In my efforts to eat a less processed diet, I’ve eliminated cake mixes from the lineup. It’s been painful, I can’t lie. There’s something about the no-fail moistness of a boxed mix that is appealing, but I’ve promised myself not to give in although it’s been hard. We’ve been through our fair share of dry homemade cakes as I’ve searched for the perfect replacements for the old boxed mixes.
You can imagine I was overjoyed when I saw this recipe for a make-ahead yellow cake mix! Not only is it a snap to prepare, but it keeps in the freezer for up to 2 months. Along with that – it tastes fabulous. Buttery, moist and absolutely delicious.
I can’t wait to share with you tomorrow what I made with this delectable mix. So in the meantime, whip some up. Talk about feeling like a complete Becky-Home-Ecky, this cake mix made me happy that I’ve stuck to my guns about giving up the old kind. It is a hundred times more delicious and that’s a fact.
P.S. I can’t wait to use this mix for the gazillion recipes I have that call for sprinkling a dry cake mix over this or that to create cobblers and crisps, etc. In fact, I’ll share with you a secret for one of my most favorite peach cobblers of all time. Here it is (and please ignore the fact that I’ve just gone off on a tangent about giving up processed cake mixes since this dessert is far from organic or healthy): lightly spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Layer peaches (canned or fresh) on the bottom of the 9X13 pan close together in a single layer. Sprinkle a yellow cake mix over the top of the peaches. Dot the top of the cake mix with one stick of butter. Open up a can of Fresca (I imagine Sprite or 7-Up would work equally well), drink half and pour the other half over the top of the cake mix and butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Relish in the fact that you are eating vitamin-laden fruit and zero-calorie soda, therefore constituting a healthy dessert. Peace out.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars
Two Years Ago: Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars
Note: the recipe calls for cake flour, which I never have on hand so I substituted 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons cornstarch for the three cups of flour called for in the recipe. It worked beautifully.
Ingredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Process sugar, flours (or flour and cornstarch if making the substitution for the cake flour), milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (you want this much finer than, say, a pie crust). Freeze the dry mixture in a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 months or use immediately.
- To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pan of choice (see the note above the recipe).
- With an electric mixer, beat the prepared cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes for two 9-inch layer cakes. See the note above the recipe for alternate cooking times with other baking pans. Cool the cake(s) in pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Country April/May 2010
[...] from Martha Stewart via Magnolia’s Bakery, and the cake mix was a DIY cake mix from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe which is adapted from America’s Test [...]
[...] I recently tried this recipe from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe and was blown away. It is delicious! It is tender and tasty. [...]
[...] do everything but break dance on my injured foot. The actual directions for using the mix are at Mel’s Kitchen Café . I ended up with approximately 6 cups of mix rather than the equivalent of a boxed mix which is [...]
Dear Mel,
I found your website through the Brown Eyed Baker and tried your yellow cake mix. I’m a cakes from scratch kind of person but this blew me away! Its tender, tastes and smells wonderful. It also freezes firm and can be sliced beautifully to make thin and stable layers.
I make the cake up with yoghurt or buttermilk and eggs. I find it really useful to have 2-3 batches of this mix, stored in my freezer for whipping up into a cake quickly. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. You’ve made me a cake-mix convert!
You can see the lovely 5 and 6 layer cakes I’ve baked with your recipe in my brand new blog.
any way to sub oil for the butter if I”m going to be using the mix immediately?
thanks!
Ariella – I haven’t tried that, sorry! You’ll have to experiment and see how it works out.
Any idea how many calories in this vs a bought mix ? And do you think I could substitute splenda or splenda blend for the sugar? I am diabetic.
[...] 24 yellow cupcakes, baked and cooled [...]
Hope – I’m sorry – I have no idea what the calorie count is on this. It’s worth a try on the Splenda but I’ve never tried it so I can’t guarantee the results. Good luck if you try it!
How come there is no eggs added to this cake recipe? Maybe I missed something.
Sunshine – the recipe is just for a dry make-ahead cake mix. If you read through the recipe, the last paragraph tells what to add for the cake.
Mel,
If I want to make this cake outright and don’t need to have a mix first, do I make it according to directions? Have you ever tried to do it the traditional cake way and cream the butter and sugar etc.? Today is Lincoln’s birthday and I have nothing but chocolate mixes in the food storage. He unfortunately didn’t inherit the chocolate genes.
I made this yesterday with my daughter and it was delicious. I’ve attempted making my own cakes before without a box, but have been disappointed each time. Hello, I guess it’s time for me to make a few extra mixes for the freezer. Thanks for this recipe.
Question…could you please add/factor in/substitute using powdered shortening so we’d have a completly shelf-stable cake mix?
[...] a boxed cake mix, here’s the solution for you: a recipe for your own cake mix from scratch! Click here to go to that site to see the [...]
Just a quick note… all purpose flour and granulated sugar are processed foods just like a box of cake mix.
Hi Mel!
Thanks for posting this..I made thix mix because I, too, don’t like using boxed cake mixes but there are so many yummy cake batter recipes out there I wanted to make! I re-posted this on my site, bostongirlbakes.blogspot.com and gave a shout out to you on this..thanks again!
Heather
Finally got around to making and posting this. Love the DIY approach for so many reasons. I made the cutest Easter basket cupcakes with it which I’ll post soon. Thanks once again for the inspiration!
[...] Recipe from: http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/06/homemade-yellow-cake-mix.html [...]