A mysterious title, eh? The cake is a followup to "Raspberry Con-fusion Cake".
I "deconfusioned" by using the amount of gelatin fluid I intended
originally—1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk into a bowl with a packet of
sugar-free raspberry gelatin. The newer cake tastes as good as the first
one, nice density and no crumbliness. The layers' heights don't seem
much different.
During the six days of consumption, the newer-version cake was consistently moist and without the frosting becoming more gooey.
If you try a similar gelatin with cake recipe, this one is improved.
If you happen to follow the gelatin's directions for gelatin instead of
halving the liquid, the result won't be a disaster. Consider consuming
the cake in less time before frosting gooeyness. I don't recall the rest
of the downsides of the first cake; I don't plan to repeat my mistake.
Calories and Sodium
Note: Using sugared Jello instead of sugar-free HCF adds about 320
extra calories (~27 C/svg) and 320 extra mg of sodium (~27 C/svg) to the
cake. Between the two sugar-free brands, the amount of calories is
negligible. The amount for sodium is more significant. The following
abbreviated table compares calories and sodium for HCF, Royal, and Jello
raspberry gelatins.
I wanted to Kool-Aid my cake using Raspberry Kool-Aid, but the
supermarket didn't carry that flavor. I thought about using Jello, maybe
make a poke cake.
Fortunately, I found info for helping integrate raspberry gelatin and
cake in a non-pokey way. The result was my raspberry con-fusion cake
(details farther down).
No Hokey Pokey Cake for Me, but Something Else
When I read elsewhere that a poke cake would deteriorate in a few
days, I abandoned the idea. Besides short life, the recipe looked like
more work than I wanted to do. I later thought about making something
with raspberry gelatin and cake. Did some poking around supermarket
prices and availability. Jello's small size cost nearly as much as the family size. I noticed that the store carries both Royal and Hill Country Fare raspberry sugar-free brands.
I found a few resources to use gelatin in cake besides making poke
cakes. Several commenters recommended merely following the cake box's
instructions and mixing in the gelatin powder. I've run across info
about enhancing cakes by adding an extra egg and using milk instead of
water, In my zeal to try a few different details, I put in too much
fluid.
My Con-fusion
My con-fusion with this cake resulted from using the amount of fluid
called for if making a small gelatin batch. For integration into a cake,
I needed to put in only half the fluid. Regular instructions for
small-package gelatin calls for 1 cup of boiling water and 1 cup of cold
water. Normal box cake recipes call for 1 cup of water total. Sooo, I put too much fluid. I decided to just carry on and see how the cake turned out.
To adjust for too much fluid, I baked the cakes for several minutes
longer, hoping evaporation would help. The cake layers baked; the
toothpick test came out well. However, they did not rise. The finished
cake cut cleanly with no crumbs. The mouth-feel texture was dense, like
pound cake. Within the six days of consumption, the cake became more
moist, even watery. The frosting seemed to almost liquefy to saucy
consistency.
If inclined, Google "what happens if you add too much fluid to cake
batter". The next time I retry the recipe, I'll remember to use only
half the amount of fluid.)
The calories and sodium differ on whether you use sugar-free or sugared Jello gelatin powders.
Note: Using sugared Jello instead of sugar-free HCF adds about 320 extra
calories (~27 C/svg) and 320 extra mg of sodium (~27 mg/svg) to the
cake. Between the two sugar-free brands, the amount of calories is
negligible. The amount for sodium is more significant. The following
abbreviated table compares calories and sodium for HCF, Royal, and Jello
raspberry gelatins.
During the planning and execution of my pineapple an coconut cake (article, video),
I thought of closer looks at some parts of processes. They pertain to
combo-flavor cakes using two kinds of cake mixes, preparing cake bans
before pouring in batter, and squeezing more out of can frosting.
Weighing and divvying up two cake mix flavors for combination flavor
To combine two flavors, the packages need weighing first. During the
pouring of each package separately into a bowl with strainer, the
strainer is handy for sifting. (One reason I wanted to perform this task
was to see if either of the powder included flavor bits, such as
dehydrated pineapple or coconut.) Nope.
Using parchment paper and spray oil to line cake pans before pouring the batter for baking
A very traditional method for prepping pans for baking is greasing
the pans, then sprinkling and tapping flour to coat it. The cake mix
boxes lately seem to advocate using spray oil, and ignoring the sides.
My method is using spray oil and parchment paper, spraying bare pan,
then pressing paper, then spraying again. The baked cakes come out
cleanly and leave nearly no residue on the pans. Makes for easy wipe and
clean.
Using mixer to increase canned frosting volume and spreadability
I'd used mostly can frosting (16 ounces) for a long time.
Occasionally, I do buttercream (powder sugar, butter, milk), which takes
a lot more effort. It seems that one pound is skimpy, and I need to
spread thinly. I thought about the "whipped" frosting that comes in a much taller can.
Taller can seems to mean more frosting, right? Also, I have run across
comments on the web that it's very spreadable. I'll take the leap
someday. Not too wild about the weight being actually only 14 ounces.
