Kitchen

[shoekitty]

I went on a buying rampage of Barefoot Contessa baking mixes, and am impressed...seriously!!! The mixes do have that "after taste" conventional mixes have, and the texture of her cakes are like homemade nirvana!! They are not cheap, they run 8.50-10.50@, and you must add your own cream cheese, butter, eggs, cream as needed. The cupcakes make 10 12, so with eggs, c. cheese (for frosting) butter, and cram each cupcake can run up to 1.50@. A bakery cupcake runs more. These are way better than any Betty Crocker, and even some homemade. It is less mess, and rounding up of ingredients to use her mix. This is what I have made

Lemon Angel Food. Has your own lemon zest and juice added . Without a doubt my favorite, and hands down my husbands. It has none of that horrid after taste bakery angels have,the texture is identical to an old fashioned home made angel. The glaze is simple with a fresh lemon taste. The cake is NOT sweet like bakery. The texture is firm, but light and airy. The lemon taste is light, the cake almost like plain with a little zest. Perfect for shortcake or alone.

Chocolate pudding cake. Like pure chocolate! Takes an hour to cook in a water bath, but simple to make of all her mixes. It is almost like a lava cake. Served warm with ice cream I scream, "Satan get behind me now"!!

Red Velvet Cake and Cupcakes The cream cheese frosting on these is the best I have tasted. The cakes are moist, fine crumb, and slightly weighty. Perfect. I have made both the cake, and the cupcakes. The cake I made in 2- 8in round pans with 2 inch sides. It was a tall, impressive cake. The cupcakes made 12 and a couple large size cupcakes. The batter and the finished product are red, and the one complaint I do have is the dye in the mix gets all over the counter, sink, etc. These could easily pass as home made. Do not over cook these.

German Chocolate Cupcakes, well worth the work. I just made these for SIL Bday. The cupcakes were a dense chocolatey cake, the frosting is Not too sweet. The frosting comes with toasted pecans, toasted coconut and a mix you add cream, butter and egg yolk and cook for 6 mins.

Coconut Cupcakes. These are a rich, very coconut cake, with a cream cheese frosting, and fresh coconut to top. I slightly over baked these. It is easy to do. They were tender, but slightly dry. They weren't my favorite, but my GD's boyfriend went wild for these.