Cake in a cup (or bowl)
1 regular cake mix, your choice of flavor
1 box instant pudding (NOT sugar free), 4 serving size. Flavor to compliment the cake flavor
Open both boxes and place contents in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly. I used a whisk and I got a not quite 10 half cup full each, from my chocolate cake/choco pudding and just over 9 half cup full from the carrot cake/vanilla pudding (coconut would have been better, but...my kids won't eat coconut anyway other than fresh). (I mixed the choco and carrot leftovers together and had just short of 1/2 cup. But it worked, I ate it and it was good. lol)
This will make about 9 packages of carefully measured mix.
What I did was spoon the mix into a 1/2 cup measure, level it off and then pour it into a snack size zip bag. Squeeze out air and close. I choose to use the more careful spoon and level method rather than my normal use-the-measure-to-scoop-the-mix-into-the-cup-and-shake-off-the excess. I did this because I was able to make more mixes from it and they will all be exactly 1/2 cup. If you scoop and shake, you can get more than 1/2 cup quite easily. It took me probably 2 minutes longer to bag them this way than the scoop and shake method.
To use:
My instructions said to spray a 1 1/2 cup mug with Pam. Well, we tried the cup method and it looks cute, but the cake was tough on the outer edges and too deep to eat easily. Besides, the little bit of frosting didn't cover the cake well.
So on the next batch, I tried putting it into a cereal bowl. I was out of Pam, so I just didn't grease it. Truthfully, I couldn't tell a difference between the mug that was greased and the bowl that wasn't. Both had stuff stuck a little bit to the sides.
I poured one cake packet into a bowl, added 1 TBS olive oil and 1 Tbs water. Then added 1 egg WHITE. Stirred well and nuked for 2 mins.
I frosted it with some chocolate frosting I had purchased. Next time, I make my own frosting!
To make a glaze:
1/3 cup of powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp of Koolaid, Lemonade, Tang or other powdered, unsweetened drink mix, cocoa, or use some of the coffee creamer that comes in flavors.
(While you have the sugar out, make up 9 packets to save yourself the trouble of having to haul out, then clean up after each "glaze making" session. Then package the cake mix and glaze mix together in a larger sandwich size bag. Put all the sandwich bags into a large zip bag. When you use each sandwich bag packet, replace it into the zip bag. Next time, reuse the "kit" bags.)
To use the Glaze, place it in a cup, add 1 1/2 tsp of water (or Hershey's syrup) or other liquid (lemon juice would be good!). Stir together well. You can do this while the cake is cooking.
BE AWARE. The cake is HOT when it comes out of the microwave!!!
We've been playing with the recipe for several days. I've been mixing two packages at a time, one for me and one for Thang #2, each in our own bowl. This evening, instead of feeding the dog the egg yolks, I beat one large egg together and split it between the two bowls, 2 1/2 tbs to each bowl. I think it tasted better, but just the egg white does work. And you can probably use ground flax seed or gelatin to get out of using an egg at all. Could also probably get away with 1 tbs applesauce instead of the oil too.
Next project - when I finish the massive job of reorganizing my kitchen/food storage stuff, is to see if homemade cake works the same way. In theory it should, but you never know until you try it. If YOU try it, post and let me know.
Now you know why I said you're going to kill me. Hot cake on demand. Just what we all need. NOT!
3 comments:
That recipe sounds good. Will have to try it. We don't have a microwave, but I bake homemade cake mixes in wide mouth 1/2 pint size canning jars. My husband love them in the pint size for his lunches at work! I spray the insides of the jars with non-stick spray, then fill 1/3 full of batter. Put the jars on a cookie sheet to prevent spills. Bake in a 350*F. oven until the cakes are done. The baking time will be determined by the jar size. After the cakes are cooled, I frost them. You can then add a canning lid to make the cake portable in a lunch for at work. I am also trying this in the larger sized baby food jars for our 2 yr old. They are the perfect portion size for her! She also loves having her own little cake.
Thanks for the tip! That would be a very convenient way to get it where you want it, without a mess. My kids are all older (and refused to eat anything out of a jar when they were babies...sigh!), so I don't have any of the baby food jars around, but it sounds like a good idea for those of us wanting portion control. I'll bet those baby food size jars are only about 100 calories. (Take a cake mix box divide the calories for the maded-up cake by 9 and that's the calorie count for the "cake in a mug" without frosting. To find out how much for each baby food jar, divide the number of jars you made by the calorie count of the made up cake. This will be without frosting.)Great for those on a diet.
Note:
This poster is only using the jars as a temporary storage container. The food is eaten rather quickly, not left on a shelf for a year or two.
I've also heard of people putting a hot canning lid and ring on the hot-from-the-oven jar, having the jar seal and then them putting it on a shelf.
hummm...can you spell BOTULISM?
Just because a lid "seals" does NOT mean that the food inside is bacteria-free!!
To make something like cake-BAKED-in-a-jar "canned" you'd have to bake it, then "pressure can" it. I have no idea how long you'd have to do that for. I know you can buy commercial cakes in tins, but they are heat processed to kill the bacteria. Cake is a low acid food and MUST be pressure canned (to get the contents hot enough to kill botulism spores - which don't die at 212 deg F - the point of water boiling.) Yes, I know the oven is at 350 degrees F, but the food content is NOT. (Think: a chicken is in the 350 oven for 1 1/2 hrs, but the internal temp is only 190F.)
Having said that, there are people who say they have done this for years and swear it's ok to do. So, if you do it, you're on your own.
Personally, I would NOT use that method for long term storage for my family. Long term being anything over a week or two.
Now if anyone knows how to put the cake BATTER in a jar and pressure can it so it kills the bacteria but still makes cake, let me know how you do it. You're not supposed to can anything thickened with flour - like gravy, or naturally think, like pumpkin puree. Reason is that the food may not get hot enough all the way through to properly kill the nasties and people HAVE gotten sick and died from eating the contents. BUT....since baking a cake causes a chemical structure change in the cake itself - where by it becomes lighter and has air holes in it, I can see a possibility for home canning it. I just don't know how to do so.
Again, this would fall under "experimental" canning - and we do that at our own risk!
Some great ideas, and great comments. Glad I stumbled across this blog today. Thank you!
May I invite you back to mine so you can peek at the contest running on my blog this week and next? It's for a signed copy of H. B. Moore's latest novel, "Abinadi." Wonderful book. Feel free to spread the good news.
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