SECRET # 1
Yesterday was my little sister's 5th birthday, and I wanted to make her a special cake.
She asked for the "white kind" so I went to the store and bought some cake mix in a box.
I think we can all agree that even Betty Crocker struggles to keep up with the good tasting cake in this world (wedding cake, for example, is amazing!). Cake mixes from a box are just not as good. (How do those wedding cake makers bake such delightful delectables??) So I decided to fancy up my cake to make it taste thick & yummy. It's quite simple actually. I researched some good substitutes for the ingredients they wanted me to put in (oil, water). This is what I came up with.
For the 2 white cake mixes, I put in 7 eggs (one extra than it called for) and then I substituted 1 cup of oil for 1 cup applesauce. That's it. (If I'm telling the truth, I meant to substitute the water as well, for something like sour cream, by I just forgot. By hey, it turned out fabulous anyway.) I'm really happy I tried the applesauce trick because it gave the cake a nice, subtle fruit kick to it.
After I mixed it all up, I baked 4 separate 8" pans for layers. After cooking for about 35 mins (follow the directions on the box), I let them cool, then put them into separate large Ziplocs and put them all in the freezer over night.
The next day, my mom whipped up some frosting from scratch and I stacked & dirty iced the cake. It's 1,000 times easier and more pleasant to frost the cake after you freeze it. The layers were firm, not floppy, so icing the cake did not turn into a frustrating experience where I ended up crying profusely. I also thought up a clever cake top idea and it turned out super adorable, if I do say so myself. The end result was an alternating pink and white, 4-layer, vanilla cake. The cake topper banner was fashioned out of string, scotch tape, paper, and some decorative Japanese chopsticks. I also took a pic of my sister Geneva and printed it out, then glued & cut it out on an empty cereal box. Ta-da!
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SECRET # 2
All you need is a boxed cake mix & 1 can of soda. Mix 'em all together, bake at normal heat, and voila! Cake.
And not just any cake. This cake is thicker, zingy, and you can claim it as vegan (no eggs)!
Combos that I've tried:
- Chocolate + Dr. Pepper (The DP gives the cake a tiny cherry flavor. I love it.)
- Vanilla + Sprite
- Vanilla + Sprite Cranberry
I would not recommend using diet soda. You gotta use the sugary stuff. I researched it a little bit, and don't call me on this, but the fake sugars in diet soda could be dangerous when heated up to extreme temperatures, and I also read that diet soda just doesn't work as well as the regular stuff. So why worry? Use regular :)
I hope you'll try either of these two secrets I suggested with making cake taste amazing, even when it comes in a box. Comment or send me an email if you did! Take pics!
Kirk out.
