Super Easy Cake

The Princess loves to bake with me, and I love spending time in the kitchen with her. Her favorite things to make are cupcakes. She usually requests pink and purple flavored, so I do my best to accommodate her :). Our biggest problem with baking together is her desire to eat the cake batter and my desire to keep her out of the hospital with salmonella poisoning. I'm just such a controlling mom. I know. So when I came across a recipe on hungrygirl.com for cakes made without eggs and using only cake mix and canned pumpkin I was so excited to try it. They were really good and had a fudgey muffin type texture. We have been making them for years. Recently she posted several two ingredient cakes that sounded interesting, so I'm going to try them out here.
The first combination is cake mix and no sugar added applesauce. The site suggested yellow cake mix, so I went with that. I used Betty Crocker, as usual, because of the pudding in the mix. I have no idea why that matters, but I feel like it has to be better.

I mean, I've never heard anyone complain about pudding...

Anyway, simply combine cake mix, 1 cup applesauce, and one cup water and whisk to combine. Bake according to box directions in a 350 degree oven. I made cupcakes and an 8" cake in order to test both.

The batter looked like regular batter and mixed up very easily. The finished product was springy and light and very moist (Ugh, that word! Hate it. Is there another word I could use here? Seriously, send me suggestions. I've got three or four more cakes to try, and I can't keep typing it). They smelled wonderful when they came out of the oven.

As far as taste goes, these were really good. Knowing that there was applesauce in the batter made it hard to ignore the slight fruity apple flavor, but I don't think anyone else would be able to tell. My husband thought they could definitely be used in place of a yellow cake. He said that they tasted more homemade than a box mix. Not a bad thing. Also, even without frosting on them, you would never know that they were so much healthier for you. The Princess thought they were "super yummy". The texture was also great.
While I was mixing the batter it smelled so sweet that it made me think of frostings and glazes, so I made a quick one with applesauce and powdered sugar with great results. After letting the cake and cupcakes cool slightly, I spooned it over the desserts.

This combination was a success.

Very very good, easy, and so much better for you!

Also, no salmonella.

Winner.

Bryn

They Taste like Rainbows and Unicorns

It's funny how your perspective on things can change when you become a mom. Rainy days used to mean sleeping in late and reading a good book or watching a movie. Cupcakes used to be an easy treat for my husband to take to work for potlucks. Now, rainy days mean a bored 4 yr old, and cupcakes are the solution.

I've seen these rainbow cakes and cupcakes on pinterest and on various blogs. They are so pretty and I knew The Princess would adore them. She's pretty much in love with rainbows right now. This Rainbow in My Room light makes her beyond happy. (http://store.discovery.com/discovery-rainbow-in-my-room/detail.php?p=86190) Anyway, despite various posts claiming they were simple, I figured they would be way too involved for us to prepare successfully. The Princess loves mixing colors, but tends to go a bit overboard. Pretty much, I assumed the cupcakes would be brown. Fine for chocolate cake...not so much for a child expecting magic.

Last week it was raining, and she was bored. Plus, rain always brings the "will there be a rainbow?" question. And then, my husband who was away on business sent us a picture of a rainbow from his hotel room out of the blue. All signs were pointing to Rainbow cupcakes. Who am I to refuse? It was on.
She was super excited when we found a picture of the finished cupcakes online. I think there was a squeal involved. Maybe some hand clapping.

The ingredients were simple. Cake mix, and the ingredients called for to prepare ( mine called for butter, eggs, water), food coloring, and frosting of your choice. I think the colors would have been even more vibrant if I had used white cake mix, but we only had yellow on hand.

Mix up according to box directions and then separate batter into several bowls depending on how many colors you would like to use. Add food coloring to each bowl to achieve desired color. Online there are various methods for spooning batter into cupcake liners and I have seen cupcakes and cakes with perfectly proportioned stripes. I'm certain they did not prepare their lovely desserts with a 4 yr old. The Princess is more of a free form artist, so we took turns spooning dollops or "gollups" to create a marbled effect. Bake according to box instructions. We made 12 cupcakes and then used the remainder to make a cake. Really, more of a cake layer...so thin it baked in about 8 minutes.

While they were baking she wondered what they would taste like and asked if we could pretend the sprinkles were fairy dust. I let her decorate the "cake" herself because I was just dying to clean up a mess. This cake is ready to fly right out of the kitchen because she upended the whole jar of "fairy dust" on top.

Pretty.

I am so glad we made these. They were simple and fun and perfect for a rainy day. We ended up creating a tye dye cupcake, but apparently they retained their rainbow magic. When I asked her what they tasted like she said "rainbows and unicorns." Priceless.

One suggestion though...make sure you throw out the wrappers before your kids see them!!! Mine was determined to save them and I am so happy I caught her in the hoarding act. Gross. But I get it, they really are kinda pretty.

Bryn