Showing posts with label Betty Crocker. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Betty Crocker. Show all posts

Sunday, December 29, 2013

Black Bottom Cupcakes


 I love school holidays and spending more time with the kids.

Well up to a point. Yup, that point when everyone is BORED and HUNGRY and it seems like I'm the one who has to come up with a solution.

That's when having a few packets of Betty Crocker mix ready in the cupboard has been coming in handy these holidays.


Ah-huh, see what I did there. Oh yeah I solved the bored and hungry problem in one smooth move.

What I like about the Betty Crocker mixes is they are really simple enough the kids can mix them up with minimal help from me.

I love the proud looks on their faces when they serve up the finished cupcakes.

Plus I like to think that they learn a bit, like how to follow instructions in order and measure out ingredients.

We've put our own twist on the Betty Crocker super moist vanilla cupcake mix and come up with yummy black bottom cupcakes. 


Betty Crocker Black Bottom Cupcakes

1 packet Betty Crocker super moist vanilla cupcake
2 extra large eggs
1/2 cup milk
60g unsalted butter
2 Tbsp cocoa
1 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips
Extra chocolate chips for serving

Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan forced) and line a 12 hole muffin tin with regular sized muffin paper cases.

Beat cupcake mix eggs milk and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, then reduce speed to medium and mix for a further 2 minutes, remove half the batter and set aside.

Mix the 2 Tbsp of cocoa into the remaining batter and mix at medium speed for 30 seconds until combined. Fold in 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips and divide the mixture evenly between the muffin cases.


Fold the remaining 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips into the reserved batter and spoon onto the top of the chocolate cupcake mix filled cases.


Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.

Swirl frosting (included in box) onto top of each cupcake and sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.



Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go! Published in the US, the book is available at most online book-stores.

Disclosure: The ideas, words and opinions in this post are my own however this post was sponsored by General Mills.

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Butter versus Oil a comparison using Betty Crocker Vanilla cake mix

I might not have mentioned this in the past but I like butter. I like the taste, I love how it whips up to make a delicious buttercream, how it makes my pancakes turn crisp and golden when I use it in my fry pan and the way it melts into my cheesy garlic bread. 

So now we've established I really (really) like butter, I have to admit I don't always use it, sometimes oil works out better. It depends on the recipe. Oil can result in a moister cake, it makes better salad dressing and works best in marinades.

Anyhoo, I noticed on the back of the new Betty Crocker cake mixes that there is an option to make them with oil and water, instead of the butter and milk. I thought it was interesting so I did a comparison using Betty Crocker Vanilla Butter Cake Mix.

I followed the easy directions on the packet exactly the same for both cakes - just replacing the butter with canola oil and the milk with water, popped the mix into 2 identical pans, greased and lined the same way and baked in the same oven.

So what happened?

Yup, definite difference right from go. The batter with butter and milk was light, thick and creamy. Instead of  pouring into the pan, I dolloped it out with a spatula.


The water and oil was a more fluid mixture that poured straight into the prepared pan. It was thinner and seemed a bit bubbly, so I gave the pan a few taps on the bench to try and loosen any air bubbles. The top was completely level.

Then I popped both pans into the oven using the fan forced option at the temperature recommended on the box and baked until a skewer inserted came out dry.

Visual Test

Bit of a surprise during baking. Although the top of the butter and milk cake was not level before baking the cake rose evenly. In fact I think if I had of lined the sides it would have been even more even. I decorate a lot of my cakes and a cake with an even top is a huge plus for me, I would barely need to trim the top of this one at all. The finished cake was a pretty uniform golden colour and sprang back nicely when touched with a dry feel. Once cut the texture inside the cake was pretty even without large air bubbles.


The water and oil cake cooked in exactly the same pan and same temperature peaked in the center when baking, it would be fine for serving the the kids looking like that but I would need to trim a heap off the middle to get an even finish if I wanted to decorate it. It required a little more cooking and was a darker colour when baked all the way through (tested with a skewer). The top of the cake felt a little sticky to touch. Once cut the cakes texture looked ok but there were a few air bubbles.

* Note I used a 22cm round spring form tin instead of the recommended loaf tin as I did not have 2 loaf tins exactly the same size.

Taste Test

I cut up samples of the cake unfrosted and we commenced a blind taste test.

Ok most of my testers were not completely reliable. My 9 year old, 7 year old and 5 year old asked how they were different, said they both tasted good and asked for more. I guess that is an answer in itself.

As for me, I could not tell a huge difference on the initial tasting, but there was a mild aftertaste of oil for the cake baked with canola oil and water. I think using a different type of oil could remedy this problem.

