Make Your Own Easy Bake Oven Mixes Tutorial

My niece loves her easy bake oven, but she uses up the mixes like lightening.  The refills are pricey.  Usually you get 1 yellow cake and 1 chocolate cake plus 2 frosting mixes for about $6.00. 

There is a really easy way to make the cakes without costing a fortune.  It's very simple.  The mixes are basically 2 tablespoons of cake mix, any cake mix.  For birthdays and stocking stuffers, I packaged up a bunch of the mixes in plastic ramekins (available a Gordon's Food Service). Then, I slipped them into a tulle bag.  To make the tulle bags, you just use the tulle by the spool (it's like a $1 for 100 yards or something like that).  You fold it in 1/2 and make an overcast zigzag (see tutorial on this blog) to fasten the sides.  You could also straight stitch the sides and then turn the bag RIGHT sides out. 

Then I add a little custom label with the directions on it.  You can see those above.  Oil makes a cookie and milk makes a cake. 

The great thing about this is that you can either make your own cake mix (minus the wet ingredients) or you can just use your favorite premade mix (which is what I did here).  If you don't want to get ramekins, you can use sandwich bags and make a fold over label that you staple on.  I did that the first time.  All of the mixes were names after my niece - Belle's Famous Sprinkle Cookie, etc.  If they are just for your own kid to use at home, just buy a jar and keep the mix and a tablespoon in the jar and let them scoop and mix their own mix.    

Apple Pie Cupcakes

Let's begin on the couch where I sit and have a ritual morning cup of coffee while reading some kind of cookbook or craft book. The one time I choose to be completely unaware of the growing mess my children are making throughout the house. Why a person would put their pajamas in the hamper is beyond me; they look much nicer on the dining room floor. And my children agree. There it's settled then. We'll all be careless for this ten minute cup of coffee... so that I can THINK!!! And these Apple Pie Cupcakes are what I thought about. I had seen different versions of this idea around the Internet. After combining different components from some of the recipes that are out there I came up with my own. I made these for my mother in law's birthday dinner and let me just say, everyone had seconds. Yes!! Success. You must try them.There are three different levels of flavor in each bite. A spicy moist cake bottom layer. A sweet and tart apple pie center. Finished with a sweet caramel butter cream. So good...TRY THEM!

To bake the cake you'll need:

 Spice cake mix or use your favorite recipe

Ingredients to bake cake

Small box butterscotch pudding mix

Cupcake liners

 Cupcake pans

To make the Apple Pie Filling:

4 tbsp. butter

4 tsp. cinnamon

6 tbsp. sugar

6 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

To make the Caramel Butter Cream:

1 Stick Butter, softened

1/2 C Shortening

2 tsp. Good quality vanilla

16 oz. Powdered sugar

2-4 Tbsp. Heavy cream

1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping or favorite recipe 

Now preheat your oven to the cake recipes specifications. I always bake cakes at 325.

I used a box mix to make my cupcakes. It was super simple. I followed the box direction but added my butterscotch pudding mix to the dry cake mix before I started. I generously filled my lined cupcake tins with cake batter and baked as directed.

Then I made my pie filling.

Heat your butter in a medium skillet. Add the cinnamon and sugar and cook for 1 minute. Next, add the apples and mix to evenly coat each apple. Cook for about 10 minutes. Let this cool while you prepare the cupcakes.

I just cut all the way around the top of the cupcake at an angle to take out a pyramid shaped piece of cake. Just eat those.. no one will know:) 

Next fill each cupcake with equal portions of filling. Don't be stingy with the juices.

Now for that delicious caramel butter cream.

In stand mixer or with hand held mixer, cream your butter, shortening, and vanilla together until smooth. Then alternate sifting in powdered sugar and cream until all of the powdered sugar is gone and you have the right consistency for piping. Pipe a generous amount of frosting on top of each cupcake.

And Voila! The Best Cupcakes Ever!!

Hamburger Cake DIY Tutorial

Clearly, I am no pastry chef, but this cake actually is really easy to make and quick and was well loved by my 18-year-old brother for his birthday. 

To start, I used boxed mixes.  What can I say, I was totally exhausted yesterday.  The "bun" is 1 box of yellow cake baked into 2 8" round pans.  The secret is to fill one pan (for the top bun) more than you fill the other pan.  That gives the top a more rounded look.  The burger is a brownie mix baked into a 9" round.  I did a 9" round so that it would hand over the bun a little. 

Once the cakes are baked and cooled, then you want to frost the bottom cake.  I actually used premade frosting (which I NEVER use - but I forgot to get powdered sugar so I had no choice).  To get the bun color, I mixed a little orange and a tiny bit of green.  Then, I frosted the sides and top of the bottom bun.  Then, I layered on the burger and frosted the brownie with chocolate frosting.  I frosted it in a very lumpy way to make it look more like meat. 

For the lettuce, tomato, and onions I made marshmallow fondant.

For the marshmallow fondant the recipe is 1 package marshmallows, 1 bag of powdered sugar, and 3-4 tbsp water.  Microwave the marshmallows and water for about 2 minutes (until they puff up and start to melt).  (ps you only need a 1/2 batch for this - but kids love this stuff, so I make a full batch and let Kamille go crazy playing with it.  I keeps her busy while I make the cake.)

Then, I put the marshmallows and most of the bag of sugar into a greased bowl in my stand mixer with the bread dough hook on it.  You can hand knead this stuff, but it is a sticky mess and takes a long time.  If you have a stand mixer, use it. 

Word to the wise, cover your mixer with a kitchen towel before you turn it on to avoid having a spray of sugar all over your kitchen, 

Knead the mixture in the stand mixer until it forms a soft, elastic dough.  It should not be sticky to the touch.  You may need to add more sugar or more water depending on humidity and the marshmallows you use. 

When the fondant is kneaded and no longer sticky, you should have a really pliable dough, almost like gum paste.  One little thing I learned is that unlike fondant, you should not roll this out on a powdered surface.  Grease your cutting board (plastic or glass) or your counter top and roll it out on a greased surface.  This will give you the most pliability without drying out the fondant.  I used a circle cutter to make some tomatoes and onions.  Then, I painted the tomatoes red (it is easier than dying the fondant) and I also made lettuce.  I rolled it out very thin and then stretched the ends to make a wavy leaf.  Someone - I'm not going to name names, has my fondant tools so I had to get creative in making these leaves. 

After you get your lettuce, tomato, and onions on the burger, you want to put on the top bun.  Then you frost it.  I piped brown piping gel onto the top bun and rubbed it around to give the bun a baked look.  Then, I piped on seeds in white with the small round writing tip.  Then, the final step is to pipe on ketchup and mustard with colored frosting.  This can help cover up gaps and cracks too. 

All in all it was a pretty fun birthday cake.  I think that the whole project probably costs about $12.00 (given that you have food coloring).  Fondant is $3.00 to make, Cake Mix $1.50, Brownie Mix $2.00, 2 cans of frosting $4.00 - eggs, oil, etc.  That is cheaper than a cake from Costco.  This was giant and could easily serve 30 people.  It's 3 layers so you only need a thin slice.  You could even go big mac style and add 2 more layers for a huge cake.