I also ran across info that you can whip can frosting and get more
volume. I tried it once before, but didn't think to do volume
measurement before and after, but did notice difference. This time, I
did before and after comparison, noting the frosting ended about 3/8"
from the rim. After whipping, I refilled the can. The frosting reached
the rim, for ~12% increase. This session might have been more fun and
yielded more if I had not refrigerated the can for a few hours before
the whipping. In any case, I noticed improved spreadability.
I'd deviated from various cake mix instructions now and then. This
time, I decided to try making a hybrid cake of two flavors—pineapple and
coconut. (Duncan Hines makes both flavors.) Get info for ingredients,
equipment, and procedures for all the stages to make this delish pina-colada-ish cake. View also "Pt 2 Pineapple Coconut Cake, Closer Cake Prep Looks", the supplemental video.
Boxes in hand, I found commonality for fluid and fat. With research
and thoughts of "Do no harm", I came up with a suitable list of
ingredients.
The pineapple mix box calls for 1 cup water, 3 eggs, and 1/2 cup oil.
The coconut mix box calls for 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, and 1/2 cup unsalted
melted butter. An anomalous ingredient for the coconut cake is two cups
of coconut on the finished cake, top and sides.
In making my hybrid cake, my final decision on instruction
ingredients was 1 cup milk, 4 eggs, and 1/2 cup oil. As for the coconut,
I thought the amount excessive, and cleanup troublesome. I decided to
fold 1/2 cup shredded coconut into the batter just before pouring it all
into the prepared baking pans.
Fluid thoughts
I had toyed with the idea of using all or half pineapple juice and
half milk. I used nonfat milk coz it's what we use. (Whatever convenient
fat-content milk should be fine.)
Egg quantity
I researched about using three or four eggs, and numerous sources
advocated the extra egg as helpful, certainly not harmful for results.
It helps prevent cake crumbliness. I'm guessing an extra egg also adds
richness and extra nutrition.
Fat type
I melt butter for popcorn, but seldom for any other reason. I decided
that using oil is slightly less hassle for cake making. Also, oil costs
about 1/3 as much as butter. Another fat type to consider could be
shortening, which I haven't used in many years. Out of sight, out of
mind. I gave a brief thought to applesauce subbing. Nah!
Calories and Sodium
This calorie and sodium section differs from similar table-form
sections that I've created in most other blog articles WRT baked items.
Notable are coconut and frosting, which list servings in grams instead
of ounces. Whole grams instead of decimal grams or fractional ounces
tend to result in rounded off ("squishy") numbers.
Calories info
Ref: both boxes 15.25 oz. Calories: pineapple mix only, 170/serving; coconut mix only, 170/serving
cake mix, 2 half boxes total -> 1700 C
4 eggs, 70 cal each -> 280 C
milk, nonfat, 80 C/cup -> 80 C
oil, 1984 C/cup -> 992 C
coconut, 1/2 C packed, aka 42g (70C/15g, thus 2.8 svgs) -> 196 C
frosting, 16 oz, aka 453g (140C/33g, thus 13.73 svgs) -> 1922 C
I recently made a two-layer cake using yellow cake mix and added Black Cherry Kool-Aid powder. The flavoring contained one teaspoon of powder. I used half in one cup of my batter for marbling effect, and the other half in 18 ounces of spreadable frosting.
Tasted good, although the colors were a bit pale. I didn't feel confident about adding food color to darken anything. As for the swirling, I think zebra-ing would have looked more interesting. Oh, well, I have more beverage powders to try the next time
Short Version of Kool-Aid Cake Infusing
Experienced bakers know the cake preparation process or how to find reminders. FYI, I've omitted the info for utensils, pre-prep, and post-bake.
I used a yellow cake mix, adding the ingredients called for (3 eggs, 1/3 C oil, 1 C water).
I added 1/2 pack of Black Cherry Kool-Aid into 1 C mixed batter for marbling before dispensing and baking.
I added the other 1/2 pack of the Kool-Aid into 18 ounces of spreadable frosting.
Longer Version of Kool-Aid Cake Infusing
Novice bakers can use my content as supplemental info about cake making. Additional and reinforcement info is available on cake mix boxes and web searches.
Pre-preparation
Cake mix boxes provide excellent instructions for preparation. Obtain cooking utensils, bowls, measuring cups and spoons, ingredients, plates for setting cookery items on, cake pan(s). Be forewarned: Making a cake dirties up a lot of items and surfaces.
Pan Preparation
Pan(s) need preparation so that the batter doesn't stick to the surfaces during baking. Cake mix boxes tend to advise greasing and flouring. I use spray oil at the bottoms and sides, then press down parchment paper circles, and spray more oil. Pre-heating the oven to 350 at this time is good.
Batter Mixing
Cake mix box instructions say to mix water, oil, eggs, and powder together, slowly for 30 seconds, then 2 minutes on medium. I tend to draw the process out as follows:
Ensure no bad eggs or loose egg shells during cracking process. Crack an egg into the bowl. Crack another egg into a cup; pour it into the bowl if no mishap. Pour the third egg into the cup; pour it into the bowl.
Measure and pour the oil into measuring cup, then add to bowl.
Measure and pour the water into measuring cup, then add to bowl. Blend these wet ingredients about 20-40 seconds.
Slowly add the cake powder while continuing to mix for about half a minute. Speed up mixer to medium for the next two minutes, also using rubber spatula to help blend.
