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We can't ALWAYS make everything from scratch, but we shouldn't feel guilty for it! These small changes will make you feel a little more pride in your store-bought items.
A Betty Crocker Devil's Food cake mix with Pillsbury Salted Caramel icing
Boxed cake mix has a very interesting history. The idea was born during the depression, and it really is a marvelous thing! It makes cooking go buy easier and slightly less messy. Great for a busy mom! The ease of using a boxed cake mix, however, seems to make moms (and dads, I'm sure) feel guilty for using them. Just like buying store-bought anything these days, or not raising and growing your own food, or using a bread machine instead of good old-fashioned elbow grease. BUT now, afteryears of guilt for choosing ease over scratch, I prefer to look at it this way: if our ancestors had access to all of this technology, they would prefer it over needing to do everything by hand. Like my husband's granny used to say "I don't see why people complain about washing clothes; all you have to do is push a button." When you think of it that way then the things that make our lives easier don't seem so bad.
There is the issue of what is IN the food bought at the store, but that is for each family to decide if they want to eat it or not. Which brings in more guilt, because what one person snubs another will find okay. Not on opinion is better than the other; they're just different.
When you're a busy mom, however, quick and easy is sometimes best. At these times, boxed mixes are a Godsend! But if you're feeling extra judged and guilty because of making a premade cake, that's where these tips and tricks come in! With just a couple of additions and substitutions, make your task a little easier!
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#1 - The Ingredients for your cake mix
You want your cake to be rich and moist. So let's add some ingredients to make that happen!
The general tip is:
Add 1 more egg than is called for (or two if you want it to be very rich)
Use melted butter in place of oil, and double the amount
Use whole milk instead of water
Then mix and continue following the directions on the box
For my cake mix, it called for three eggs, 1 cup of water, and 1/2 cup of oil
I replaced all that with 4 eggs, 1 cup of milk, and 1 cup of melted Amish butter
I mixed it in my adorable Drew Barrymore mixer (https://amzn.to/498ExvJ), preheated my oven, and greased my two round cake pans with butter and flour. I find the butter and flour pans stick less than the pans with cooking/baking spray. And they taste better!
When the cakes come out of the oven, let them cool to room temperature, then place them in the refrigerator to cool for an hour. This will make icing the cake easier.
When they come out of the fridge, slice the tops off to level them out.
Now, mix the icing!
Tip #2 - Spicing up your Icing
There are many ways to make good icing. I've made homemade icing many times. Sometimes it's amazing, and sometimes it's disappointing. We're not focusing on the scratch stuff, though. Today, we're talking about making store-bought icing taste 10x better.
What's you'll need:
Frosting can of your choice
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
What you're gonna do:
Pour your heavy whipping cream into your mixer with the whisk attachment. Turn it up to high and whisk the whipping cream until stiff peaks form, about 5 minutes. You have whipped cream now! (Almost. With some vanilla and sugar it would be whipped cream, but I prefer not to add those when mixing with frosting)
Now you can either use a silicone spatula to mix the can of frosting into the whipped cream or use the paddle attachment of your mixer. Mix until just combined.
Now ice your cake and decorate as you wish.
That's it! That's one way you can make your boxed cake mix feel and taste even more homemade, even though it IS technically homemade.
My prayer in writing this is that maybe the reader will feel a little less guilt in doing something that's easy and quick. Sometimes life gets hectic and we're unable to spend as much time on things as we would like. There is NOTHING wrong with going the easy route sometimes. We're all at our own stages in life, and some of those may be packaged mix stages. That's okay.
We want people to know that we're able to make great things from scratch, that we're able to do all of these amazing things, and they do! No one else notices that you used a boxed cake mix, or a bread machine, or even the mixer. What they see is that you have a hundred things going on, and you were able to make this delicious and beautiful thing just for them. The church you're taking it to is grateful for your time and effort. The family member that is throwing a party but unable to make ALL the food is thankful. Your son who loves anything sweet is just happy that you made him a cake!
There should be no judgement or guilt when it comes to food! I pray one day there won't be any at all!
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