Verdict

I preferred the cake made with butter and milk, it definitely won the visual test hands down and for me the taste was better, although I clearly stated my fondness towards butter at the start of this post which might make me a little bit biased towards the taste.

But the kids say any cake is a good cake, so if you prefer to use oil for taste, economy or whatever reason, who am I to tell you different.

Decorating the cake in shades of pink


I couldn't let all that yummy cake go to waste so I decided to decorate the cake, by trimming the tops and sides and frosting all over with vanilla ready to use frosting. I used an extra tub of Betty Crocker Creamy Deluxe Vanilla ready to spread frosting, divided it up and added a few drops of pink food colour to make 3 different shades. Then I spread the frosting on using a butter knife in stripes graduating darker towards the bottom.


A few sugar roses* on the top and in no time I had an easy sweet shabby chic cake made with 2 packets of Betty Crocker Vanilla Cake Mix, a tub of Creamy Deluxe Vanilla Frosting some pink food colour and a knife.

* Feel free to use fresh pesticide free roses in place of sugar roses.


Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores.

Disclosure: the ideas, words and opinions in this post are my own however this post was sponsored by General Mills.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

One Box cake pops - It doesn't get much easier than this


One of the questions I get asked most about cake pops is how much frosting or buttercream to add to the cake mix to get the right consistency.

It sounds like a simple question doesn't it, but it's not really. Every cake is different, some are moist some are denser and that's without even adding frosting to the mix. Yup all frostings are not created equal with some being very fluid and some much dryer.

So you can see the problem with saying, yup add about 1/2 cup of buttercream and she'll be right mate. There are recipes around which match up cake to the correct amount and consistency of frosting and in fact I have written some myself (check out my book 'Sweets on a Stick') but I thought I would come up with something even easier.

One box cake pops.

Ah-huh! Betty Crocker Australia has added extra ready to spread frosting to their cake box mixes and it seems when you mix it into the cake it makes a great cake pop mixture.

Check out this video - I demonstrate how from mixing, srunching up the cake and frosting through to dipping. CLICK HERE or on the picture below to see:

 



And yay we have a winner for the Sunbeam mixer, and I was going to announce which of the Betty Crocker Irresistibles I would try first.....but you might have noticed I could not resist and have pretty much tried them all out. Check out the Chocolate Raspberry Mousse Jar Cakes here:

WINNER Maria P - who was drawn via Rafflecopter and has claimed the prize :) Congrats Maria.


One Box Cake Pop Instructions
Follow these instructions or to see me demonstrate how CLICK HERE.

1 box Betty Crocker Devil Food cake mix
3 eggs @ room temp
melted butter
180 ml milk @ room temp
1 packet candy melts 395g (I used Wilton)*
110g copha chopped into little pieces
27 food safe sticks, eg paper lollipops or skewers8

*Candy Melts and cake pop sticks available from cake and hobby shops (eg Spotlight Australia, Michaels USA) chocolate can be used in place of candy melts however I find that candy melts set faster.

Bake the Betty Crocker cake mix as per packet directions. The instructions suggested 50 to 55 minutes but I checked mine at 45 minutes and it was perfect with the skewer I inserted coming out clean - make sure not to overcook as everyone's oven is a little different.

Pop the cake into a large bowl, add all the frosting that came in the Betty Crocker cake mix box and scrunch it together using your hands until well combined.

Line a tray with baking paper and roll the cake pop mixture into small balls (see the video above to see around what size) and place onto the prepared tray. Repeat until all the mixture is used and pop into the fridge to chill for around 30 minutes.



Using a clean dry bowl melt the candy melts and copha in the microwave on 50% heat for 2 minutes, remove and stir and then return for bursts of 1 minute at 50% until the mixture is smooth, fluid and lump free.

Take a cake pop stick and holding one end of the stick dip the other end into the melted chocolate/candy coating and insert it into the cake ball so the stick is upright. Repeat for remaining cake pop balls and return to the fridge to chill for 10 minutes or until set.

Make sure the chocolate/candy coating is still melted. Holding the end of the stick dip the whole cake ball into the melted candy coating and lift it to allow any excess melted candy to drip off. Place the pop with the stick still upright onto baking paper lined tray to set.

 Disclosure: the ideas, words and opinions in this post are my own however this post was sponsored by General Mills.


Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores:

Link to Amazon:

Or at Fishpond (free shipping Australia)
Sweets on a Stick: More Than 150 Kid-Friendly Recipes for Cakes, Candies, Cookies, and Pies on the Go! 


Sunday, August 18, 2013

Chocolate Mousse in a jar Betty Crocker Irresistibles range


OK I have no self control. I admit it and it seems the packaging was right, this Chocolate Mousse cake is irresistible :)

I was going to wait until the end of the Sunbeam mixer competition to whip up one of the new Irresistibles cake mixes that Betty Crocker sent me, and start off with what y'all voted to be your favorite.