Scoop out 1 C batter into a smaller bowl. Lightly blend in Kool-Aid powder. (I used 1/2 envelope, which amounted to 1/2 teaspoon)
Batter Dispensing, Baking
Pour lighter-color batter into pan(s).
Pour Kool-Aided batter afterward, use spatula to lightly swirl colors.
In my case, I used 2 9-inch pans, aided by kitchen scale for weight checks. Another option for batter distribution is using additional measuring cups to alternate the different batters, thereby getting a zebra cake effect. (Visit "Zebra Cake, Using Two Half Boxes of Cake" or "Zebra Cake, Using Marble Cake Mix".) Advisory: Weigh battered (grin) pans to ensure similar doneness.
Bake according to box instructions, then cool.
Part of the baking process includes checking for doneness, often poking a toothpick into the risen cake, pulling the toothpick out and seeing if still-raw batter sticks. If not, cake's done. Pull the pan(s) and place onto cooling racks for about 10 minutes, invert the cake(s) onto the rack(s), remove papers if you used them, and let cool to room temperature, about an hour or more.Blending Kool-Aid into Spreadable Frosting
I had a partially used can, which I pulled out of the refrigerator for warming to room temperature. I added enough from a new can to total 18 ounces. I added the other half of the Kool-Aid (1/2 teaspoon) into the frosting.
Caution: If your frosting isn't at least room temperature, blending the powder in is laborious. I'd be sure to microwave chilled frosting in very small doses before attempting to stir in the Kool-Aid.
Frosting the Cake, Two-layer (Assembly)
Frost a layer, flat side up.
Set other layer on top, flat side down, and frost.
Finish frosting sides.
Looking Closer at Unsweetened Beverage Powders
I noticed that weights seem to vary among brands, even among Kool-Aid flavors. My collection:
Kool-Aid, Black Cherry, .13 oz, 3.6 g (Used this one.)
Kool-Aid, Cherry, .13 oz, 3.6 g
Kool-Aid, Tropical Punch, .16 oz, 4.5 g (Oy, I have 5!)
Strawberry Fresa Flavor Aid, .15 oz, 4.3 g
Hawaiian Punch Berry Blue Typhoon, .35 oz, 10 g
Looking a Bit into Kool-Aid
Each packet costs about a quarter, takes up very little room, and is non-perishable. I poked around the web for shelf life. It seems that Kool-Aid lasts forever if the packet is unopened. If you're inclined to try Kool-Aid to flavor your cake, frosting, or both, you can find plenty of info on the web.
"KOOL AID OLDER THAN ME!" includes research that the teen did, revealing some Kool-Aid was up to 18 years old.
"The History of Kool-Aid" provides overall history of the product, inventor, and the product path since its invention in 1920 (under a different name). It had cost 10 cents an envelope for a long time, then dropped 5 cents for awhile. My supermarket shows envelopes for 26 cents.
Lemonade Kool-Aid and More Flavor Suggestions
I previously wrote "Lemon Juice Aid 1, Let There Be Cake!", where I first mentioned my intention to use Kool-Aid lemonade flavoring for next lemon cake or pie.
Earlier, I mentioned different weights for Kool-Aid powders. Oddly, lemonade Kool-Aid weight seem to vary even more. "Kool-Aid Lemonade Unsweetened Drink Mix" shows .23 oz (6.5 g). "Kool-Aid Cake or Cupcake Recipe" looks like a reasonably uncomplicated recipe—one packet for the cake, and one packet for the frosting. Amount of Kool-Aid in one envelope is .15 oz.
All I do is just add the Kool-Aid to my icing as I am making it. You already have the water and it doesn't leave a gritty taste. ... I also marble it into my cake mixes for the kids and kids at heart.... Lemon lime, grape, and lemon is very tart so don't add that much. I have have even mixed 3 to 4 different flavors in the cake mixes ...
Previously in "Lemon Juice Aid 1, Let There Be Cake!", I wrote about the cake that I used lemon juice in yellow cake mix and vanilla frosting. This article addresses four lemon-flavor types—fresh-lemon juice, bottled lemon juice, lemon extract, and Kool-Aid.
Lemon Juice Cost/Convenience Considerations for Bottled, Fresh-squeezed
I probably have bought fresh lemons in the distant past, but don't remember when. I'm disinclined to deal with getting real ones, washing them, squeezing them, and measuring for juice amount. The pricing and convenience (less labor) of bottled juice appeals to me. However, I was curious about lemon juice yield in lemons.
"How Much Juice is in a Lemon? Get Easy Conversions for Your Recipe!" helps you determine number of lemons for amount of juice. Frinstance, "You need 4 medium lemons or 3 large lemons to get 1/2 cup of juice (4 ounces)." For visualization, "Here’s What 1 Pound of Lemons Looks Like" states "One pound of lemons is about four average-sized lemons, with average being a lemon you almost completely cover when holding it in your hand."
My supermarket lists single lemons for 49 cents each, and a 2-lb bag for $2.97. No listing for Realemon juice, but Target does—15 oz for $2.19.
Rough guess for cost of 4 oz portion of lemon juice (2 oz for cake modification, 2 oz for frosting modification):
Lemons, $1.50 to $2. (You do get free zest.)
