Organic Fudge Brownies… From a Box

The hardest part about going off processed foods? The simplicity of baking from a box.

While strolling the isles of my local Aldi picking up this week's groceries I came across a little unassuming box of brownie mix. No big deal right? I almost kept on walking until I noticed the little green leaf in the upper left hand corner that said: Organic.

My interest was peaked, naturally. How can you have "organic" brownies… from a box? So I pulled my buggy over and checked out the ingredients label. "Organic sugar, organic wheat flour, organic cocoa, cocoa powder, organic vanilla flavor, salt, baking powder (sodium acid, pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate)." Wow, I thought, I can pronounce everything on the label and I actually know what it is!

So, for $2.99 I grabbed myself a box and hurried home to try out my "Organic Fudge Brownie Mix".

Ladies and gentlemen, they taste delicious! And why should that be surprising? After all real food is delicious, way more so than stuffing yourself on a ton of chemicals and preservatives.

Consider this a public service announcement: get yourself to Aldi and buy a box of organic brownie mix. Your tastebuds can thank me later.

Chocolate - Chocolate Chip - Caramel Cake

If you have ever had my chocolate cake, then get ready for something even more amazingly delicious (yes, it actually is possible!). Years ago my mother-in-law introduced me to poke cakes. It turns an ordinary boxed cake into a gooey mess of cake goodness. Typically I bake a chocolate cake in a 9x13 pan, use a fork to poke holes all over it and cover it in icing. It's simple and for some reason so much better than just regular chocolate cake. So when I came across this recipe on Pinterest for a chocolate poke cake with added chocolate chips and caramel, naturally I couldn't resist!

Chocolate Chip-Caramel Poke Cake

Ingredients:
1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist Devil's Food Cake mix
 11/3 cups buttermilk (I'm not a buttermilk fan and didn't feel like buying an entire carton just to throw the rest of it out, so naturally I just used the 2% that I had on hand)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
12oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup caramel topping (I used Smuckers caramel ice cream topping)
1/2 cup Betty Crocker Rich and Creamy vanilla frosting

Cooking Directions:
1. In a large bowl mix together cake mix, milk, eggs and oil with an electric mixer for 30 seconds at low speed and then on medium speed for 2 minutes.

2. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips into and gently press into batter. Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes until done.

3. Cool for 30 minutes. Using a fork poke holes all over cake. Pour caramel topping all over cake and allow to seep into holes. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

4. Microwave icing for about 30 seconds and stir until very soft. Spoon into a 1 quart resealable food bag. Cut the tip off one corner and drizzle all over cake.

(photo credit: Betty Crocker)

(As amazing as this combination is, next time I'm going to try milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet. The semi-sweet is just a little too bitter for my taste.)

Cut yourself a nice big piece, microwave it for about 10 seconds and top with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice-cream and you have heaven in a bowl!

Make it and devour it. Trust me, you're going to love it (unless you are one of those crazy people that doesn't believe in eating chocolate. how do you people even exist?!).

Strawberry Cake - Almost Made from Scratch

One of the hub's favorite desserts is strawberry cake. Plain box cakes just taste, well, too plain. My sister-in-law make a delicious Paula Dean version which requires lots of butter and lots of time. So thank you to Pinterest I found a recipe for a strawberry cake made from a box cake that requires a little more work than mixing and placing in the oven, but requires a lot less time and ingredients than Paula's version.


"Fresh Strawberry Cake With Cream Cheese Icing" from SouthernPlate.com (the website has great step-by-step directions with pictures!)


Ingredients
1 box plain white cake (I went with the 98cent Pillsbury one)
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 3oz package strawberry gelatin mix
3 eggs
8oz cream cheese at room temperature (icing)
4 tablespoons margarine at room temperature (icing)
3 cups confectioners sugar (icing)


Directions
1. Grease and flower two 8in round baking pans or one 9x13in pan. In a large ziplock bag mash the strawberries and set aside.
2. Beat together cake mix, milk, vegetable oil, eggs and gelatin mix in an electric mixer until smooth. Add in strawberries and juice and mix until well blended. Pour into baking pans and bake in oven at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
3. Allow cake(s) to cool. Mix icing ingredients together with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Ice cake and store in refrigerator.


So, confesion. This might have been slightly on the fiasco side. First, I didn't have cake round cake pans (how do I not own cake pans!). But I wanted to have a 2 layer cake so in an effort to improvise for my lack of a cake pans I baked my cake in a 9x13in pan. Once the cake cooled I transferred it to a cooling rack and cut it in the middle creating two rectangle cakes.

The cakes weren't quite ideal. They weren't perfectly level or even. But, once it's in your mouth does it really matter so much what it looks like on the plate? Haha, of course it does.


In spite of the looks, it tasted pretty yummy. Not quite as delicious as Paula Dean's, but way better than a boring ol' out of the box cake without too much extra effort. Oh and the homemade icing definitely beat store bought!