Devils Food with a little less sin.

I never knew just how much I loved Chocolate cake until recently when I began experimenting with devil’s food cake.  I have been playing with different cake recipes and I have enjoyed every bite of it.  I have yet to be disappointed with these heavenly desserts.  What’s ever better is that I have been working on making them a little less sinful- swapping applesauce for oil, reduced fat sour cream for original, that sort of thing, with wondrous results. 

There are two recipes that are fairly similar, the biggest differences being the sour cream and oil ratios as well as the size of dry pudding mix used.  I have baked them both within the last few weeks and found that I couldn’t really see the difference.  This cake was perhaps the moister of the two however, so I am posting it first. 

The original recipes that I found using Devils Food cake mix called for either boiling water, strong brewed coffee or coffee liquor.  With this cake I went with Irish Cream Liquor.  Why?  Well mainly because I bought a bottle at Christmas for my friends and family to partake in Irish Cream Coffee and then never got around to actually making the hot dessert beverage.  Maybe next year.  But alas, a whole bottle of Irish Cream, I thought it couldn’t hurt.  It didn’t.

When making this cake I did use a lot of reduced fat or less fat options, however those were to suite my preferences.  I have also made this cake using the ingredients in parenthesis with just as amazing results only with a little more fat.

Heavenly Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

1 package Devils Food cake mix

1 (5.9 oz) package Instant Chocolate pudding mix

1 cup reduced fat sour cream

1 cup applesauce (or oil)

1 cup eggbeaters (or 4 large eggs)

1/2 cup Irish cream liquor

2 cups (1 package) mini chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* degrees.  Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl (or using your electric stand mixer bowl) mix cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, applesauce, eggs and liquor with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.  Mix on medium speed for two minutes.
3. Stir in chocolate chips and pour cake mix into prepared pan.  Bake for 60 minutes.
4. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Remove cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack.

Cackadoodles

I know what you’re thinking.  I’ve given up on the ole cookie blog already.  It would appear that as much as I love to bake, finding the time to sit down, go through pictures, write up the recipe and edit is just a near impossibility at the moment.  Spring has officially sprung and we are as busy as ever.  Between birthdays, holidays, races, training, and the overall business of everyday life I have managed to post not one single recipe in about two weeks.  But then I went and made these cookies and I just couldn’t keep them from the blogosphere any longer. 

You see, I knew that cake mix could be used as a quick substitute for cookie dough.  It’s quick and easy and what’s more, it’s delicious.  So the other day, when my sweet tooth awoke to find no snacks around worth partaking in, I was desperate.  I decided to delve into the pantry and see what I could throw together fast.  I had a box of brownie mix and a box of Duncan Hines Spice Cake mix. 

But what I wanted was a cookie.

So then an idea struck me, what if I made spice cookies from that old box of about to expire cake mix.  I mean, we wouldn’t want the cake mix to develop any mold spores sitting on that shelf and I knew I wouldn’t be making Spice cake until fall.  And it is so effortless to turn cake mix into cookies.  Then another light bulb went off in my head, what if I rolled said cookies in cinnamon and sugar much like Snickerdoodles but without all the trouble.

Into a bowl went the cake mix.  Followed by two eggs and a half a cup of canola oil.  Fifty strokes with a wooden spoon later, we had dough.  I then took teaspoonfuls and rolled them in a small bowl of cinnamon and sugar, heavy on the cinnamon.  From there to a cookie sheet and into an oven preheated to 350* degrees for about 9 minutes. 

The result: 

Might I, the biggest fan of Snickerdoodles you’ll possibly ever meet, tell you that these cookies are perhaps, gulp, better than Snickerdoodles. 

Let’s put it this way, the sweet tooth was more than satiated. 

 

 

 

 

Cackadoodles

Ingredients

1 package spice cake mix

2 large eggs

1/2 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350* degrees. Get out cookies sheets and cooling racks. Combine cinnamon and sugar.
2. Mix cake mix, eggs and oil in a medium bowl until combined.
3. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough in cinnamon and sugar mixture.  Place on ungreased cookie sheets and bake 8-10 minutes.

 

Taste A Rainbow

 

Today is the first day of Spring, in celebration of the Sun passing over the Earth’s equator, we made Rainbow Cupcakes.  Using just a regular box of yellow cake mix and a box of food coloring we were able to turn a batch of cupcakes into a bright and colorful afternoon snack.

After making your cake mix according to the package directions separate the batter equally into 5 small bowls, then proceed with the following chart to make each color.

To make each color you will need:

Purple: 9 red drops, 6 blue drops

Blue: 12 blue drops

Green: 12 green drops

Yellow: 12 yellow drops

Red: 18 red

After you have made each color divide the batter equally into muffin pans.  You will probably get one or two less cupcakes than your package says you will get.  Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and then…

taste a rainbow (with your favorite icing of course).

Welcome, Springtime!