Looking for tips when making boxed cake mixes

ChrisC_77
ChrisC_77 Posts: 271 Member
in Recipes
My wife's birthday is coming up soon and she wanted a lemon cake/frosting from the store. We enjoy stuff like that on celebrations, however would like to know if anyone has any tips so that we could potion it better, store it, etc. For example, does cake and frosting freeze well after its made? Or possibly Make individual cakes for the family and freeze the rest of the batter for later use? Any thoughts?

Replies

  • monisiaczeq
    monisiaczeq Posts: 131 Member
    maybe make it form half of the mix? measure whatever the mix weighs and just split it in half? put away the other half for later use?
  • vickyplum
    vickyplum Posts: 193 Member
    maybe make it form half of the mix? measure whatever the mix weighs and just split it in half? put away the other half for later use?
    ^this^

    but also if you want to freeze cake I would advise not to put the frosting on

    have a great time with your celebrations
  • MyChocolateDiet
    MyChocolateDiet Posts: 22,281 Member
    maybe make it form half of the mix? measure whatever the mix weighs and just split it in half? put away the other half for later use?

    yes and use half the frosting and put the rest in the fridge. it will be fine in there and says so on the tub.

    Then you will have half a cake which is usually I think like 5 servings because if i recall correctly most mixes make like ten servings. I would bake it in a single round pan. That's the best way to cook half since they are made that way anyways when making the full one. That the two of you can eat over a day or two as long as you keep it under a cake dome or in some other way covered on your counter.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I'm not much of a fan of previously frozen cake. If I were you, I'd do one of the following:

    Make cupcakes, eat a couple, drop the rest off at work or a friend's.
    Get a smaller cake pan, divide up the mix and make a portion of the cake. If it calls for 2 eggs, easiest is to divide in half. If your cake pan is larger than a half, it'll be a shorter cake and require less time to bake. If your cake pan is smaller than a half of the regular size, it'll be taller (might have to discard some batter to keep from overflowing) and will require more baking time.
  • nicshook
    nicshook Posts: 1 Member
    Get the box mix…. Take one can of diet 7-up, or diet Sprite. Mix only these two things together & bake per the box directions (maybe a tiny bit longer). Voila!!! Lower calories & I swear….NO one will know the difference!

    P.S. you won't even need frosting!!! It is so moist!
  • mapenguinkeeper
    mapenguinkeeper Posts: 191
    be sure to pick a cake mix w/o trans fat. Many of the general grocery store ones & popular name brands have sneaky trans fats and "ain't nobody need that..."
  • love2read1220
    love2read1220 Posts: 26 Member
    Get the box mix…. Take one can of diet 7-up, or diet Sprite. Mix only these two things together & bake per the box directions (maybe a tiny bit longer). Voila!!! Lower calories & I swear….NO one will know the difference!

    P.S. you won't even need frosting!!! It is so moist!

    You just blew my mind.... can you do this with any box cake mix???
  • mank32
    mank32 Posts: 1,323 Member
    cupcakes. frost and freeze them if you want them for yourselves for later. or just give away the rest. cupcakes are infinitely better than cakes imho when it comes to actually eating them bc you don't need plate/fork and they're super easy to give away.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    maybe make it form half of the mix? measure whatever the mix weighs and just split it in half? put away the other half for later use?
    ^this^

    but also if you want to freeze cake I would advise not to put the frosting on

    have a great time with your celebrations

    Don't frost the part you want to freeze. Cake will freeze just fine .....frosting, not so much.

    MAKE your own frosting.....the canned stuff has trans fat (still). Better yet, raspberry (or blueberry) sauce & lemon cake .....mmm. You can serve Cool Whip on the side.

    You could also make a lemon custard ...... from a cooked pudding mix. Dollop custard on each piece & serve with Cool Whip.
  • akamran1
    akamran1 Posts: 78 Member
    Get the box mix…. Take one can of diet 7-up, or diet Sprite. Mix only these two things together & bake per the box directions (maybe a tiny bit longer). Voila!!! Lower calories & I swear….NO one will know the difference!

    P.S. you won't even need frosting!!! It is so moist!

    You just blew my mind.... can you do this with any box cake mix???

    yes. diet clear sodas best for lemon/vanilla cakes, diet colas for chocolate, and I once had a really good diet root beer/spice cake!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Get the box mix…. Take one can of diet 7-up, or diet Sprite. Mix only these two things together & bake per the box directions (maybe a tiny bit longer). Voila!!! Lower calories & I swear….NO one will know the difference!

    P.S. you won't even need frosting!!! It is so moist!

    You just blew my mind.... can you do this with any box cake mix???

    yes. diet clear sodas best for lemon/vanilla cakes, diet colas for chocolate, and I once had a really good diet root beer/spice cake!

    Banana cake & cola.....yum

    Thanks for the root beer tip!
  • pittdan77
    pittdan77 Posts: 98 Member
    Not sure if this helps but my wife uses unsweetened apple sauce instead of oil. Cuts down on sugar too. Don't know the exact way she does it but I'm sure you can find the answer on the internets.
  • AllyCatXandi
    AllyCatXandi Posts: 329 Member
    Not an expert when it comes to boxed cake mixes (I bake from scratch and have never tried the soda trick I've read so much about!), but what my mum did one year for my birthday was make lots of cupcakes. Then she put them all on a giant cake board and decorated them to look like a bunch of balloons. They were iced with different colours with thin strips of liquorice arranged to look like the 'strings'. So still fun, and with the portions are under control. Which wasn't what she was aiming for, but in retrospect a good idea.

