I shared an easy pumpkin muffin recipe a couple of years ago here on this blog. I hadn't made them for years so I decided to make a batch last week and this time I ran into a problem. My dear hubby didn't like them very much. His exact words were, "Were they baked long enough?" Of course I said, Yes, I baked them long enough, they are just a little more moist inside than usual. Then a couple days later, I decided to try one so I took one out of the freezer where I had stowed them away. After I took a bite, oooonnnnoooo...yuck, the texture was very moist, like it had not been baked inside. It felt like I had a mouthful of raw pumpkin, not one of my favorite textures. It kind of turned my stomach a little, but I knew no eggs were involved, and after all, my dear hubby was still alive so they must be ok-ish!?!
I puzzled over that for a few days, wondering what in the world had happened. I started looking at the many other recipes for 2-ingredient pumpking muffins/cake and they were all basically the same and didn't offer any insight to the problem. And then I got an idea. Yes, I put some brain cells together and came up with an idea. I raced to my cupboard and pulled out a cake mix I had bought for another project. I looked at the Net Weight. It said 15.25 ounces! I checked my recipe and the recipe calls for an 18.25 ounce cake mix!! Wow, how do the big companies like Pillsbury get away with that! They should have brought it to our attention! I had noticed that the boxes were smaller but never would have guessed that they were putting less inside the box. Think of all the recipes people have used for years and that can't possibly turn out like they did without major adaptation. I knew I had solved the mystery. I do realize that most everyone who bakes with a cake mix has probably solved this mystery years ago. I have been in the baking slow lane for a while now.
 |
| Yes, I realize this muffin has a frosty texture on top. I took this frozen muffin out of the freezer for your enjoyment! It's back in the freezer bag with the rest of the pumpkin muffins. We will most likely save them for 6 months and then throw away because we didn't like them! |
I do have to say, the flavor in these muffins was fantastic! I added cinnamon, (lots of) ginger, cardamom (just a little, it is very strong), star anise, vanilla and orange peel! Oh what a waste of taste!
In case you are interested, I am posting a recipe for cake mix that you can make ahead and keep on hand. This recipe works in place of a 18.25 ounce cake mix. There may be other cake mixes out there that have kept their weight at 18.25 ounces but I don't use them that often so I'm not going to go searching for them. I am keeping this recipe here for safe keeping.
Homemade Yellow Cake Mix:
2 cups Flour
1-1/2 cups Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1/2 cup Non-Fat Dry Milk
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and non-fat milk. Store in an airtight container or zip bag. Keeps well in the pantry for months.
Thank you to Chickens in the Road for this recipe. You will see more cake variations on her blog.
Enjoy!
No comments:
Post a Comment