Realemon juice from Target, ~60¢
Not making price comparisons from Amazon, as most are listed for large volume purchasing.
Concentrated Lemon Flavorings
I had run across info about lemon extract, which has concentrated lemon flavor. Having an additional extract bottle in the pantry doesn't appeal to me. Also, I'm not wild about considering dilution adjustments. Juice just seems less fussy. Amazon price listings took my breath away.
Since lemon extract is much more concentrated in flavor than lemon juice, use only half as much lemon extract and add back in the rest of the liquid in the form of water. … in baked goods that use baking soda as the leavening agent, lemon extract won't provide the necessary acid that lemon juice does. … Never use lemon extract as a substitute for lemon juice in a beverage like lemonade or a lemon daiquiri because the sweetness and tartness will taste "off" and won't work properly.
I have not yet tried unsweetened lemonade Kool-Aid powder for making cakes or pies, but I am intrigued. Each packet costs about a quarter, takes up very little room, and not perishable. "Kool-Aid Cake or Cupcake Recipe" looks uncomplicated—one packet for the cake, and one packet for the frosting.
As for lemon flavor pie, two recipes are nearly identical for ingredients (only four) and simple recipe instructions—"No Bake Lemonade Pie" and "Kool-Aid® Pie". Although the allrecipes version advises for various flavors, several commenters especially praise the lemon flavor pie.
Make a lemon cake by adding lemon juice to non-lemon flavor cake mixture and vanilla frosting. The info is intended more for cake makers who've had a coupla cakes under their belts, so to speak. Novices might consider also reaching outside this article to get beginner info.
I've tended to buy "classic" yellow cake (good color, uncomplicated add-in ingredients), especially when they've gone on sale for 88¢ each. (Regular price for lemon cake mix tends to run about $1.40.) Spreadable frostings seem to all cost the same, so no savings between lemon and vanilla frostings (about $1.55 at my supermarket).
Some time ago, I'd made a round, 2-layer lemon cake w/lemon frosting using a 4-oz (1/2 C) bottle of lemon juice. My recollection was it cost 80¢. More recently, I've noted in a couple of previous articles about using lemon juice that was a freebie (15 oz bottle). I've used about 1 C for two lemon meringue pies. For this cake, I used 1/4 C for cake and 1/4 C for frosting.
Pre-preparation for Cake-bake Newbies
Before starting out, read all instructions on containers. (Cake boxes have instructions and table info for pan shapes and recommended baking times.) Items needed include measuring spoons, measuring cups, mixing bowls, mixer, spatulas, cake pans, potholders, cooling rack. Helpful options: Plate for putting implements on, spoons.
Cake pan preparation, for easy removal of baked cake from pan: Various methods, such as parchment paper, spray oil, flour sprinkled onto pans and tapping to distribute the flour. The following videos are good, short guides.
"How to Prep a Cake Pan" shows oil/flour and oil/parchment paper methods with additional tips. (Should have also included paper removal.)
Ensure the oven racks are in position for cake pans, preheat the oven as directed on cake mix box (about 350° for 10-ish minutes).
Cake (Yellow) with Added Lemon Juice
I like using yellow cake mix because of its color and simplicity. Using white and butter-recipe cake mixes are more hassle, imho.
Directions:
Add 1/4 C lemon juice into a measuring cup. Add enough water to total the amount called for in cake mix instructions.
Pour the fluid into a medium mixing bowl.
Add the required number of eggs and amount of oil into the bowl.
Lightly mix these wet ingredients using a hand mixer.
Pour cake powder into the wet mixture, mixing as box directs (30 sec on low, then 2 min medium), occasionally scraping w/rubber spatula.
Pour the mixture into two prepared cake pans. (Use different pan plan and timing as you want, following box guidelines.)
Bake for the duration recommended, starting with minimum time. Check for doneness as required.
When finished baking, remove and cool as the cake mix box instructs.
Vanilla Frosting with Added Lemon Juice
The steps in this section are in the past tense. I was glad to see that the juice did not affect the frosting (such as curdling it) because of frosting's tendency to include milk.
"What Happens to Milk When Lemon Juice Is Added?" states "If the milk is cold when the lemon juice is added, the chemical reaction does not happen for some time." Seems no chemical reaction occurred during the cake's existence (about 5 days in and out of refrigerator).
The extra liquid, however, made the mixture initially runnier than I expected. I added powdered sugar to re-thicken the frosting.
Process (YMMV)
I deposited a 16-oz can of vanilla frosting into a mixing bowl roomy enough to stir in juice and powder sugar (for thickening).
Stirred in 1/4 C lemon juice. (Amazed to see runniness!)
Added 1/8 C powdered sugar, then more for total of 1/2 C.
Added 8 drops of yellow food coloring.
With extra frosting, I was surprised that I needed to carefully spread it as thin as I did to cover the cake. If I'd used canned lemon frosting, it might have cost the same as vanilla frosting, but I probably would have run out.
