Cake Mix Doctor & Hints

Jules

Jules

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Sorting through my saved online recipes, I found a partial list of ideas to improve cake mixes. Most of these hints seem to come from Chowhound (closed) or based on the Cake Mix Doctor.

One I’d like to try is the chocolate cake mix with a can of cherry pie filling. Does anyone have this recipe and could they post it here. I’d hate to ruin the ingredients if I don’t have the correct instructions.

I have two chocolate cake mixes in the cupboard and it’s time to use them up. I buy these for an emergency and always forget to use them.

Today, I’m going to try the suggestion of substituting coffee instead of water. I always add extra real vanilla. One lady likes adding 60% chocolate chips, but I don’t know if she meant on top or into the mix.

Anyone have other ideas for kicking a cake mix up a notch.
 

This is what I had copied into my notes.

Chocolate-covered Cherry Cake.)

1 box Devil's Food cake mix (NOT w/"Pudding in the mix"!)
1 22 oz. can cherry pie filling
3 lg. eggs (She says 2, but I have better luck w/3)


Dump this in a bowl in no particular order, beat w/mixer 1 min. on low (scrape down sides of bowl well), 2 min. on med. (I have a powerful Braun hand mixer, so I use Med. If you have a wimpy mixer you might want to make that 2 min. on High.)


Add 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract, blend well. (She says 1 tsp., but I find that too much.)


I bake it in a buttered Bundt pan and frost it with Dutch Chocolate buttercream frosting (which I make with 6 Tbs. butter/4+ C. conf. sugar/Dutch Process Cocoa to taste/pinch of salt/vanilla and BOILING WATER-- which makes it tastes like cooked fudge) to which I add a full C. of toasted broken pecans or walnuts.


This makes enough frosting for a 9X13 sheet pan if you wish to cook it that way (easier to serve to a crowd and the icing is evenly distributed), but I pile it on/around/in the middle of the Bundt cake and it is a beautiful sight to behold. When I serve it I put a spoonful of the pooled frosting/nuts on each slice


(Start frosting while the cake is warm so it will run down the sides and pool nicely. As it cools you can pile the rest on top and it will stay there..)


This is a moist, dense, utterly sensational cake, and it is truly, truly better the 2nd or 3rd day after it's made. So make it at least a day ahead.
 

This is a Christmasy style, but you could use other colors in place of the red and green. Pound cake mix, make as directed but separate some of the batter into separate bowls. Add either flavored Jello in colors of your choice of food coloring. Put the largest quantity of batter in the pan, then blop the other colors spaced out onto the batter already in the pan. You can swirl the colors together if you want to or leave the batter in color blops. I have made Marble Pound Cakes with Cocoa in the same way.
 
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This Angel Food and Pineapple Cake is one I have made especially during
warm weather. It is lightly sweet and refreshing.

Use Angel Food cake mix that is the one bag in the box, not the two separate ingredient bags. Use one can of Crushed Pineapple, I use the one in its own juice the can was 20 ounces, not sure what size is available now.

Into a large bowl put the cake mix and pour the entire contents of the can of pineapple onto the dry mix. Hand stir with a wooden spoon if you have one until the two ingredients are blended.

The cake and pineapple will magically expand and look as if it will overflow the bowl and it will if the bowl is not big enough.

Pour the mixture into a prepared 9x11 pan or two smaller pans which have been greased, I use the spray oil. Bake at 350F until baked around 30 minutes.

I dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar or sprinkle on a warm cake for a slight glaze or skip the sugar altogether.

If you want leave the cake in the pan, mine has the lid so no need to look for other trays. If you like to scrape the pan for the nice bits, this will do the trick. The pineapple and cake on the bottom reminds me of Twinkies cake on the cardboard package.
 
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See Murmurr's post above, this cake is a can of soda and a box mix.

Using a Devil's Food/Red Devil/Chocolate cake mix and a can of Cherry Cola the cake came out even better with a thick layer of made from scratch
chocolate frosting.
 
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