Tag: Boxed Cake Mix

Sweet Treats

Recipe—Strawberries & Cream Poke Cake

Diva di Cucina

Strawberries & Cream Poke Cake

Fourth of July is right around the corner and that means it is summer party season! I absolutely love this time of year. Days sat around the pool, getting together with friends, and the awesome party food. Burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, garlic bread… yumm! But what is a summer BBQ without an amazing summer dessert? Crap. That’s what it is. I kid! I kid! For real though, every good bbq needs a good dessert. Like this one.

Beings that strawberries are in season this makes it the perfect summer dessert. If you have never made a poke cake then this recipe is a must try. It is so easy to make! You literally just poke holes into the baked cake and all the Jello just fills in the holes and soaks into the cake. It is incredibly moist and it just looks so pretty once you cut into it. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost. 😉

INGREDIENTS
1 box white cake mix (as well as any ingredients it requires)
3 oz package strawberry Jello
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
fresh strawberries, sliced

STEPS

  • Prepare white cake per the package instructions in a 9” x 13” large square or rectangular baking dish and allow it to cool.
  • Bring one cup of water to a boil and remove from heat.
  • Add Jello to the hot water and stir until completely dissolved.
  • Add one more cup of cold water to the Jello mix, continue to stir, and set aside.
  • Using a fork, poke several holes into the cake.
  • Pour the Jello evenly over the top of the cake.
  • Cover the cake with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours.
  • After the cake has set, combine the heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat until the whip cream thickens up.
  • Spread the whip cream over the top of the cake and then garnish with sliced strawberries as desired.
  • Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Recipe adapted from Chef in Training.

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Sweet Treats

Recipe—Chocolate Crackle Cookies

Diva di Cucina

A long time ago in a land far far away, I posted a recipe for Lemon Crackle Cookies. (Okay, it wasn’t that long ago nor that far away.) They were awesome! Perhaps the name Chocolate Crack Cookies would be more appropriate for this recipe since you will not be able to stop eating them! Since the base for my crackle cookies is a box of cake mix they are perfectly fluffy, super moist, ultra fudgy, and easier to make than any cookie should be. This recipe is very straightforward and easy. Anyone can make them. Really. I promise! While they may look complicated all you are doing is rolling the dough into balls, coating them generously with powdered sugar, and then baking them. They do all the fancy crackling while baking. Give them a try. Everyone you share with will be very pleased you did.

INGREDIENTS

2 (18.25 oz) boxes Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • In a large bowl mix together dry cake mix, eggs, and oil.
  • Put the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or plate.
  • Form small balls with the dough and then roll them in the powdered sugar. Be sure the cookies have a really thick coating of the sugar if you want them to have that crackle look.
  • Place at least 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 7–9 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
  • Allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cutting board or cooling rack.
Brunch, Sweet Treats

Recipe—Pistachio Bread

Diva di Cucina

When it comes to the classic Jell-O one of my favorite flavors has always been pistachio. I know, I’m kind of a freak. Don’t get me wrong, I love chocolate but there is just something about the pistachio that is pretty fabulous too. When I saw this recipe for pistachio bread that called for my favorite tasty green pudding I knew I had to give it a try. I served this bread as a brunch item but with it’s cake base it could easily be a dessert. It ended up super moist, fluffy, and had just the right amount of nutty pistachio flavor. My four-year-old son got a kick out of making and eating green bread. It is so easy to make that I recommend putting the kiddos in the kitchen and letting them help. Such a fun recipe to make together!

INGREDIENTS
15 oz box yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/4 c oil
3/4 c water
3.4 oz package instant pistachio Jell-O pudding, unprepared
1 c sour cream
10 drops green food coloring
1 tsp almond extract
1/2 c pistachios or pecans, chopped

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Grease two bread loaf pans.
  • Mix together all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined.
  • Divide the batter among the two loaf pans.
  • Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
  • Cool 10 minutes and remove from bread pans.
  • Allow to cool an additional 15 minutes or more before slicing.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Banana Toffee Cookies

Diva di Cucina

We have over ripened left over bananas at our house on a pretty frequent basis. I’m not one to let things go to waste so I’m always finding new ways to use them. My typical go to recipe is my banana nut bread but last week I still had several loaves in the freezer. I happened to have on hand, some leftover white chocolate chips and toffee bits so like a mad scientist I went to work on creating something new. Now normally I have the self-control to wait for cookies to cool but when these came out of the oven they were practically going straight to my mouth. Totally irresistible sugar bombs are what these are! Super sweet and totally addicting! The banana flavor definitely comes through and then there were these fabulous little chewy toffee bits mixed in. Okay, I could so go for another batch right now. If you like bananas and have a sweet tooth then this is the recipe for you!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 c butter, softened
1/3 c bananas, smashed
1 tsp vanilla
18.25 oz box of Duncan Hines Butter Golden cake mix
3/4 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c Heath Toffee Bits for baking

