Easy Peasy Whoopie Pies

I was craving dessert the other day (no surprise there), and wanted something chocolate-y without being as heavy as a brownie. [Ok, let's be honest-I didn't have any brownie mix on hand.] The solution: Whoopie Pies--starting with a cake mix and purchased frosting to make it easy peasy!

Ingredients:
1 box chocolate cake mix (I used Devil's Food Cake)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water
3 eggs

2 containers Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400'F.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Mix ingredients together (med-high speed) 2-3 minutes. (It makes a very gooey batter.)

The original recipe I was looking at said to use a scoop to scoop batter onto the parchment paper, then use the back of a spoon to smooth/shape it down into an even circle. After doing that, I think it may be easier to just spoon the batter into a heavy ziplock bag, snip the corner and pipe the batter into circles. Leave at least an inch between the circles.

Bake 5-8 minutes. Cool. (You could use cooling racks, or just cover half your table with newspaper, put wax paper on top, and use that as the cooling area.)

(I let my cake rounds sit out over night to dry slightly [and because I didn't finish baking them until 11pm...], so that I could stack them up without them sticking together, but you don't have to.)

Empty your tubs of frosting into a bowl and whip 1-2 minutes to make it extra light and fluffy. Spoon frosting into a bag and snip a corner. Take one cake round and turn it flat side up. Pipe frosting to cover it. Top with another cake round, flat side down, sandwich-like.

Voila-Whoopie Pies!

I stored mine in and airtight container in the fridge because I liked them slightly chilled, but they should be fine at room temperature to wrap in plastic and send in lunch boxes, etc. You can also wrap individually and freeze for later consumption.

Yield: about 30 3.5" pies, you can make yours larger or smaller if you want

Pineapple Angel Food Cake

I would say this cake is heaven, but that might be considered too punny. So, instead, I will say that this scrumptious cake was not only super easy (only 2 ingredients!), but also that it tastes like Gina's Pineapple Cake (one of my personal favorites!) without as many dishes to wash. It's missing the creamy pudding layers, but if you add a dollop of Cool Whip, I promise you will think it an acceptable substitute if you're in a hurry... or lazy, like me. (And, since there's no cream cheese, it's probably a little healthier, for those of you who watch that.) I took it to work and it was polished off before lunch!  So, without further ado....

Why, yes! I do like Cool Whip! And, you can't see it well in the picture,
but there are bits of pineapple throughout the cake.

1 can crushed pineapple in juice (the full sized can, not the little ones)
1 box Angel Food Cake mix

Mix the pineapple and juice into the angel food cake mix in a medium bowl. (By hand, just use a wooden spoon or spatula.) It will get all fizzy. Pour into a 9x13" pan. Bake at 350'F for 30 minutes. Let cool.

Are You Kidding Cake

The woman who named this did so because it was the most common reaction when she told people the recipe. She learned it from an Amish friend of hers. You can use any pie filling and cake mix flavor. Play around with flavors. The one shown here is a lemon cake mix with blueberry pie filling. It's not the prettiest cake, but very tasty. In the future I want to try peach filling/yellow cake (think it will taste like cobbler?) and cherry filling/chocolate cake!

 3 large eggs, beaten
1 cake mix
1 can pie filling

1. Preheat oven to 350'F. Grease and flour 9x13" baking pan.
2. Stir all ingredients together until thoroughly mixed. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

The cake is plenty sweet and moist that you don't have to frost it unless you really want to, so it's perfect to pack in lunches.

Muffins from a Cake Mix

I needed to make muffins for choir practice one dark Saturday night and was too lazy to a) make them from scratch, or b) go to the store for muffin mix. I was saved by a cookbook Mom gave me several years ago of 101 things to make from a cake mix. Even then, I had to doctor it up since I didn't have some of the ingredients. Below is what I ended up with. No one at choir complained!

Applesauce Oatmeal Muffins

1 white cake mix

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

3/4 cup water

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup quick-cook oatmeal (I used the dry flakes, but I'm sure you could use cooked, if you had it laying around)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp sugar

Preheat oven to 350'F. Lightly grease muffin tins or use cupcake liners, set aside. Mix cinnamon and sugar, set aside. Mix cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs, applesauce and oatmeal on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in pecans. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture. Bake 19-25 minutes or until light golden brown on top and toothpick comes out clean. Makes 24 muffins.

