Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Boxed Cake Mix Magic

I absolutely LOVE to bake!!

There is just something so satisfying about bringing over a beautiful cake or dessert to a family dinner, having everyone swoon over it, then remark that it tastes as good as it looks.  It brings me such joy and turns my domestic needs up a notch every time.

I usually love to bake from scratch, rarely using boxed cake mixes at all.  However, these days leave little time for that kind of baking, but I still have that need to make and bake something pretty.  

About a year or so ago, I was having some ladies over and I knew I wanted to serve them something pretty and sweet, but no time to make it between cleaning and making other snacks.  And buying some pre-made cookies at the store would have just killed me.  Thankfully, I am a Pampered Chef consultant which has allowed me to stock my kitchen with neat gadgets and pans that help make cooking easier and prettier.  

So I pulled out one of my favorite products (who am I kidding? Everything in the catalog is my "favorite" product.), my Silicone Crown Cake Pan.
And bought a box of Butter Golden Cake mix, some rum extract, some confectioner's sugar, and a pint of fresh Louisiana strawberries.


I made the cake mix according to the directions on the box; however, I added about a tablespoon of rum extract to the mix and blended it in.  **You can use more rum extract if you like...  it's all according to preference.**  Then I coated my Silicone Crown pan in Baker's Joy and baked my cake according to the directions for a bundt pan on the back of the box.

While my cake was baking, I washed my beautiful strawberries and let them drip dry.


As my cake was cooling, I cored and chopped up my strawberries.  **I kept my strawberries chunky for my own personal taste, but if you prefer slices, try using your egg slicer for pretty strawberry slices.**

After my cake had cooled about 10-15 minutes, I turned it over on a pretty platter.  I put all my chopped strawberries around the cake and in the center.

Now, I love to bake, but I'm not the biggest fan of sweets.  So cake icing is always too much for me, so I wanted a different option.  Besides, this recipe is supposed to be super easy and trying to frost a cake and keep it pretty is not always that easy for me.  So I decided to sprinkle the cake with confectioner's sugar instead.  This task is the easiest part, thanks to another one of my "favorite" Pampered Chef Products; my Flour/Sugar Shaker.

Once the cake is dusted with the confectioner's sugar, it's beautiful and ready to serve!


I had my reservations about doing a post about a boxed cake mix, but I just had to share this simple treat with you.  You see, everyone absolutely LOVES this cake.  I've already made it several times this spring since strawberries have been in season here, and I've never come home with left over cake.  I even love it because the butter rum cake with the strawberries just seem to compliment each other so well!  

Let me know if you try it and how you like it!

Happy Spring,
Angel






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5 comments:

  1. This looks absolutely delicious! I purchased a Gugelhopf while in Germany and now see a recipe I can use with it - thank you!

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  2. There is nothing wrong with a quick and easy fix! Sometimes you just need a break. not to mention this looks great!

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  3. holy moly this looks wonderful.

    i love strawberries. angel, this truly looks like a work of art.

    i hope you are well, sweet girl! take care of yourself & that red haired little boy - whom i could just eat up in every picture!

    have a lovely week!

    xo
    kellie

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  4. I am totally going to have to buy one of those pans & make that!!! Looks delicious & i usually like to bake from scratch too but who has time for that all the time?! I have the sugar shaker, Jaimie got it for me as a wedding gift b/c i was always borrowing hers! HAHA. :)

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