Anyhoo that just didn't work out for me, it wasn't really fair to expect me to wait a whole month.


Umm...Irresistible remember.

In fact once my resolve was broken, I didn't have to wait long at all as it literally took me a few minutes of mixing and they were ready to eat (plus baking time but I never count that).

We used all that extra time I saved cooking and cleaning to pop down to the park for some family time. I packed up the Chocolate Mousse Jar Cakes and we had a sweet picnic with the cakes and some left over pink lemonade.


The kids ate, and twirled and pulled some gunky stuff out of the pond and I enjoyed watching the kids having fun, took some deep breaths and a few pictures.


Jar Cake Instructions, made with Betty Crocker Chocolate Mousse Irresistibles, ingredients recommended on the package and extra raspberries

Spoon the made up chocolate cake mixture into some clean recycled glass jars*. Mine were various sizes that I had sitting around and I found that it worked out best if I filled the jars around a third full.

Place the filled jars onto a sturdy oven tray and bake in a preheated oven (as per packet directions) for 25 minutes.You'll know that the cakes are done when a skewer inserted into the cakes comes out clean.

Once the cakes cool down you can mix up the chocolate mousse mixture and spoon onto the top. I added some fresh raspberries, but you can leave as is or add any fresh fruit you like.

I made up 10 chocolate mousse jar cakes from 1 box of Irresistibles Chocolate Mousse cake mix.


* make sure the jars are clean, have no cracks or chips and have only previously been used for food safe ingredients.

Hmmmm wonder how long I will be able to hold out before I try out the Molten Lava Cakes and the Chocolate Mud Cake.


Linda Vandermeer is a blogger, baker, maker and author of the cookbook ' Sweets on a Stick': More than 150 kid friendly recipes for cakes, candies, cookies and pies on the go!. Published in the US the book is available at most online book stores:

Disclosure: the ideas, words and opinions in this post are my own however this post was sponsored by General Mills.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Bake Someone Happy - behind the scenes


I have some exciting news and a fun behind the scenes story to share.

So y'all know I love to bake, plus I'm all for making stuff simple and having fun in the kitchen.

A little while back I agreed to film a little spot on Channel 7's The Morning Show (which aired this morning) to help showcase the Betty Crocker range that's now out on shelves.  Betty Crocker's range now has new packaging, some reformulated mixes, extra ready to spread frosting in the packets and a new range of premium desserts called Irresistibles they want to share.

True story - even though I am a pretty good baker one of my favourite stand by desserts is packet mix brownie served with ice-cream. Because let's face it we all need a little help in the kitchen sometimes.

Glenn, me and Lisa on the set

So because I actually use and buy Betty Crocker for real I was happy to be involved. It was all a bit fun, I flew down to Sydney for the day, had my hair and make up done (y'know big tv hair) met some of the food stylists and team from Betty Crocker, who by the way were super nice and then totally aced my first ever tv appearance.


DON'T BLINK. The makeup artist was very calming and friendly. 

Yeah, OK, that last bit isn't quite true, I kinda forgot everything I wanted to say but in the end I think I got across that I like to bake and that when I decorate with my kids I like to make it easy and fun.

This was my tip - when decorating with kids make the design messy on purpose. 
These Betty Crocker cupcakes use the ready to spread frosting that comes in every pack.

Luckily I was helped along by food stylist Lisa from Betty Crocker Australia and The Morning Show's Glenn Wheeler who were way more experienced with the fast paced, witty dialogue required on morning tv.


Anyhoo I ended my fun day of TV recording excitement getting a little lost on the way back to the airport and making check in with 2 minutes to spare. As I rushed through the security scanners I must have looked a little disheveled and put out so they pulled me aside for a random explosives check.

Phew, told you it was exciting.

Bake Someone Happy and Win with Betty Crocker Australia

Wan't to join in the excitement? Sunrise is giving away $10K every day this week for Betty Crocker's Bake Someone Happy week!

Plus they have a fun new #BakeSomeoneHappy competition on facebook and instagram where home bakers like you can upload pictures of your own cake made using Betty Crocker for the chance to be featured in their next promotional campaign.

You'll need to watch Sunrise for details on how to win the daily cash prize or pop over to Betty Crocker Australia's Facebook to share your photo's for the Bake Someone Happy campaign or find them on Instagram and use the hash tag #BakeSomeoneHappy and get your photos up for us all to enjoy!



Disclosure: the words and opinions in this post are my own however this post and the appearance detailed above were sponsored by General Mills.