Duncan Hines debuted its Perfect Size cake line about a year ago. The ingredients make a smallish single-layer cake. The kit includes cake mix powder, a 6" paper pan with detachable liner, and frosting powder. The five flavors:
The Duncan Hines Perfect Size product I tried was “Golden Fudge”—the “Golden” referring to the cake itself, and “Fudge” referring to the accompanying frosting. "Chocolate Lovers" name, and to some degree, "Strawberries and Creme" seem pretty implicit of cake and frosting flavors also. The other two flavor names seem marketingish, but their accompanying images and very short descriptors provide info for expected results.
I decided to try out the recipe, even though the cake result is less than half an actual fully frosted cake but nearly the same cost ($2.78, fortunately, offset by 55¢ off coupon). The instructions seemed more bothersome than what I’d normally tolerate. I figured by the time I finished the project, I might deviate anyway, and I could get an article, video, or both out of the effort.
The main off-golden-path part of cake is the frosting—having used ready-to-spread white frosting instead of following instructions of the included frosting packet. (The frosting pack requires mixing the powder with water and butter.) An example video of the frosting hassle is at "Duncan Hines Perfect Size Cake Review", starting at 5:55 and stopping at 10:27.
My other deviation was using oil with the cake mix instead of butter. "Fat chance: Is Butter Really Better?" indicates that subbing oil for butter is fine, if not better, than using butter for the fat. I tend to favor mixing oil with water and egg together as a wet-ingredient mixture, then mixing the powder in.
The baking temperature was 300°, and for 34-39 minutes. My cake required 34 minutes—good thing I went for the minimum time. Looking at full-size cake mix boxes, most times are shorter and baking at 350°.
View my video of my Duncan Hines Personal Cake experience. If you want to try making one of these cakes, beware of some caveats. To Duncan Hines' credit, the websites I cited at the top of the article for their Personal Size cakes include comments from customers and their 1-to-5 star ratings. The most common complaints:
Costly for such a small cake result.
Too much time required for baking.
Labor-intensive for making frosting with included powder. Would be much more appealing for an envelope of ready-to-spread frosting.
Terrible-tasting frosting results from using powder and required additional ingredients.
Leaky paper baking pan and liner during baking, spilling batter onto the oven. (Oy!)
My recommendations: Buy a full-size box of cake mix and full container of ready-to-spread frosting. It'll be less preparation hassle, more flexibility for cake and frosting flavors, and better economy. The only real convenience to the Perfect Size is a throwaway paper baking pan.
If you want to make a smaller size cake, divvy up half a box of cake mix, follow the instructions on the box, adding only half the added ingredients. Pour the batter into one prepared (wax paper or whatever) round cake pan and bake as instructed. After cooling, frost with 1/2 container of ready-to-spread frosting of your choice.
How about pineapple cake that isn't upside-down cake or coconut-pineapple combo (piña colada-ish)? This recipe uses a standard recipe for yellow cake mix and crushed pineapple. Pineapple juice replaces the water. If you want to try an easy scratch recipe, visit "EZ Pineapple Cupcakes".
My cake recipes are usually for cupcake or mini-cupcake/muffin serving sizes; portions and handling are convenient for groups of people. They also take a lot less time to bake than sheet or round pan cakes. I can't work up enthusiasm for making a pineapple upside-down cake—too much mess and hassle for me, I guess.
I originally planned to try the bundt cake recipe that called for adding pudding, which I referred to in my "EZ Pineapple Cupcakes". This Dole recipe made my eyes glaze over, especially the need for 4 eggs and 3/4 cup of oil.
Fortunately, I spotted a related but more intriguing recipe. Although I want to bake a pina colada-type cake, I'm glad I read enough of the recipe to spot the part about replacing water with pineapple juice.
My pixstrip shows the following image sections:
Initial preparing
Implements
Ingredients
20-oz can of pineapple (measured for juice and divided fruit). Note: I squeezed the fruit a LOT to obtain the 1 cup of juice I needed.
Mixing
Bowl with eggs, cooking oil, pineapple juice ("wet" ingredients)
Lightly blended "wet" ingredients
Cake mix powder poured onto the blended "wet" ingredients
Mixed
Pineapple poured onto the mixture
Mixed
Baking
Batter in pans
Baked cupcakes
Cupcakes turned over onto cooling racks
Cupcakes in tins (8 cut into halves and in checkerboard placement with the other 16)
Implements
mixer
medium-large mixing bowl
rubber spatula(s)
measuring spoon
measuring cup(s)
spoon and bowls for divided pineapple, measuring cup or jar for juice
cupcake pans (Use different size pans if desired, following baking time suggestions on the cake mix box.)
half of well-drained crushed pineapple (6 to 6 1/2 ounces)
eggs, number as listed on cake mix box (3)
cooking oil, amount as listed on cake mix box (1/3 C)
pineapple juice as replacement for the water called for on cake mix box (1 C)
spray oil
Instructions (Have the cake mix box handy!)
Preheat the oven (350°).
Prepare baking pans with spray oil. (The box says to use baking cups for cupcakes, but I didn't.)
Lightly blend the eggs, juice, and oil.
Pour the cake mix powder into the bowl of liquids and beat as directed.
Pour the crushed pineapple into the batter and blend.
Distribute the batter into the baking pans. (Cupcake wells will be almost full.)
Bake for time recommended (18-21 min for cupcakes). Test for doneness with toothpick.
