All About Cake Mixes

All About Cake Mixes – Ramping up Your Baking

I love baking cakes, especially cupcakes. Through the years, I have collected many great recipes from friends and family, but sometimes nothing beats a cake mix. Why? You can achieve a light and flavorful cake, with very little effort. Also, they are inexpensive and handy when you’re in a hurry to make a last minute treat. Boxed cake mixes are pretty fool proof; just make sure to not forget added ingredients, such as eggs.

Manufacturers often include recipes other than just cake recipes on the backs and sides of cake mixes and many recipes can be found online.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Orange Supreme Cookies– This is my favorite variation.

• 1 Box Duncan Hines Orange Supreme Cake Mix
• 1/3 Cup Oil
• 2 Eggs
• Zest of one orange
• 1 tsp. vanilla (optional if you like orange cream)
• Melted semisweet chocolate (optional)

Mix cake mix, oil and eggs in a medium mixing bowl.

After mixing cookie batter add the zest of an orange. (Add a teaspoon of vanilla if you like orange cream.)

Roll into 1″ balls.

Roll raw dough in sugar before baking.

Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on waxed paper or cooling rack.

(Optional: Frost with Duncan Hines Vanilla Frosting.) Oh no! Instead, make these into some great sandwich cookies!

Filling

• 4 oz. cream cheese
• ½ stick butter
• ½ lb. confectioner’s sugar
• Zest of one large orange or two small oranges-less if you want less tang
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• (1 t Vanilla if you are going with that orange cream taste.)

Fill cooled cookies by placing 1-2 teaspoons of frosting to the back of half the cookies and sandwich with remaining cookies. (I have displayed the cookies in two variations, with and without chocolate drizzle. Both are good.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate Mint Oreo Cookies

• 1 Box Chocolate Cake Mix
• 1/3 Cup Oil
• 2 Eggs
• Regular sanding sugar and peppermint sanding sugar

 

Mix cake mix, oil and eggs in a medium mixing bowl

Roll into 1″ balls

Roll in mixture of 1 part plain sanding sugar and 2 parts peppermint sanding sugar or crushed peppermint candy

Bake at 325 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set

Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on wax paper or cooling rack.

 

Filling:

• 4 oz. cream cheese
• ½ stick butter
• ½ lb. confectioner’s sugar
• ¼ to ½ teaspoon mint extract (to taste, you may want more)
• ¼ teaspoon salt

Fill cooled cookies by placing 1-2 teaspoons of frosting to the back of half the cookies and sandwich with remaining cookies. (I added a bit of food coloring to make a pink frosting.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

These dessert recipes are just two of the many mix recipes that I have experimented with. Look for more, great “cake-box” recipes during the next few weeks.

Do you have any favorite recipes you make with cake mixes? Let us know!