓ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
6 Tbls.cold butter, cubed

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk or stir together flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Use a fork to cut the butter into the dry ingredients to make course crumbs. Scatter evenly over muffins, pie, or coffee cake before baking. Store left-over streusel in fridge or freezer for future baking projects.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, breakfast, Brunch, Cake, Uncategorized

Our Favorite Pound Cake

Posted on by lmc

I’ve had this recipe in my file for many years. This is absolutely a “no fail”, simplistic batter that turns out the perfect pound cake every time. While I usually add almond extract to the recipe, using lemon, anise, or rum extract will all work out great, as well. Actually, any extract will do…. Simply delicious!

Our Favorite Pound Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon almond extract

2/3 cup water

1 (8 ounce) container sour cream

1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, stir in the vanilla and almond extract. Beat in water and sour cream. Carefully, add and beat in the cake mix and flour. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Cake

Banana Streusel Swirl Cake

Posted on by lmc

  The grocery store was packed with holiday shoppers yesterday.  The warm sun and mild temperatures brought people out in light jackets and cropped pants.  I’m so happy that Spring has arrived in our part of the world.  

Like many of you, I’ve been baking goodies for the Easter weekend.  The local grocer had a huge display of overly ripened bananas on hand so I picked a decent selection of fruit and carted it home with me.  I headed to my trusty file to find one of my spring-time favorites. This scrumptious Banana Streusel Swirl Cake is absolutely delicious. I hope you have a chance enjoy this crunchy, sweet, delicate cake made with pecans, cinnamon, mashed bananas, and a convenient cake mix.  Happy Easter, Everyone!

Banana Streusel Swirl Cake

Streusel:

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/3 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Cake:
1 package Yellow, Spice or Banana Cake Mix 

1 package vanilla instant pudding mix

4 eggs, slightly beaten

3-4 medium ripe bananas, mashed

1/3 cup canola oil

1/4 cup water

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Grease a 10″ bundt pan.  
For the streusel: combine all 4 ingredients and stir well.  Set aside.

For the cake:  combine all 6 ingredients and mix by hand or with a mixer for 2 minutes.  Batter should be thick and well combined.

Pour half the batter into bundt pan.  Sprinkle streusel over batter.  Spread remaining batter over streusel. Gently swirl the batter with a butter knife in a circular motion.  Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool for 25 minutes.  Loosen sides of cake from pan and invert on a cake plate. If desired, frost with glaze and sprinkle with chopped pecans.



Posted in Baked goods, Baking, breakfast, Cake, Food

Best Banana Cake Ever

Posted on by lmc

During my weekly shopping trips, I usually purchase a load of bananas for quick breakfasts and simple snacks.  By the end of the week, the bright yellow and slightly green fruit has turned to more of a brown and yellow speckled mass of goodness. While some might pitch the ripe bananas in the trash, to me, these gorgeous specimens are best for baking.  The sugar becomes more concentrated and the texture of the banana lends a moist property to scrumptious treats baked in the oven. I often toss the brown fruit into the freezer, skins and all, so that they become even more flavorful and delicious. Just pull the frozen bananas out of the freezer a bit before baking, peel the slightly thawed fruit, mash, and add to your favorite banana based recipes.

Best Banana Cake Ever
1 package yellow or white cake mix (with directed ingredients – eggs, water, oil)
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Mash the bananas with the baking soda and stir into the cake mix batter. Pour batter into one greased and floured 9×13 inch baking pan. Do not preheat oven. Place uncooked cake in oven and turn oven on to 350 degrees. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Let cool thoroughly before frosting, slicing, and serving.

Posted in Baked goods, Baking, Bread, breakfast

Easy Cake Mix Apple and Banana Nut Muffins

Posted on by lmc

I’ve been fooling around with cake mix recipes for years.  I often have extra fruit ripening on the counter or parked in the fridge for too long so I keep a stash of cake mixes on hand to whip up a batch of breakfast muffins. The cake mix and fruit combine easily for a quick and easy twist on the classic fruit muffin.

This week I had two bananas and a bit of homemade applesauce to add to the mix. The ratio usually requires the standard mix, 1/3 cup of oil, 3 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of a overly ripe or wet fruit.  I’ve often mixed in flavored yogurt as well.  Play around with your favorite flavor combinations and see what you come up with.  I’d love for you to share any of the cake mix combos that you enjoy.  I love this quick and easy method of baking in a semi-homemade way.