They probably have more sugar than standard muffins so I can't vouch for their nutritional value, but they saved the day for me.

Italian Cream (Cup)Cakes with Meringue Icing

I've been experimenting with cupcake recipes to serve at my next book club and was craving Italian Cream Cake the other day. Luckily I found this recipe. It starts from a boxed cake mix, so it's nice and easy. I've added some hints at the bottom, gleaned from reading reviews of lots of recipes. If you don't want cupcakes, this will also make enough cake and icing for a 2 layer cake.

Italian Creme Cake

Ingredients:

1 (18.25-oz) box white cake mix

1 stick butter/margarine, softened

1 1/4 cup buttermilk

2 egg whites

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 (8-oz) can crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350'F. Line 2 cupcake/muffin pans with paper baking cup liners.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, buttermilk, egg whites* and extracts.  Beat with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed.  Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.  Fold in crushed pineapple, coconut, and pecans. Divide batter into muffin pans.  Bake in preheated oven according to package directions or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes then finish cooling on wire racks.  Cool completely before frosting. (Makes 24 cupcakes or 2 9-in layers)

*All of the recipes from scratch that I read whipped the egg whites in a separate bowl until soft peaks form, then folded them into the batter as the last step. That's what I did and the cakes were very light and fluffy.

*Everyone says you will get a better texture if all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start.

*If you're doing a layer cake instead of cupcakes, chill the layers in the fridge for at least 15 minutes before assembling and frosting so they won't be crumbly on you.

*If you're doing a cake, the smaller you chop the pecans, the easier it will be to cut.

Italian Meringue Icing

Ingredients:
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract (if you want really white frosting, use clear vanilla)
1/2 tsp almond extract

Directions:
Place cream of tartar and egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form.

Combine sugar, water and salt in a small saucepan.  Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring mixture frequently, and bring to a boil.  Cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 238'F. Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form.  Stir in vanilla and almond extract.

*This icing spreads very smoothly. In fact, for the cupcakes, I just dipped the top in the icing.
*If desired, you can dip the iced cupcakes in coconut or chopped pecans.
*Frosting 2 dozen cupcakes only used up about half of the icing prepared.

Strawberry "Peekaboo" Cake

I found this recipe from Dave Ramsey (here).  I do not like strawberries, except with strawberry short cake.  Since it's Valentine's Day weekend and we never celebrate it, AND Erika will be in town for a few days, I figured we'd try it.  When I baked it, the centers fell (I only baked two round cakes).  I used the remaining liquid and pulp to make a thicker filling to fill in the centers.  I boiled it down and added a little cornstarch to thicken it up then chilled it.  I'm HORRIBLE at frosting cakes, so I asked Erika if she would do it.  She did a fantastic job and made it into a peekaboo cake.  It is moist, not too sweet and quite tasty.  It was super easy to make, too.  Especially with assistance frosting it :D

Cake Ingredients

1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1 white cake mix
1 – 3 oz. box of strawberry Jell-o
24 oz. frozen, sliced strawberries (thawed)

Icing Ingredients

2 sticks of butter at room temperature
6 oz. block of cream cheese at room temperature
4 cups of 10-X powdered sugar
4 tablespoons of juice and pulp from strawberries

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare three eight-inch round cake pans by lining bottom of pans with wax paper sprayed with non-stick baking spray and lightly floured.

Drain thawed strawberries and reserve the juice with pulp. Mash strawberries to small pieces with a fork and measure one cup. Set aside.

Combine cake mix, oil, eggs and dry strawberry Jell-o in a mixing bowl and beat until blended. Stir in cup of mashed strawberries until blended. Pour mixture evenly into the prepared cake pans. Bake 30 minutes at 350. Cake is done when toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then gently turn cakes out onto plates to cool completely.  

To make icing, mix softened butter and cream cheese in mixer bowl until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar and mix well. Add strawberry juice with pulp by tablespoon to give the butter cream icing color and a touch of strawberry pieces. Do not add too much juice or your icing will be too thin. Chill icing for about 10 minutes, and then you are ready to spread.

Store the finished cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Garnish with fresh strawberries right before serving.

Cheesecake Cupcakes

I was looking through some of Mom's old cookbooks and found this recipe for simple "self-filled" cupcakes. I was impressed with how easy and yummy they were when I made them, so I re-named them Cheesecake Cupcakes because the filling is essentially cheesecake filling.

