Normally, I eschew cake mixes.
So plebian!
So yellow!
So reminding-me-of-the-regular-when-I-always-just-wanted-the-fancy!
But they’re so…
dependable.
Since I can’t just leave well enough alone, I have to fiddle with them. Especially since I made wine cake, a glorious boozy buttery yellow cake that’s a regular tasty treat common at bake sales up here. And many thanks to the internet, I was able to tweak the yellow cake mix that sat in my pantry.
(99 cents, yo.)
I made this cake for my brother’s birthday.
Ingredients
1 box yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
Directions
Mix all the ingredients with beaters until mixed.
Bake at 380° for 25 minutes or until golden brown at the top.
Chocolate Ganache-y Frosting
Ingredients
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
Directions
Chop the chocolate into teeny tiny pieces. Put in a medium bowl.
Heat the cream over medium-high heat or until just simmering.
Pour cream over chocolate.
Stir until completely incorporated.
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
When cake and ganache are cool, frost. Voila!
I am normally a horrible snob about cake mixes, but in college a friend used to make a version of this cake but with the addition of poppyseeds and lemon zest. Yummy.
Now, where is that recipe for the wine cake?!? I also need to try the smitten kitchen red wine cake recipe: http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/09/red-wine-chocolate-cake/
Oh man, I need to try Deb’s red wine cake!
(And publishing my wine cake recipe tomorrow. Make it this weekend! Prepare ye bundt pan!)
You so smahrt.
No YOU are.
I am the daughter of a 2nd generation pastry chef/baker and I secretly love unfrosted yellow cake from a box (I don’t like frosting). My grandma made a Kahlua cake that is beyond beyond. The base was yellow cake.
That sounds spectacular.
[...] to make my girl a birthday cake with my own two hands and oven. Check out Helen’s Yellow Cake mix here. Image via Helen [...]