Category Archives: Cake

February 28, 2025 · 5:01 pm

Soda Cake

The bird flu outbreak in the past year has created an egg crisis. Not only are eggs expensive, but demand exceeds supply.

Across the social media universe I see recipe posts for egg-less cake recipes. Beware. Some work. Some are too good to be true. One such post showed a variety of flavors of soda, promising that 12 ounces of soda would replace the eggs, liquid, and fat when combined with a cake mix. With the exception of an angel food cake mix (which contains egg whites), it does not. Save your money and effort.

I write this from experience. I experimented with orange soda and yellow cake mix, which supposedly makes an egg-and-fat free creamsicle cake. I planned to take it to a potluck luncheon. I added food coloring to my fluffy white frosting and voila! A lovely orange cake was ready to dazzle my friends.

Creamsicle Cake?

Fortunately, I wisely decided to pre-slice the cake. It wouldn’t slice. It crumbled. It had no structure or texture whatsoever. We ate it with spoons. It was tasty and pretty but unacceptable as a dessert.

Using soda to replace the water in a recipe is a good way to doctor your cake mix. But you still need fat for structure. I still have orange soda and still plan to try creamsicle cake again, but I will add at least one egg and will include the amount of oil according to the cake mix instructions.

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June 5, 2015 · 1:52 pm

Rachel’s Awesome Brownies

My mother-in-law makes the best brownies. Today I asked for her secret, and she agreed to share her recipe. As it turns out, her recipe came from an ancient (at least 50 years old) Sunbeam Mixmaster cookbook. She doubled the brownie recipe then added her own touch to produce this awesome tasting batch of brownies. There is no box mix on the market to rival these!

 

RECIPE

Rachel’s Awesome Brownies (modified from Sunbeam)

These are big sellers at our church bake sales.

Ingredients:

  • 1½ cups sifted flour
  • 1 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup shortening or butter, softened
  • 4 eggs, unbeaten
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 4 squares (4 oz.) unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
  • 2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts
  • 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In large mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
  3. Add softened shortening (or butter), eggs, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Mix on Medium (4) for one minute.
  4. Add melted baking chocolate and nuts. Mix for 30 seconds.
  5. Fold in chocolate chips.
  6. Pour batter into a 9″ X 13″ greased baking pan.
  7. Bake for 35 minutes. Check for doneness using a toothpick or cake tester.
  8. Remove pan from oven and allow brownies to cool before slicing.
  9. Cut into equal sized squares and serve.Yield depends on the size of squares cut.

I don’t use the adjective awesome often, but these brownies deserve the descriptor. Yum!

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January 14, 2015 · 11:31 am

Fat Free Dessert

How are you doing on that New Year’s resolution to lose weight? Or perhaps you vowed to eat more healthily. Forego all sweets? I’m a firm believer in moderation. If you say “no desserts” you’ll feel deprived. Self-pity leads to indulgence, which leads to discouragement and feelings of failure in your efforts to maintain a healthy diet.

One of my favorite choices for the occasional dessert is angel food cake. It’s light, versatile, and is one of the few cakes I prefer the boxed mix to homemade. Homemade is too time consuming for me when a mix produces reasonably tasty results.

I call this version Aunt Nell’s cake because my late aunt made it the first time I took my husband to her house. He ate three or four slices of it because he loved it! She loved that he loved it. It’s simply an angel food cake frosted with 7-minute icing. I thought it was amazing. (Because I suck at frosting, mine never looks pretty, but hers did)

To make 7-minute frosting:

In a small saucepan, combine 5 Tbsp. water (or citrus juice if you prefer) with 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1 Tbsp. light corn syrup, and 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar. Stir over low heat until a syrup forms. Using a candy thermometer, cook (stir occasionally) until it reaches 140°.

Meanwhile, using a stand mixer and a whisk beater, beat 2 egg whites until fluffy. Turn mixer to low and SLOWLY pour in the syrup. Remember it’s 140° and you don’t want to cook the eggs. After all the syrup is incorporated, turn the mixer up to its fastest speed and whip for seven minutes. Set a timer.

That’s it. Then you’re ready to frost the cooked and completely cooled cake of your choice. 

Aunt Nell's version was much prettier.

Aunt Nell’s version was much prettier.

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One slice is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

Even if a dessert is fat free, it’s still a good idea to limit the desserts in your diet. Enjoy.

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September 12, 2014 · 7:32 am

PINEAPPLE ANGEL FOOD CAKE

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

 

 

 

 

 

 

This recipe is not original. I picked it up years ago at a Weight Watcher’s® Meeting in Atlanta. It’s been posted many times on social media. Just in case you’ve missed it, here is a hasty tasty dessert that is made a smidgen healthier by adding fruit. Enjoy!

RECIPE

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

Serves 8-12

Ingredients:

1 angel food cake mix

1 20 oz. can crushed pineapple

2-ingredient dessert

2-ingredient dessert


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Empty the contents of the cake mix into the bowl of your mixer.

Add the entire can of crushed pineapple to the mix.

Stir on lowest speed to combine for 30 seconds.

Increase speed to high and whip for one minute. Set a timer. It’s important not to overbeat.

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Pour into a large Bundt pan or tube pan (or you may use two smaller tube or loaf pans) until 2/3 full. Don’t overfill.

Place in the center rack of the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick tests clean.

Remove from oven and cool, upside down, for one hour.

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Run a knife gently around the edges and remove cake from pan.

Invert cooled cake onto a plate.

Invert cooled cake onto a plate.

 
 

 

 

 

 

That’s it. If you keep a box of angel food cake mix and a can of crushed pineapple in your pantry, you’re ready for a quick and easy dessert.

 

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