Ingredients:

1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup chocolate chips (EP-I used mini chocolate chips)
1 package chocolate cake mix and whatever eggs/oil it take to make it
Frosting/toppings as desired

Directions:

Cream the cream cheese with sugar; beat in egg and dash of salt.  Stir in chocolate chips. Set aside.  Prepare cake mix according to package directions; fill paper bake cup-lined muffin pans 2/3 full.  Drop one rounded teaspoonful cream cheese mixture into each cupcake.  Bake as package directs. Makes 24.

(based on "Self-filled Cupcake" recipe from Better Homes and Gardens Meals in Minutes, 1973)

With the filling spooned onto the batter, pre-cooking.

Fresh out of the oven.

Cake in a Mug

Gina sent me an email with a recipe for a single serving cake-in-a-mug. I loved the idea, so I hunted out the best recipes. Here are my favorites. One is good for a quick chocolate cake fix. The other is an easy way to make ahead multiple mixes to keep on hand or give as gifts. I think this is what my co-workers are getting this Christmas!

CHOCOLATE CAKE IN A MUG

In a mug, whisk together:
2 T oil
2 T water
1/4 t vanilla extract

Add the following, whisking after each addition:
4 T granulated sugar
2 T cocoa powder
4 T all-purpose flour
dash of salt

Microwave for 60-90 seconds. Enjoy with a spoon. Careful, cake will be hot. (Serve IN the mug.)
For an extra delight, serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Yum!

NOTE: I cooked mine for 90 seconds in a 1200 watt microwave. According to online sources, for each 100 watts your microwave differs for any recipe, you should increase or decrease either power OR time by 10%. For example, cook longer in a 1000 watt microwave and less in a 1500 watt microwave, or cook at power "8" in the 1500 watt microwave.

CAKE IN A MUG MIXES

Cake:
1 cake mix, any flavor
1 (4 serving size) instant pudding mix, any flavor

Mix thoroughly. Measure 1/2 cup into a baggie, tie with a ribbon. [For around the house, snack-size ziplock work perfectly.] Makes 8-9

On label:
Combine mix, 1 egg, 1 T oil and 1 T water in a mug. Microwave 90 seconds. (See NOTE above)

Glaze:
1/3 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t dry flavoring (powdered lemonade mix, powdered breakfast orange juice mix, cocoa powder, etc.)

Combine and tie in a different bag.

On label:
While the cake is cooking, combine glaze mix with 1 1/2 tsp water. Pour on cooked cake.

NOTE 2: To make it even easier for recipients. Add 1 1/2 tsp powdered egg replacement to each "mix" and change the label to: Combine 1 T oil and 2 T water in a mug. Microwave...  (Mine pictured here were made with the powdered egg replacement.)

The cake pictured here is butter pecan cake mix with butterscotch pudding. Other combinations:

Lemon cake mix- lemon pudding  (use powdered lemonade in the glaze)

Yellow cake mix- vanilla pudding
Devils food cake mix- chocolate pudding (use cocoa powder in the glaze)
Pineapple cake mix- coconut pudding
Feel free to experiment! For a simple, unflavored glaze, just mix the powdered sugar and water.
______________________________________________________

From Laney:
We tried a variation on the Chocolate Cake with Ibarra* Chocolate.  I melted one round per serving, decreased oil to 1 Tsp & omitted the sugar.  I followed the remaining directions exactly.  I then added 2 T. Chocolate Chips & 1 T. toffee bits.  We had to let them rest for 5 mins after cooking.  Thanks to Erika I found a new go to dessert!
(*Ibarra is Mexican Hot Chocolate you can find at the grocery store.  It contains sugar and cinnamon.  There are some other variations of it.  I would assume bakers chocolate would work well, too.) 

Gluten-Free Yellow Cupcakes

I found this recipe on http://aglutenfreeguide.com/ They are extremely moist and yummy cupcakes. Tastes just like regular yellow cake.

1 package Gluten Free Pantry Old Fashioned cake mix*
1 package Jello vanilla instant pudding (EP-She didn't say what size. I only had a large box, so that's what I used.)
1/2 cup sugar
4 extra large eggs room temperature (EP-I only had large.)
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 C orange juice
1 Tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons good vanilla extract

*Do not follow the directions on the package.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the wet ingredients in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and beat on high speed for two minutes.
Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Fill liners 2/3 to ¾ of the way full.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. If making a cake, grease the pan first, pour in the mix and bake for 40-45 minutes.

Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

Note: When I made mine, the centers fell when they cooled. I don't know if that's standard, or if it's because my timer freaked out and reset itself halfway through and I had to guestimate the cooking time. They still tasted fine, they just had a little dip. I solved the aesthetic problem by filling the dip with lemon curd (you can buy it in a bottle at the grocery store for tarts, etc.), then frosted over that with the buttercream frosting.

Voila! No dips and it tastes delicious. I'm sure peanut butter would probably also work well in the dip, then you could frost with chocolate frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

1/3 cup butter, cold and firm
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 or 2 Tablespoons cool milk or cream

Beat butter several minutes with electric mixer until creamy. Add sugar about 1/2 cup at a time, beating well each time. Add vanilla, then milk and beat well again. For firmer-add more sugar, for softer-add more milk.

Store in airtight container in refrigerator and whip up before using again.
While working with frosting, cover the rest in the a bowl with a damp cloth to keep it from getting crusty.

Jello Cake

This is one of the best summer desserts ever!  I had a couple of requests for it, so I'm posting it here.  There are different names for it -- some people call it a Poke Cake.  Anyway, it's really simple.  We've used a few different Jello flavors - Cherry, Strawberry, Peach, Raspberry, combined 2 small boxes - Peach Raspberry, etc. 

1 White or Yellow Cake (to fit a 9 x 13 pan), baked
1 large box of Jello Gelatin, flavor of your choosing
Frosting of your choice (Do NOT use regular frosting.  It's a nasty combo.  Use Whipped Cream, Vanilla Pudding, Cool Whip, etc.)

Bake the cake and let cool on a wire rack for 15 - 20 mins.  While cake is cooking, start making Jello - but only the first portion.  Boil water and dissolve the gelatin.  DO NOT add the Cold Water.  Set the dissolved, but still warm Jello aside.  Once the cake has cooled sufficiently, use a fork to stark poking holes in the entire cake.  Once you've finished poking the cake, use a large spoon and start spooning the liquid Jello over the cake.  Poor it evenly over the entire cake and use all the Jello.  Once the Jello is completely poured, cover the cake and chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until Jello is "set up" and cake is completely chilled.  Frost with whichever frosting you choose - I prefer fresh whipped cream, and then serve. 

You want to make sure that you chill any leftovers.  Enjoy! 

pineapple cake dessert

White or yellow sheet cake - baked
20 oz. can of crushed pineapple
8 oz. of cream cheese
1 1/2 c. milk
1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 tub of Cool Whip
1-2 cups crushed pecans

Bake the sheet cake (9x13) and let cool. Drain the can of crushed pineapple into a bowl and set aside - saving the juice in a separate bowl. Blend cream cheese with 1/2 cup of the pineapple juice, milk and instant pudding. Spread on top of the cooled cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Spread drained pineapple on top. Cover with whipped topping. Sprinkle with crushed pecans and serve.

One-Bowl Chocolate Cake (and Ganache)

Here's another recipe in shameless collaboration with Cooking Light. I made this for a co-worker's birthday and it got rave reviews! I used a ganache to ice it (we have a lactose intolerant co-worker), but I think it would also be fabulous unfrosted served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or frosted with regular frosting. The batter tasted a little funny to me initially, but once it baked, it became a rich, decadent cake.

CAKE:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 c granulated sugar
1 c packed dark brown sugar
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 c reduced-fat mayonnaise
3 T canola oil
1 c hot chocolate (I used water/sugar/cocoa pwdr per the side of the cocoa box), still hot
2 t vanilla extract
1/3 c semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray--for 9x13 pan

Preheat oven to 350'F.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add mayonnaise and oil; beat with a mixer at low sped until well blended. Slowly add hot chocolate and vanilla; beat with a mixer at low speed 1 minute or until well blended. Stir in chocolate chips; pour batter into a 9x13-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350'F for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

GANACHE
1/2 c granulated sugar
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa
1/3 c fat-free milk (I used original coffee creamer)
1 (4-oz) bar semisweet chocolate, chopped (I used semisweet chocolate chips. An official semisweet chocolate bar would probably be smoother/richer.)

Combine sugar, cocoa and milk(creamer) in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until smooth. Spread ganache evenly over the top of the cake. Let stand 20 minutes or until set.

Sorry there's no picture---there wasn't enough cake left for one! :)