cake mix recipes – Makin' it Mo'Betta

Toffee Brownies {4 Ingredients!}

Kim

I love quick and easy recipes and this one satisfies a chocolate craving with just 4 ingredients. It’s a take on one of my blog’s most popular recipes, Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake but uses one of my favorite candies…Heath!

I’ve shared the recipe for these deliciously easy Toffee Brownies over at , where I am a contributing writer. I’d love for you to head over and check it out!

Oreo Cake with Oreo Whipped Cream Frosting

Kim

I guess it’s Cake Week on the blog! I have almost always made my kids’ birthday cakes. My mom always made mine (and my siblings’…I would always choose chocolate cake with chocolate icing and my brother would want strawberry cake with chocolate icing and I would get mad. I hated strawberry cake! #itsallaboutme) Now that my girls are getting older, they like to go on Pinterest and find cakes that generally go beyond the “chocolate or vanilla – or strawberry“. I’m sure one day soon their requests will exceed my skill level, but for now, it’s pretty fun!

My oldest chose this Oreo Cake for her birthday this year. Somehow, I have a 14 year old. I’m not sure how this happened. Why does time speed up once you have children? (Unless they have a stomach virus in the middle of the night. Time slows WAY down then.)

The cake has Oreo cookies in the cake itself, Oreos in the icing, and then I added some mini Oreos on top. Both layers had Oreos baked right in, and I loved the flavor and crunch of the baked Oreos.

The only negative is that the whole Oreos made the cake a little difficult to slice. Next time I may use mini Oreos instead.

Oreo Cake with Oreo Whipped Cream Frosting

1 box chocolate cake mix (without pudding in the mix)
1 box (4 serving size) instant chocolate pudding mix (I used Hershey’s)
1 cup sour cream (can also use plain yogurt)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs, room temp
1/2 cup coffee (room temp or slightly warm, not hot – leftover coffee is fine; can sub with water)
1 package Oreo Cookies, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, and coffee.
Add in eggs, one at a time, stirring until just combined. Scrape down sides.
Beat mixture on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Spray two cake pans with cooking spray, and line bottom of each pan with desired number of Oreo cookies. I used 11 whole cookies in each pan, but could have squeezed in a couple more!
Pour cake batter over cookies in prepared pans.
Bake for suggested time on back of cake mix box, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

Oreo Whipped Cream Frosting

1 quart Heavy Whipping Cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

12 Oreo Cookies (crushed with a rolling pin or pulsed in food processor until crushed in large crumbs. Do not over process.)

small “grab bag” mini Oreos (optional)

Place mixing bowl and mixer attachment in freezer for 10-15 minutes to chill.
After chilling, add cream to bowl and mix on medium speed until it starts to thicken.
Add vanilla and sugar, and beat until mixture is to desired thickness and forms stiff peaks.
Fold in cookies. Keep refrigerated until ready to frost cake.

To Assemble:

Place one layer of cake on a plate. I would recommend Oreo side down on bottom layer, and up for top layer. Having the cookies in the middle made it a little more difficult to slice. Frost entire cake and keep chilled until ready to serve. If desired, add mini Oreo cookies on top for decoration.

This cake was inspired by , , Makin’ it Mo’Betta

This Oreo Cake with Whipped Cream Frosting was featured at:

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Lemon Supreme Pound Cake {starts with a mix}

Kim

This recipe is kickin’ it old school. It came out on the package of Duncan Hines cake mix back in the 70’s (according to it was 1978.) I was a mere babe back then and not yet baking, but I have been using a variation of it for years. I usually make a chocolate version (because I am a chocolate freak), but lemon/citrus cakes just scream SPRING and are quickly becoming a favorite as well. But if I’m being honest, have I met a cake I didn’t like? Probably not.

This was perfect for Easter, and forgot to include it in my last post. We have had an abundance of cakes going on around here! I do love a bundt cake. I’m not sure why!

And, just 4 ingredients + water…how convenient is that?

The version I usually makes also has a cup of sour cream (or yogurt). I didn’t think to add it to this one, but I think it would have made it even more moist and dense, like a traditional pound cake. Even so, it was delicious as is, and was really tasty with fresh strawberries and whipped cream!

Lemon Supreme Pound Cake

1 box Lemon cake mix
1 package instant lemon pudding mix (4-serving size)
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs

Glaze (optional)
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice (can also use milk, cream, half-and-half)
zest of lemon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan (I used the Baker’s Cooking Spray), set aside.
Add cake mix and pudding mix to a large mixing bowl. Add water, oil and eggs. Stir until combined.
Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour cake mix into prepared pan. Tap pan on counter a couple of times to remove any air bubbles.
Bake for 40-50 minutes; cake is done when lightly browned and center springs back when gently pressed. Cool in pan for 20 minutes.
While cake is cooling, make glaze (if desired) by combing confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Slowly add in additional juice/liquid until desired consistency is reached. Mine ended up a little thinner than I would have liked, and could have been thickened up with more sugar, but I just left it as is. I also added the zest of a lemon to my glaze for extra lemon flavor.
Invert cake onto plate and drizzle with glaze.

