Make Boxed Cake Better

I generally like to bake entirely from scratch but there are some occasions when it isn't feasible (generally because of time) and, frankly, it isn't always practical. This week, for example, I saw an ad on craigslist for a local flea market in my area and, after contacting the coordinator, I found that they were in need of a "cupcake lady" for this week's market. I'm always looking for ways to get my name out there and to deliver delicious treats to hungry people, so this sounded like a great opportunity! I didn't know much about the area or the market... and it's been a pretty busy week for me... so I didn't want to invest a ton of time and money in making absolutely everything from scratch in case it didn't pan out. 

Anyway, I whipped together some chocolate-covered cookie dough and some fried cookie dough (I love me some cookie dough) as well as some blueberry sugar cookie tarts (look for the recipe in my next post!) from scratch but, to fill out my arsenal I enlisted the help of my old pal Duncan Hines. Even though I didn't end up making the cupcakes entirely from scratch, I did doctor up the batter a bit to make them taste a little more homemade and to make them look spectacular... these are the two variations I ended up with: oreo chocolate cupcakes with oreo creme icing and boston cream cakes with chocolate pudding icing.

To make the oreo chocolate cupcakes, I started with a box of german chocolate cake I've had in the cupboard for a while and added about 2 tablespoons of melted butter and a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract to the batter to make it nice and fluffy and to give it that homemade taste. I also crushed up 8 or 10 oreos and threw those in before I popped the cupcakes in the oven. To make the oreo creme icing, I started with a standard buttercream icing recipe and added about 10 oreos to it. Here's the kicker, though... I separated the cookies and the icing from the oreos (double stuf) so the icing would get plenty of the oreo creme flavor as well as the texture of the oreo bits. Let me tell you, that icing is dangerously good...

For the second variation I started with a standard yellow cake mix and, again, added melted butter and vanilla. Earlier this week I had whipped up a batch of pastry cream from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes cookbook, not really knowing what I was going to use it for. Since I had the yellow cake, though, I decided it would be fun to try a variation on boston cream pie. So, after baking the cupcakes, I scooped out the middle and filled them with pastry cream (the kind of yellowish cream you'd find in the middle of cream-filled doughnuts and, of course, in boston cream pie). To top it off, I made some chocolate buttercream icing. I really wanted it to be creamy and chocolatey though, so I peeked in the fridge, hoping to find some chocolate syrup. Well, I didn't find any syrup but I did find a couple of chocolate pudding cups so I threw that into the frosting and whipped it up. Again.... dangerously good.

The moral of this story is that you can make some pretty fantastic desserts in a limited time frame (and on a low budget - cake mix is usually under $2 a box). By adding some melted butter and vanilla extract to the standard batter, you can give your cake a little bit of homemade flavor, then you can doctor it up with other ingredients to make it really spectacular. Next I'd like to try swirling in some fudge (or maybe cheesecake!)... you could also do different variations on candy bars by adding peanut butter to the batter and the frosting for Reese's cupcakes or filling chocolate cupcakes with caramel and topping it with fudge frosting and peanuts as an homage to the Snickers bar. The options are endless, really... what are your ideas? I'd love to hear what you've tried.

Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging... here are the recipes for the wickedly tasty icing I used.

Oreo Creme Icing:

2 sticks butter, softened (not melted!)
4 cups confectioner's sugar
3 T milk
1 1/2 - 2 t vanilla extract
10 Oreo cookies (double stuf)

1. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth then beat in the confectioner's sugar a cup at a time. 
2. Add the milk and blend until smooth then stir in the vanilla.
3. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
4. Separate the creme from the oreo cookies and add it to the frosting. Crush the cookies and throw them in as well.
5. Beat to combine, about 1 minute. 

Chocolate Pudding Buttercream Icing: 


1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
2 t vanilla extract
2 individual chocolate pudding cups

1. Cream the butter on medium speed until smooth.
2. Sift together the confectioner's sugar and the cocoa then beat it into the butter in small batches.
3. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Beat on medium-high speed for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chocolate pudding and beat 1 minute more.