STEPS

  • Beat together the butter, bananas, and vanilla.
  • Stir in the dry cake mix and mix thoroughly.
  • Fold in the chocolate chips and toffee bits until evenly distributed.
  • Place the dough in the freezer and chill for 30 minutes. (This makes it much easier to work with.)
  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • Roll the dough into 1” cylinders and place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet making sure to give them adequate space. (I found that my dough spread out a lot while baking when I made them into circles so I made them more vertical and they did not spread out as much.)
  • Bake the cookies for 10–12 minutes making sure not to overcook them. They will still look undercooked but they will set as they cool.
  • Leave the cookies on the sheet for 3–5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack or a parchment paper lined cutting board.
  • Enjoy!

 

Are you bananas over bananas? Perhaps you would love these other fabulous recipes!

Moist Banana Nut Bread

Chunky Monkey Cookies

Banana Split Pie

Sweet Treats

Recipe—Confetti Cake Batter Cookies

Diva di Cucina

Awhile back I posted a recipe for lemon crackle cookies. It was a cookie recipe that is primarily made from a box of cake mix. I love the concept of taking cake batter and sprucing it up with a few extra ingredients to make one heck of a fabulous cookie These types of cookies always come out really light and super moist and best of all they are quick and easy to make. Well ‘tis the season for complete chaos and busy schedules so what better time to share a recipe for super quick and scrumptious confetti cake batter cookies. I used red and green sprinkles to make them festive for Christmas but keep this recipe in mind throughout the year. Just change the sprinkle color for the appropriate holiday. Perhaps pink and red for Valentine’s Day?

INGREDIENTS
1-18.25 oz box of white cake mix
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/3 c vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2–3/4 c sprinkles

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 350º.
  • In a large bowl mix together the dry cake mix and baking powder.
  • Whisk together the eggs, oil, and vanilla.
  • Add the egg mixture to the cake mixture and stir until all ingredients are combined.
  • Fold in the sprinkles but be sure not to over mix or the dye will stain the batter.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or grease it.
  • Drop 1” balls of dough onto the baking sheet leaving approximately 2” apart.
  • Bakes cookies for 9–10 minutes making sure they don’t brown.
  • Allow the cookies to cool on the sheet for about 3 minutes.
  • Use a spatula to transfer the cookies to a cutting board or cooling rack.
Sweet Treats

Recipe—Lemon Crackle Cookies

Diva di Cucina

The other day when I dropped my son off at daycare there was a signup sheet for a bake sale. I signed up because, well… I love doing that sort of thing! I didn’t even pay attention to the date until I got to work and went to write it on my calendar. Holy smokes! It was the next day! That meant that after I got off working a long day I had to pick up my husband from work, go get my car from the shop (this is why I had to pick up the husband from work that day), go to the grocery store, swing by daycare to get the munchkin, cook dinner, bathe the little rascal, and THEN bake something for the bake sale! And being a mom there is always dishes and laundry in the mix too. What had I gotten myself into?!? I am not one to flake out so I just decided I had to come up with one heck of a quick and easy item to make. That’s when I had remembered seeing easy chocolate cake cookies. Basically you use boxed cake mix as the base for the cookies.

There always seems to be plenty of chocolate at bake sales so I mixed it up and made what I am calling Lemon Crackle Cookies. These were so incredibly quick and easy to make. They were super cheap and they turned out really good! Think of a fluffy version of a lemon bar. This recipe makes between 3 and 4 dozen cookies so they are perfect for a bake sale or even a cookie exchange. I recommend you give them a shot whether or not you are strapped for time.

INGREDIENTS
2-18.25 oz boxes Duncan Hines lemon cake mix
4 eggs
2/3 c vegetable oil
grated rind from one lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 c powdered sugar

STEPS

  • Preheat oven to 375º.
  • In a large bowl mix together dry cake mix, eggs, oil, lemon rind, and lemon juice.
  • Put the powdered sugar in a shallow bowl or plate.
  • Form small balls with the dough and then roll them in the powdered sugar. Be sure the cookies have a really thick coating of the sugar if you want them to have that crackle look.
  • Place at least 2 inches apart on a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  • Bake for 7–9 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.
  • Allow cookies to sit on the baking sheet for a couple of minutes before transferring to a cutting board or cooling rack.