Recipe Sources: and

Another great recipe that begins with lemon cake mix –

Lemon ‘Brownies’

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Quick and Easy Lemon Brownies {3 ingredients}

Kim

Summer may be coming to an end, but we can hang on for just a little bit longer with these quick and easy and deliciously lemon-y (totally a word, right?) brownies. With just 3 ingredients, you can have these lemon brownies, and add a couple more ingredients to make the simple glaze that really takes them to the next level.

These brownies are an adaptation of my Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake. I had every intention of making the chocolate version, when I realized I had lemon cake mix in the cabinet. I decided to try a lemon version, and was very pleasantly surprised.

The glaze is made of confectioners sugar, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest. It tastes fresh and fabulous.

Quick and Easy Lemon Brownies

1 box lemon cake mix

1 box vanilla instant pudding (small box) *lemon would probably be even better!

1 1/2 cups milk

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners sugar (or more if you want more glaze)

zest of one lemon

lemon juice – enough to reach desired glaze consistency

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick cooking spray
whisk together pudding mix and milk in large mixing bowl
add dry cake mix to pudding mixture, stir until combined
spread mix into pan *Batter will be very thick
bake for approx 30 mins or until center is done and edges are lightly browned
if using glaze – combine sugar, zest and lemon juice; pour over warm cake

The longer the brownies sit, the more the glaze soaks in – just depends on how you like them! You could also skip the glaze and dust the cooled brownies with powdered sugar. The fresh lemon juice and zest in the glaze gives them a really bright, lemon flavor however.

Now I’m thinking of all kinds of variations 🙂

This recipe was featured at:

and at !

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3-2-1 Skinny Mug Cake

Kim

Many of you may have seen this before…I’ve seen it several times on various blogs. I first tried this out about a year ago, and I have no idea why I haven’t written about it before.

I think it’s because I can never get a good picture…mug cakes are generally ugly. I’m also usually in a hurry to stuff something sweet in my face if I am making a cake in a coffee cup in the microwave! You know, desperate times and all.

I can’t say that I love these cakes, or that they are anything gourmet, but I can say that when you are craving something sweet in a hurry, and do not want to totally bust the calorie bank, these fit the bill. I really like them for the convenience…my children love to make them, and my girls can make them by themselves. That way, when they want a sweet treat, and I don’t want the temptation staring me in the face, they can go make themselves a cake. They are satisfied, and there are no leftovers sitting on the counter torturing me with their existence.

(See…the photos aren’t very good. Gotta work on that I suppose…which you know, means making more cakes!) My kids have had a good time coming up with variations…adding hot fudge (pictured, which is why it looks so gooey), peanut butter, nutella, etc.

The “skinny” part comes in because they are low in fat..you are combining a pack of regular cake mix (any flavor) with a box of angel food cake mix…that’s it! Store the combined dry mix in a container or plastic bag and use “as needed”…which is often in my house. It gets the name 3-2-1 because you need 3 T. of mix, 2 T. of water, and 1 minute in the microwave. Super fast, super easy.

3-2-1 Skinny Mug Cake

1 box of cake mix (favorite brand and flavor)

1 box of angel food cake mix

Combine 2 cake mixes in a large container or gallon size bag. When you want a cake, get a coffee mug or microwave safe bowl, add 3 Tablespoons of cake mix, 2 Tablespoons of water. Stir until just combined. (Can also add in a tablespoon of hot fudge sauce, peanut butter, chocolate chips, etc.) Microwave for 1 minute. Add cool whip or frosting if desired.

*The best I could calculate, the mug cakes were approximately 4 Weight Watchers Point Plus points without any additional add-ins.

Do you have any single serving treats that you enjoy? Feel free to leave links or a recipe!

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Citrus Blueberry Loaf with Meyer Lemon Glaze {quick and easy version!}

Kim

Krusteaz provided me with complimentary product to help facilitate this post. No other compensation was received. All opinions are my own.

I don’t know about where you are, but Spring was here. It was awesome! And then it left….but hopefully by the weekend it will be back. (Fingers crossed!) The warmer temperatures and amazing sunshine really put me in the mood for everything citrus! Lemon, lime, orange…you name it, and I’ve probably pinned it in the past couple of weeks. The only problem with having a huge list of things on my “to bake” list is finding the time to actually make them. The kids have had sports, then they got sick with all the pollen and stuff floating around, my little guy’s asthma acted up…the list goes on. SO, enter the quick and easy recipes that I love so much – like this one!