    If you go the cupcake route, you can get those layered display serving things (I don't know what they're called). If you don't want to go all out with icing (although I think there was a lower calorie recipe involving Greek yoghurt and sugar-free jelly mix somewhere on the internet, but don't quote me on that), fruit is always a good way to decorate. Sometimes a dusting of cinnamon or icing sugar is all you need for presentation. Or you could make it like a build-your-own-cupcake thing where you have bowls of decorating options for people to choose from. That way, you know how much you're eating and if guests want to drown theirs in Nutella and whipped cream and sprinkles, they can do so.

    As for lightening up recipes in general, I tend to use applesauce to replace about half the butter/oil a recipe calls for. Two egg whites for every egg is another way to cut down on calories (although it can take away the richness so I when I do it I replace some of the white sugar for brown). It's a bit of a balancing act, figuring out what to substitute for what and by how much.

    Also, cake is fine to freeze. But frosting...no.

    Hope this helps :smile:
  • Kaypettit
    Kaypettit Posts: 1 Member
    You can freeze cake batter! Just bake 4 or 5 cupcakes, then freeze the batter for later use. You could even portion out 4cupcake servings in each ziplock bag. Thaw on the counter for 20 min, cut the coner of the bag, and fill and bake. Or you can fill
    The cupcake papers and freeze them right in the tin. When they are frozen, put them into a ziplock bag. When you want a few, just pull them out and bake. Instead of frosting, try a lemon glaze. Mix lemon juice with powdered sugar and drizzle onto the cupcake. Just as sweet without the extra fat you get in frosting.
  • lanell26
    lanell26 Posts: 19
    love the pop cake, its so good and easy, I make them often
  • JilloftheDead
    JilloftheDead Posts: 296 Member
    I've used this recipe as a base (it's from scratch but super simple!), cut down on the vanilla, replaced the sugar with stevia and the butter with unsweetened applesauce, added fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest they turned out absolutely delicious!
    http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/03/one-bowl-vanilla-cupcakes-for-two/
  • sharonlynnereynolds
    sharonlynnereynolds Posts: 8
    I don't know if frosting freezes well, but cake freezes just fine (as long as it's baked first. :smile:
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    get the cake have your party and donate it to work the next day that sucker will be gone in minutes
  • robbienjill
    robbienjill Posts: 456 Member
    I freeze slices individually in wax paper then a freezer container. Then u can have one slice as wanted but u have to allow it to thaw. Takes a conscious effort. Enjoy her birthday.
  • samrockrocks
    samrockrocks Posts: 251 Member
    I would definitely go the cupcake route. You could even make it more special by baking them from scratch. They are SO much tastier and you know exactly what goes into the recipe. Plus, like others have said, there's a few swaps you could do to make them healthier, depending on the recipe.

    Here's a list of cupcake recipes. There's some awesome ones on here with full instructions that are not difficult to make!

    http://mlkshk.com/p/MGG9
  • kbanzhaf
    kbanzhaf Posts: 601 Member
    A spice cake mix, and a can of pumpkin (not pie filling, but canned pumpkin) make a delicious, moist "fall" cake.
    I usually use a cream cheese frosting.
    And cupcakes to share at work are a great solution to having to store leftovers.
    Kaye
  • karijoeide
    karijoeide Posts: 103
    You can freeze cupcakes, just don't frost them, I bake mine and put them in a gallon freezer bag, pull some out as needed and frost them then...sometimes I don't even frost them :)
  • fitbugfreak
    fitbugfreak Posts: 86 Member
    bump - I will have to try this! - Thanks
  • hockeymeggy
    hockeymeggy Posts: 2 Member
    This cake is delicious with just diet 7up and lemon cake mix. I use fat free cool whip as icing (it takes about half the tub to ice a 9x13 cake). Good luck!
  • BeckyMBisMe
    BeckyMBisMe Posts: 215 Member
    My hobby/side "business" is baking. You can definitely freeze the left overs. Wrap it up with two or three layers of your favorite plastic wrap and put it in the deep freeze. No problem at all. And enjoy your special occasion!:drinker:
  • Inshape13
    Inshape13 Posts: 680 Member
    I know you are doing the lemon, but here are some tips for lemon and chocolate as well. With lemon or chocolate you can sub in light sour cream for part of the oil(if it calls for a quarter cup of oil, use 2 Tablespoons sour cream and 2 T oil) and you can also use coffee for 1/2 of the water on chocolate for a richer flavor.

    When making the lemon cake you can buy lemon curd at the store and put a thin layer on the cake and then top with Cool Whip for a sweet and tangy flavor. If you make buttercream it freezes well, but the store bought frosting...not so much. Good luck with whichever way you go.
  • misskissmck
    misskissmck Posts: 9 Member
    when I saw this I was so excitded cos I was going to post about the soda... ....it not only works it makes a moist cake.....its amazing/
  • SusieCuteYay
    SusieCuteYay Posts: 59 Member
    I have modified box cake recipes by adding flour (whole wheat is better), and depending on what the foundation of the frosting is by adding cream cheese.

Categories