Remove the pans of baked cupcakes and place on cooling racks (~15 min).
Place cakes upside down onto the racks. You might need to use a knife to loosen cakes from wells.
When the cakes are totally cooled, you can serve them up (with or without frosting), or pack them up.
The recipe yielded 24 whole cupcakes. I cut 8 in half, then arranged all of them in checkerboard pattern. People can pick half size, full size, or combination cupcakes. Post-Recipe Thoughts
White Cake Mix Instead of Yellow Cake Mix
The day after I made the cupcakes with yellow cake, I tried the same recipe with Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix. I used the other half of the crushed pineapple and added 1 cup of canned pineapple juice. I also added 8 drops of yellow food coloring before I folded in the pineapple, but the outcome was still paler than using yellow cake mix. Interestingly, the white cake mix calls for 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1/3 cup for the yellow cake mix. The calorie amounts reflect the difference in oil amount.
The table contrasts calorie amounts for yellow vs. white Duncan Hines cake mixes that I used.
Ingredients
yellow
white
prepared mix
2750
2400
pineapple
93
93
juice
130
130
total
2983
2623
each cupcake (1/24 cake)
~125
~110
EZ Pineapple Cupcakes vs. Using Boxed Cake Mix
The process for the scratch vs. cake mix pineapple cupcakes mainly differs for mixing methods. Scratch requires gentler batter combining, and cake mix requires more vigor. The scratch results were moister than using cake mix. The calories for scratch is 125 (assuming 2 cups of sugar), same as for yellow cake mix. I skipped frosting the cake mix cupcakes to minimize calories and extra effort. I had also passed on adding extract.
My recipe makes half-size cupcakes, using nonpareils and jimmies in two half batches during one baking session. Contrast the results of the sprinkle types, and decide on your own single or duo sprinkle-type morsels. I've been dancing around using both kinds of sprinkles for cake mix cookies in a couple of previous recipe articles. This time, I'm talking about using cake mix for actual cake.
In case you're unfamiliar with differences between nonpareils and jimmies, "Sprinkles, Demystified: An Explanation of All Types" explains a main difference as shape—round for nonpareils and cylindrical for jimmies.
Round Sprinkles: These can more specifically be referred to as nonpareils. These are those teeny-tiny round balls that can come in a single color or in rainbow.
Cylinder Sprinkles: Sprinkles with a cylinder shape are made by mixing up a paste ...a little slower to “bleed” color than the nonpareil type of sprinkle. ....In some parts of the United States, particularly Pennsylvania and the Northeast, this type of sprinkle (the chocolate type in particular, it seems) are referred to as “Jimmies”.
Caution: Nonpareils "bleed" rather readily in moisture, even more so with cake batter than with cooky dough as in my "Rainbow Nonpareil Cake Mix Cookies" recipe. Thus, minimize time and effort when stirring nonpareils into batter.
My pixstrip shows the following image areas:
Implements
Ingredients
Mixed cake mix batter
Batter divided into two Pyrex bowls—with nonpareils in the left bowl and jimmies in the right bowl
Each batter type in separate cupcake pans
Baked cupcakes
Cut sample cupcakes for visual contrast
Some cupcake bites arranged in a tin
Implements
Mixing bowl
Electric mixer
Cup for eggs
Measuring cup(s) for dispensing batter
Tablespoon measuring spoon for measuring sprinkles
Spatula for scraping batter
Same-size bowls if making separate batches of nonpareil and jimmies batter (If making only one kind of cupcake, skip using these two bowls.)
Cupcake pans
Ingredients
1 box cake mix (I used Betty Crocker Golden Vanilla.)
Eggs (as listed on box)
Cooking oil (as listed on box)
Water (as listed on box)
Sprinkles as follows (option a, b, or c—pixtrip shows option "a".):
2 T nonpareils for 1/2 recipe, 4 T jimmies for the other 1/2 recipe
4 T nonpareils for a whole recipe
8 T jimmies for a whole recipe
Spray oil
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Spray pans with oil.
Follow box instructions for mixing powder, eggs, oil, and water together.
If making separate nonpareil and jimmies recipes, divide the cake batter equally into two bowls. (I used two Pyrex bowls and evened out the weights.) If making a batch with only one type of sprinkles, skip this step.
Add the sprinkles.
When using nonpareils, measure and very lightly stir them into the batter to minimize color "bleed".
When using jimmies, measure and stir them into the batter, but don't worry about color "bleed".
Scoop the batter into the pan wells, each about 3/4 full. (For more crunch in the nonpareil version, sprinkle an additional pinchful over each well after dispensing the batter.)
Bake for about 17-20 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick.
Remove the baked cupcakes. Tilt them in the wells or place them onto a cooling rack to cool.
Frost if desired. Beware of extra effort required and added calories in gilding the lily.
Post-Recipe Thoughts
Interestingly, the heat seemed to cause the jimmies to diffuse. That is, after baking, the jimmies looked wavy instead of retaining their rod shapes. But the jimmies morsels didn't bleed and change the cake color like the nonpareil morsels did.
When working with nonpareils, remember that they're itty bitty spheres. When I first opened the jar, I tilted it. Out came several orbs, rolling freely on the table, a challenge to easily stop their willy-nilly, runaway movements.