This bread starts with a mix and has a hint of citrus from lemon and orange zest. Then it is topped with a glaze made with Meyer lemons that really gives it a pop of sweet lemon flavor that makes your taste buds do a happy dance!

Glaze is good. Am I right, or am I right?

Look at that gorgeous color! Mother Nature may not be screamin’ spring where you are, but this is! It gets the rich yellow color from the eggs, and I used farm fresh eggs (for the first time ever) and was amazed at their vibrant color. If you follow me on you probably saw a pic.

Citrus Blueberry Loaf with Meyer Lemon Glaze

1 package Krusteaz Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix (you will need the pouch of mix and the can of blueberries that comes in the box)
1/3 cup water*
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (I used the zest of one orange and one Meyer lemon)

*I used the juice of my orange, plus enough water to equal 1/3 cup

Meyer Lemon Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar
approx 1 T. Meyer lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease or spray an 8″ loaf pan with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, blend together the muffin mix, water, oil, eggs and zest.
Drain and rinse blueberries and gently fold into batter.
Pour batter into loaf pan and bake 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then place on wire rack.

Glaze – Mix powdered sugar and enough lemon juice to reach desired consistency. Pour over warm cake.

Recipe adapted from

The only thing I would do different is to add some additional fresh or frozen blueberries. You could also skip the glaze or use orange juice in the place of the lemon juice. For more quick and easy recipe ideas, check out the website. They have several recipes using their mixes as a base, which is pretty darn convenient. They even have a special section for ! Next on my list… made with their Country White Bread mix. My kids looovvveee cinnamon rolls!

Cake Mix Cookie Bars {4 ingredients}

Kim

I know I’ve shared cake mix cookie bars on the blog before, but this recipe is even easier! Just a few ingredients, and a little oven time and you can have an entire pan of chewy, yummy cookies. I mean, your kids can have a pan. Because I made it for them. Seriously. It wasn’t my insane PMS-induced chocolate cravings that prompted me to make an entire 9 x 13 pan of cookies. *ahem* Moving on –

Mr. Three requested M&M’s on the cookies. I’m cool with that. There is just something about that candy that screams happy. If I could leave jars of them around the house, just for decoration I would. However, they wouldn’t last a microsecond in my house. We have chocolate issues.

I like this recipe because it calls for a lot less oil than other recipes I’ve seen, and as you can see, this is a dense cookie texture, not a fluffy cake-like texture. And they are super fast and easy to throw together. This is probably not a good thing for my waistline. I mean really, a whole pan of cookies in less than 30 minutes?! Dangerous.

Cake Mix Cookie Bars

1 box cake mix (any flavor, I used chocolate fudge)

2 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 1/2 cups mix-ins (I used M&M’s and chocolate chips)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray.
Mix together first 3 ingredients in a medium size bowl until dough comes together in a thick dough (it will be like cookie dough, not like cake batter)
Stir in your preferred mix-ins.
Press dough into prepared pan and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Allow to cool (I’m kidding…of course you are going to dive right in to hot cookies! But just in case you are making them to take somewhere, let them cool before cutting into bars!)

Recipe source:

There is no wonder I have a stock pile of various candies, chocolate chips and cake mixes. You just never know when a cookie emergency will strike. Gotta be prepared 😉

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Reese’s Peanut Butter ‘Better than Football’ Cake

Kim

Okay, it’s not really called ‘Better than Football’ Cake. It’s really called Better than S-e-x Cake. Why? I’m not sure. Is it good? Oh yeah. Is it better than you-know-what? We won’t go there.

There is lots of talk about football food right now in preparation for the “big game”. However, as yummy as Buffalo Chicken Dip is….you gotta have dessert. Let me repeat – You GOTTA have dessert! And this one is a winner.

If you are a fan of peanut butter and chocolate, then you should love this cake. My daughter chose this as her birthday cake this year. We knew it would be hard to top last year’s Kit Kat cake, but she really wanted to give it a shot! (Which, by the way, the Kit Kat cake would be a fun treat for the Super Bowl as well…especially made with team colors.)

Reese’s Peanut Butter Better Than Sex Cake

Prepared chocolate cake (baked in a 9×13 pan)
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (regular, low fat or fat free)
1 jar hot fudge sauce (11-14 oz, depending on brand used)
1/4 cup peanut butter + 3 Tablespoons (divided)
1 container of or 8 oz Cool Whip
8 oz bag Reese’s Minis, chopped
10 oz bag Reese’s Pieces Candy

*After preparing your favorite chocolate cake, cool completely.

*Once cool, poke holes evenly over the cake. The end of a wooden spoon is good for this. I space mine about 2 inches apart.

