Want cake right now please.

January 31, 2014 8:29 PM

I have a Duncan Hines Angel Food cake mix that is several years old and a non-working oven. Can I make cake or something like it?

I have a slow cooker, a microwave and a range top at my disposal. I have all manner of pans, eggs, milk and other various ingredients. Give me your ideas for making this work! No harm done if it doesn't. I'm willing to try and fail. Looks like there are plenty of preservatives in the cake mix so I'm not worried about food poisoning; however, the leavening may be questionable. Going out in the snow to buy actual cake is not an option.

posted by Wordwoman to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Best answer: You could use the cake mix to make something like this in the microwave.
posted by Ouisch at 8:34 PM on January 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Dude, microwave cake rules. Use something round (like a pyrex bowl or a mug) and check it every minute or so until it's risen and it's not very wet on the outside anymore. It should take less than 10 minutes total depending on your microwave.
posted by cairdeas at 8:41 PM on January 31, 2014

Best answer: Here. If you don't want to use the mix, try this one.
posted by cairdeas at 8:42 PM on January 31, 2014

Best answer: Do you have plain or vanilla yogurt? Try mixing 1/4 cup of the mix and 1 tablespoon of yogurt together until it turns into something like a pudding. Then microwave for 30-45 seconds. This works wonderfully with any brownie mix. It'll probably work for cake mix too.
posted by Brent Parker at 9:18 PM on January 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: You could cook the batter in a frying pan, like pancakes, and layer them into a cake shape. I'd probably make the batter as written on the back of the box. Add some baking powder if no bubbles form? You'd even be able to slice it. Layer it with something yummy, jam maybe, or if you're awesome and have whipped cream or ice cream around use that! (Sort of like a version of Smitten Kitchen's Gateau de Crepes!)
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 9:21 PM on January 31, 2014 [2 favorites]

If it's that old, and has some sort of leavening, the leavening has probably decayed by now. If the ingredient list says it includes baking powder then you should add a bit of your own baking powder when you mix the batter. (The baking powder might be listed as its chemical components i.e. sodium bicarbonate plus monocalcium phosphate or sodium acid pyrophosphate.)
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:57 PM on January 31, 2014 [1 favorite]

I can't speak to the cooking method, but you may want to google up cake recipes. I make chocolate cake from flour, sugar, eggs, butter, baking soda and so on as far as ingredients go - no cake mix involved. It's surprisingly easy to do
posted by azpenguin at 10:18 PM on January 31, 2014

Response by poster: Guys! I mixed a few spoonfuls of the mix with chocolate soy milk in a mug and microwaved it. It rose impressively! But it tasted lemony and powdery and horrible. I suspect it would have tasted equally horrible if it were prepared as instructed on the package. Nonetheless, the principle of microwaving cake in a mug has been convincingly demonstrated and I will definitely try it in the future with better ingredients. Thank you!
posted by Wordwoman at 11:57 PM on January 31, 2014 [8 favorites]

Best answer: Sounds like you've got a solution, but for future reference you can also make cake in a waffle iron.
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:24 AM on February 1, 2014

You could also try looking for recipes for no-bake cake. I've seen many no-bake cheesecakes online.
posted by LoonyLovegood at 2:08 PM on February 1, 2014