Cake mixes that already contain jimmies are available. When I made the jimmies version of cake mix cookies, using Betty Crocker's Party Rainbow Chip mix, I didn't think to sift it to measure the amount of jimmies. Maybe some day I'll break down and buy another box, remembering to check out the amount of jimmies before baking something.
I was visiting a relative and wanted to bake some cookies using cake
mix, eggs, and oil. She showed me her two boxes of cake mix, a Trader
Joe's Golden Yellow cake mix, and a Duff's Zebra cake mix. I chose TJ's. This baking experiment produced results that differ from my standard cake mix cookies.
Standard cake mixes from Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines, and Pillsbury
weigh 15.25 ounces each these days. (Grrr! They used to weigh 18.25
ounces apiece.) The Trader Joe mix was 28 ounces. Funny thing, though,
is that the pan and well sizes all claim the same thing—2 8" or 9" round
layers, 9" x 13" rectangle sheet, or 24 cupcakes.
Wasn't sure I wanted to double my usual added ingredients (2 eggs and
1/3 cup of oil) for making the cookies because TJ weighed nearly twice
as much as DH, BC, or Pillsbury. So I hedged my bets. My relative had
larger eggs on hand than I usually do, so I used three. For the oil, I
upped the amount to 1/2 cup. I should have taken TJ's cake ingredient
requirements to be added into account—3 eggs, 1 cup water, 1 cup oil.
BC, DH, and Pillsbury each call for 3 eggs, 1 cup or so water, and 1/2
cup oil—half the oil that TJ calls for.
Forged ahead with making the cooky dough with the pastry blender,
then shaping cookies onto pans and baking at 350° for about 12 minutes
each pan. The yield was 56 cookies. They tasted ok for not having
additional enhancements.
Post-Baking Thoughts
The cookies stuck to the pan, requiring scraping with a spatula.
Would put in 2/3 cup total oil AND spray the pans with spray oil.
I was correct to use more oil and eggs than normal, and ignoring
TJ's yield prediction of same amount as BC, DH, and Pillsbury. TJ's
yield was 56, compared to the other brands of about mid- to high 30s.
Would put in maybe 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract for extra zing.
Would add chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, or combinations for additional textures.
This simple recipe has three ingredients besides spray oil—a 14-oz can of jellied cranberry sauce, a box of chocolaty cake mix, and eggs. (Chocolate seems to go well with just about any red fruit.) For my cake mix, I sifted a boxful of white and chocolate flavors each, using half for these cupcakes and saving the other half for a different recipe. (Batter up for the next recipe article!)
I'd Googled high and low for cake and cooky recipes that use jellied cranberry sauce. All of them seemed to call for the lumpy-cranberry type sauce. I finally took a breath and decided to forge ahead with the can of sauce that greeted me every time for many …, uh, long time when I opened the cupboard. I revisited info about possible cake ingredients for substitutions, such as applesauce. The amount of applesauce and water volume called for was similar to the cranberry.
The jellied cranberry sauce was an unknown—jelly at room temperature. I decided to spoon it out into a small mixing bowl, break it up with a spoon, and microwave it in 30-second sessions, stirring between sessions. The warm sauce did not break up well until I pureed it with the mixer.
My pixstrip shows the following image areas:
Implements
Ingredients and spray oil
Combo pic:
Cranberry sauce out of the can and into small bowl, then pureed
Mixed eggs in medium bowl
Mixture of eggs and pureed cranberry sauce in the medium bowl
Cake mix powder in largest bowl
Mixture of the ingredients in the largest bowl
Batter in the cupcake pans
Baked cupcakes in the pans
Cooled cupcakes on a cooling rack
Implements
Mixing bowls
Cup for eggs
Measuring cup(s) for dispensing batter
Spatula for scraping batter
Spoon for initial breaking up cranberry sauce (not shown—forgot for preprep pic)
Electric mixer
Cupcake pans
Cooling rack
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 box chocolatey cake mix (I used half fudgy chocolate and half white.)
1 14-oz can jellied cranberry sauce
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Spray oil into the pan wells.
Beat the eggs and set aside.
Break up and microwave the cranberry sauce in 30-second sessions, the puree with mixer.
Pour the mixed eggs into the warm, pureed cranberry sauce and mix well.
Pour the egg-and-sauce mixture into the largest bowl that has the cake mix powder.
At low speed, mix all the ingredients for two minutes, scraping the batter down with the spatula. Mixture will become thick, like scratch-cake batter.
Scoop batter into the pan wells, each about 3/4 full.
Bake for about 17-20 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick.
Remove the baked cupcakes onto the cooling rack.
Frost if desired.
Post-Recipe Thoughts
As mentioned, the batter becomes very thick during mixing. In dispensing it, I was apprehensive about distributing the batter into the typical 24 cupcake wells. Well, the batter did not run over the sides during baking. Tasty and moist! (Hmm, color and bready texture made me think of sweetish pumpernickel). Calories amounted to about 105 each cupcake. If you frost as ready-to-spread frostings recommend, you'll add an extra 130 calories for each.