*Pour the can of sweetened condensed milk evenly over top of the cake.
*Mix the hot fudge sauce and 1/4 cup peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir until well blended then evenly spread over the cake.

*Mix together the remaining 3 Tablespoons of peanut butter with the TruWhip/Cool Whip. This can be done with a mixer or by hand. Spread over the hot fudge sauce.
*Chill cake for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

*When ready to serve, cover with the chopped Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups and the Reese’s Pieces.

Recipe Source:

Enjoy! Because it’s fabulous. I was going to say something cheesy like it’s orgasmic. You know, since it’s BTS cake and all. But that would just be silly. Only fresh baked chocolate chip cookies can do that. lol

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Huggable Christmas Cupcakes

Kim

My middle child needed a treat to take to cheerleading the other evening, so we decided to make mini cupcakes. We used this ‘souped up’ cake mix recipe, and wanted them to look festive. This is what I we came up with! I thought they turned out really cute, and they were so simple, so I thought I would share in case anyone needs something quick and easy this week. Since I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one running around like a crazy person…

The Hershey’s Hugs were the perfect size for the mini cupcakes, and we added Christmas sprinkles. Done and done! Miss Two got lots of compliments!

Christmas Kit Kat Cake with Eggland’s Best {GIVEAWAY}

Kim

One of my family’s favorite cakes is what is commonly referred to now as the “Kit Kat Cake” or the “Candy Cake”. I made my first one for my daughter’s 10th birthday and it was a huge success. And delicious! I have wanted to make a Christmas version and the 2013 Eggland’s Best Holiday Dessert Recipe Exchange gave me the perfect opportunity! Plus, my husband needed a cake to take to work, so I could make the cake, and pass the calories on to other people. I’m thoughtful like that 🙂

You may have seen that I often use eggs in my recipes…like this Biscuit Breakfast Casserole or these Baked Bacon and Eggs. They are my brand of choice because they have 25% less saturated fat than ordinary eggs and contain more vitamins D, E, and B12, and more nutrients like omega-3 and lutein.

And I’ve never done a side by side comparison to other brands, but look how yellow and pretty they are! (Okay, that’s not really a reason to use them, but hey, it’s an observation!)

Speaking of pretty, does anything scream the holidays like red and green?! I’ve changed the cake recipe up a bit, and from what my husband’s coworkers said…it was delicious! (and the batter was amazing)

Those spatulas work great at getting every last bit of batter out of the bowl. And into the cake pans. Absolutely not into my mouth. *ahem*

Chocolate Vanilla Christmas Cake

1 package devil’s food cake mix (without pudding in the mix)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding mix (sugar free/fat free is fine)
1 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup canola oil
4 Eggland’s Best eggs, beaten
1/2 cup coffee

1/2-1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

For decorating –

frosting of choice

10 regular size Kit Kat bars

Red and Green M and M’s (regular and mini’s)

*any candy you like…I think the peanut butter M and M’s or the Mint would be really good too!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake and pudding mixes, yogurt, oil, beaten eggs and coffee.
Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into two greased and floured cake pans. (or pan of choice)
Bake for suggested time on back of cake mix box for the size pan you are using, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Allow cake to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto cooling rack to cool completely before icing.

Once the layers are cooled, ice with desired icing. I like to use chocolate, so that you do not get a different color peeking through the Kit Kat bars, but use what you like. For this particular cake, I used Hershey’s Special Dark canned frosting, (however, I’ve since discovered this frosting and it is amazing.) After frosting the cake, place Kit Kat sticks all around the outside of the cake. It works best to break the bars into doubles or triple sticks instead of using singles. The bars will stick to the frosting, and you can place a ribbon around the outside to reinforce the bars and just ensure they don’t fall. I haven’t had this happen, but it could if your icing started to melt. Once the Kit Kat bars are in place, pour your candy over the top, lightly pressing down. I like to use regular M&M’s and mini’s to fill in any gaps. SO MUCH CHOCOLATE, but OH SO GOOD!

{Disclaimer right here!} Eggland’s Best was oh so awesome to send me this great package of goodies (minus the 18 count carton of EB eggs. I buy those at Sam’s Club!)

GIVEAWAY INFO – They are also graciously supplying one Makin’ it Mo’Betta reader with an EB goody bag including an EB spatula, tote, whisk, bowl scraper, plush egg, and coupon for a free dozen of Eggland’s Best eggs! (shipping only available to U.S. residents). Just leave me a comment letting me know you would like to be entered into the giveaway. And if you would like to share your favorite recipe using eggs, that would be awesome too…leave it as a separate comment and you will have an extra entry into the giveaway! Giveaway ends midnight 12/18/13 EST.