I must confess, I don’t really like chocolate cake. I do like chocolate, but to me chocolate cake never has much of a chocolate taste. However, chocolate cake always seems to be the flavor people request most often for cakes. Since they are often on sale for under $1, I often choose Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake mix for my chocolate cake (and cookie) needs.
Making the Cake
My family started on vacation a week before I could join them, so I have some extra time on my hands. My coworkers are loving this because I have been baking for them. This week I made cupcakes with a Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake.
Cake mixes are hard to mess up, and Betty Crocker is no exception. Preheat your oven to 350° and greased the bottom only of cake pans, or like I did use baking paper for cupcakes. Use your electric mixer to beat 1 1/3 cups of water, ½ cup of oil and 3 eggs with the mix. Start on low until the ingredients are combines and then another 2 minutes to whip the mix into a cake batter. Pour into prepared pan and bake. The baking time depends on the size of the pan. My dark cupcake pan took about 24 minutes to cook my 24 cupcakes, longer than the suggested 17 – 22 minutes.
Despite the fact that I take a “short cut” by using a boxed cake mix, I always, always, always make my own frosting. I have tired cans of icing, but I have never found one that is worth eating. I whipped up a quick double batch of poor man’s frosting. I filled up my pastry bag and squirted some frosting into the cupcakes and then smeared some frosting on top. As always, two dozen cupcakes were gone in about 30 minutes. Everyone raved about them; honestly I don’t think it is the cake mix as much as the homemade frosting squirted into the cupcakes.
I can’t say that I could identify any difference between the variety of chocolate cake mixes out there. They are all virtually foolproof, take the same amount of effort to make, clean-up and cook. To me, all chocolate cake mixes have the same minimal chocolate flavor and they are never going to thrill me. I typically buy what is on sale and keep them on hand for anytime I want to whip up a quick dessert that I don’t care if I eat or not. As far as chocolate cake goes, Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake, is as good (or bad) and as easy to prepare as any other brand.
My Secret Family Recipe
My personal favorite way to prepare a box of cake mix is to make cookies with them. Here is where I find a difference in cake mixes. Hands down, Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake makes the best chocolate cookies. I have tried other brands, other versions, but there is something in this particular mix that makes delicious, chewy chocolate cookies. Like a cake, they are quick and easy to mix together:
1 egg
1 stick of softened butter
water (approximately ½ cup) to make a stiff dough.
Beat the egg slightly, add in the butter and cake mix and stir by hand. Slowly add water and beat with a mixer to form a stiff dough. Drop by rounded tablespoons (I use a cookie scoop) onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven while still slightly puffed and soft to the top. Let cool for a minute (cookies will flatten) and then move to a wire rack to cool completely. Recipe makes about 2 dozen plain cookies, a few more when I add chocolate chips, peanut butter chips or nuts.
Final Thoughts
I have no idea what makes the Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake the right cake mix for these cookies, but I will even pay the full price of almost $2 for that mix when I am going to make these cookies. I don’t really think it makes any difference for a cake or cupcakes, but for quick and easy cookies, Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil’s Food Chocolate Cake is the only way to go.
Case of twelve, 18.25-ounce packages (total of 219 ounces) Made with Hershey's Dutch cocoa, sugar, and enriched flour Delicious pudding in every mix E...More at Amazon
Case of twelve, 18.25-ounce packages (total of 219 ounces) Made with Hershey's Dutch cocoa, sugar, and enriched flour Delicious pudding in every mix E...More at Amazon Marketplace
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