I recently became intrigued at a poked pineapple cake recipe that I saw in a coupon ad. I found the online version, but only after I ran across a no-poke recipe that attracted me for its simplicity.
In the past, I've looked at pineapple upside-down cake recipes, and can't seem to muster the enthusiasm to make one. Holey moley! Both Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines have recipes that, to me, are mind-numbing for numbers of ingredients. As for maraschino cherries inside the pineapple rings, I'll save those ingredients for the ham that I picked up for Easter and still haven't baked yet. (Sell-by date has another 1 1/2 weeks.)
Back to the Dole recipe, I thought the number of ingredients and process looked way more complicated than what I wanted to try. Making a cake with pineapple in it interested me, along with making handy individual smaller sizes instead of using a bundt pan. It took a good while to find the "Pineapple Poke Bundt Cake" recipe on the web. Without Googling the exact title, I was unable to find the exact recipe. Even searching Dole's website didn't yield the recipe.
The upside in expending the effort to find the pineapple poke cake recipe was finding food.com's "Frosted Pineapple Cake". The cake part calls for only five ingredients—flour, sugar, eggs, crushed pineapple, and baking soda. As usual, when I see a recipe, I assess the ingredients and process. As the poke recipe included vanilla bean, I figured the scratch recipe might be ok with adding vanilla extract.
I further deviated from the scratch recipe as follows:
Measured the pineapple juice for curiosity's sake (3/4 cup, the same amount for the poke cake recipe).
Stirred the dry ingredients in a plastic measuring bowl.
Stirred the wet ingredients in a different measuring bowl. (Added 1 teaspoonful of vanilla. As the poke recipe calls for vanilla bean, good enough use vanilla extract in the scratch recipe.)
Stirred the wet ingredients into the plastic bowl.
Noted the batter measurement (5 cups).
Poured the batter into the 24 spray-oiled cupcake pan wells, baking at 350° for about 20 minutes instead of 9 x 13 pan for 40-45 minutes.
Skipped the frosting.
My pixstrip shows eight image areas:
Implements (Your preferences might vary.)
Ingredients
Dry, with plastic bowl
Wet, with glass bowl, and spray oil
Batter in plastic bowl
Batter in cupcake pans
Baked cupcakes on cooling rack
Baked cupcakes detached from pans and flipped onto cooling rack.
Note: For extracting the cakes, I used a plastic knife to gently cut around the cakes and nudge at the bottoms.
Baked cupcakes in cake taker.
Ingredients
Dry
2 C flour
2 C granulated sugar
2 tsp baking soda
Wet
1 20-oz can crushed pineapple, all of it
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
spray oil (Next time, I might try also shaking some flour into pans after I spray oil and see if the cakes detach a little more easily.)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Pour the dry ingredients into the plastic bowl, using a wire whip. (I used a flat one.)
Mix the wet ingredients in the other bowl.
Pour the mixed wet ingredients into the plastic bowl and stir the ingredients until they're moistened.
Pour and evenly distribute the batter into the 24 spray-oiled cupcake wells. (I pushed my luck by pouring the batter to almost the top instead of the usual 2/3 to 3/4 full.)
Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the cupcakes are lightly browned. (Use toothpick test for doneness if desired.)
Transfer the baked cupcakes onto cooling rack.
Post-Recipe Thoughts
The recipe makes more of a quick bread than typical cake mix cake. Thus, I used a wire whip to gently but thoroughly mix rather than use a hand mixer and beat the ingredients. The cupcakes' texture seemed denser than regular cupcakes—weighing about 2 ounces each, a little less airy than regular cake, only slightly chewier than a muffin, and not crumbly. The cakes were not crumbly. I put them into cupcake papers for neat handling.
The cupcakes are low fat and low sodium, but extremely high in carbs—lots of sugar, pineapple, and flour. Each is about 125 calories, way less than if you add frosting. Yummy taste and texture; seems like adding frosting would be loading even more sugar and also adding more work.
October 31, 2015 (update)
If you want to use a cake mix method for pineapple cupcakes, visit "Simply Simple Pineapple Cupcakes". An update to ingredients: In researching for that blog article, I saw a scratch-ingredients recipe where 1 1/2 cup of sugar is ok to use. Though 400 calorie savings per batch makes sounds impressive, it translates to only about saving 17 calories per cupcake.
Sweet tooth? You've come to the right place for video links of music and sweet stuff. Last month, I wrote about munchies and music. OK, so some of the links pertained to main courses. During my lookups at that time, I ran across more than I wanted to put into one article. This time, I'm listing sweet edibles, in time for Independence Day. Also adding more edibles here rather than in last month's article.
I must say, the only thing I think sounds sweet about tutti frutti is
the phonetic fruity term. It gives me an excuse to paste a link to
Little Richard's Tutti Frutti.
Soup and Sandwich (one of several classic TV commercials on the website)
Love and Marriage, with clip of Cary Grant & Ingrid Bergman. Recorded most famously by Frank Sinatra. This song was also the theme song for Married With Children TV series.
My profession had been technical writer/editor. Through TheWriteJob clublet (blog at http://thewritejob.blogspot.com), I have been exploring my inner creative writing, which includes mostly language enlightenment, entertainment, and a-muse-meant. Over time, I have become more active with images and my YouTube channel.