Easy Cake Mix Apple and Banana Nut Muffins

1 box cake mix, white or yellow

1/3 cup oil

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup mashed overly ripe bananas (2 medium)

1/2 cup chunky applesauce (I use homemade applesauce)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Old fashioned oats or brown sugar topping, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously spray 2 muffin pans with cooking spray or line with paper liners. In large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.  Divide batter evenly between muffin cups.  Sprinkle with a handful of old fashioned oats or brown sugar. Bake 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean and inside of cracks do not look wet. 



Posted in Baked goods, Brunch, Food

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

Posted on by lmc

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Boy, if you don’t like this cake, I don’t know what to say! A bonus…it’s super easy to make. Once again, I started with a basic cake mix.
Years ago, I found a recipe for a cinnamon coffee cake that was a bit time consuming to pull together. It tasted great so I continued to make it for the family. Then, a couple of years ago, I found a similar (but easier) recipe in the newspaper and tucked it away for another day. Yesterday, I had a taste for my original cinnamon coffee cake recipe. While looking through my recipe binder, I found the page ripped from the newspaper that I had tucked away some time ago. I thought…why not give it a try? After altering the recipe a bit, I quickly mixed it up and threw it in the oven.
Well, the smell of the cinnamon and extracts was enough to make me salivate in front of the oven, as I watched the cake rise and take shape. Mmmmm, it sure smelled wonderful! And, after letting it cool and giving it a taste, I was not disappointed! This sweet, moist, cinnamon roll coffee cake is absolutely delicious!

Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

1 box yellow or white pudding cake mix
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon butter extract
Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon softened margarine
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Prepare cake mix as directed on the package. Add extracts to the batter and mix well. Spray, with cooking spray, a 13×9″ baking dish. In a separate bowl, mix together the topping ingredients. Pour half of the batter in the baking dish. Sprinkle half of the topping mixture over the batter. Pour on the remaining batter and finish by adding the remaining topping. Swirl through the cake mix with a knife. Bake according to package directions. Cool and top with my powdered sugar icing. Yummy!

Posted in Baked goods, Desserts, Food, Kids in the Kitchen, lunch box

Easy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

Posted on by lmc

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Growing up, I remember a boxed mix that my mom used to buy to make something called a snack cake. The favorite in our household was the spice mix flavor. Mom used to quickly bake it in a square pan and slice it into 9 squares. Once our family had grown to a count of 10 people, she was out of luck and needed to find a larger cake mix recipe…the traditional, full-sized cake mix that could be baked in a 9×13 pan.
What I like best about the snack cake is the ease of it all…only a few ingredients and no frosting needed.
This recipe is certainly a favorite. I pack quite a few lunches on a daily basis and this cake is really quite easy to slice, wrap and pack. As my oldest child will be heading to college in August, this will be a great cake to bake and send in a care package as I am sure she will be missing our traditional home-baked goodies. (And we will be missing her!)

Easy Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Snack Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 cup peanut butter
3 eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13×9″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips; mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared baking dish; bake 35-40 minutes.

Posted in Baked goods, Desserts, Food, Kids in the Kitchen, lunch box

Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies

Posted on by lmc

20130625-075927.jpg

This past weekend, we celebrated my daughter’s graduation from high school. I knew the temperature was predicted to reach 90 degrees so I got all of my baking out of the way during the week, while the temperatures were mild and breezy. A couple of weeks ago, I saw that the local market was having a sale on cake mix. I had cake mix coupons to stack onto the sale price so the final price came out to 75 cents per box! I bought 5 boxes and remembered that I had a great recipe for Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies. I thought that this would be a great addition to the dessert table at the graduation party. These cookies are crunchy on the outside and chewy in the middle. They have great flavor and the guests really enjoyed them. Store in an air-tight container (if they last that long).

Chocolate Chip Cake Mix Cookies

1 box yellow cake mix
2 cups old fashioned oatmeal, uncooked
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Combine cake mix, oatmeal, and sugar in large bowl; mix well. In a medium bowl, combine oil, eggs and extract; mix thoroughly. Next, add wet mixture to dry ingredients, stir well. Stir in pecans and chocolate chips.
Use a small ice cream scoop to drop on ungreased cookie sheets about 2″ apart. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to continue cooling.