16 March 2015

31 Days of MOO NO. 16 MOO Cake Mixes


Boxed (or packet) cake mixes are convenient - to a point.  You still need to add the wet ingredients, usually egg, water or milk, butter or oil, so what you're paying up to $9 for is basically flour, sugar, a rising agent, flavouring of some kind and then a whole lot of things you can't pronounce and really shouldn't be eating.

That cake mix convenience ends up costing you up to $11!

If you make a cake from scratch you'll use flour, sugar, butter or oil, milk or water, an egg or two, flavouring of some kind and if you didn't use self-raising flour, a rising agent (baking powder or bicarb soda, depending on the recipe). And your cake will cost you under $2!

Now cake mixes are supposed to be convenient time savers because you just dump the contents into the mixer, add the wet stuff and beat for 3 minutes.

If your recipe is a one-bowl mix, like the I've shared below, you do the same thing - dump all the ingredients into the mixer and beat for 3 minutes.

It may take you a minute to measure out the flour, sugar and flavourings so a from scratch cake will take you 1 or 2 minutes longer to get to the baking stage. At a saving of up to $9 a minute or two is nothing.

And they will both take about the same time to cook too, so no saving there.

If you really love cake mixes, and I confess I do, you can quite easily make your own.

When I'm baking a cake I get out a half a dozen ziplock bags and measure out the dry ingredients for 7 cakes, the one I'm baking and 6 to put in the cupboard. The bags are labelled with the type of cake the ingredients will make - chocolate, coffee, butter, sultana, cherry or whatever, a list of wet ingredients and the instructions. I do this a lot so I have marked the bags with a Sharpie. Once the mix has been used the bag is washed and dried and put away ready to use again - and the instructions are already written on it.


This is a quick chocolate cake I make into MOO Cake Mixes.

Quick Chocolate Cake

Dry Ingredients:
3 cups SR flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa

Wet Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

You can double, triple, quadruple the quantities (I measure out 7 lots at a time). Put the dry ingredients into ziplock bags and seal. Label the bag and add a list of the wet ingredients and the instructions.

To make a cake add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.

One quantity will make 2 dozen cupcakes or two 20cm square cakes. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes for 20cm cake (or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean). Bake for 12 - 15 minutes for  cupcakes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.



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4 comments:

  1. Great idea! Do you use plain flour and add baking powder when you cook or have them all together in the zip lock bags? Do you freeze the bags or keep them in the pantry?

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  2. I use self-raising flour, so no need for baking powder. All the dry ingredients in the bag, then into the pantry. I freeze all dry goods and dried fruit as soon as it come into the house for at least a week sometimes longer if there is freezer room.

    When I make up the cake mixes I usually just pop them in the pantry so anyone can get one out and make a cake or cupcakes. You can keep them in the freezer if you'd like to.

    Works great for pancakes, muffins, biscuits etc. Really any mix that you'd buy in a packet at the supermarket you can MOO as a mix at home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you, I'll try that!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just keep learning more and more from your blog. Such a time-saver and so convenient to have these made up and ready to go. Thankyou for all your brilliant ideas.

    ReplyDelete

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