Yesterday was my dear father-in-law John’s 98th birthday. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law came over from Winthrop, we drove up from Camano Island, and the 5 of us went out for dinner. Of course first we had appetizers and a drink at John’s home before venturing into the bustling town of La Conner to dine. And as usual the 5 of us had a grand time.
Previously I had decided that John needed a birthday cake. Of course he did! So in trying to keep my work to a minimum (getting lazy in my “full speed ahead” advancement into old age), I decided to work up a recipe for a Bundt cake that would be easy to prepare, a bit different, and easy to prepare. Did I mention I also wanted it to be easy to prepare? Anyway, this is the result.
Now, not to change the subject (and of course I am going to do just that), but I am pretty darned disgusted with manufacturers whose products used to be a standard weight that I could depend upon. Until yesterday, I was completely oblivious to the package weight change on cake mixes. I don’t even know why the weight verbiage caught my eye, but before I went any further with this recipe, I checked the weight on the other cake mixes in my pantry. They were all 15.25 ounces instead of the standard 18.25 ounces. That’s a 3 whole ounce reduction! What? Why? And when did this happen? And why didn’t they just ask me if I would be willing to spend a little extra money to keep the same number of ounces? I would have answered in the affirmative. It also registered on me that the change in ounces would make a significant impact on the final product when I used cake mixes as an ingredient. Then I got mad! Grrrrr! So I went on line and did some research on the subject.
Patti’s seat-of-the pants economic analysis: Companies live or die by their bottom line. Apparently manufacturers realized that their profit margin would increase significantly if they simply decreased the amount of product contained in any given package, but failed to adjust the price accordingly. Duh! In other words, consumers would continue to pay the same price for their product, but the content of the package would be much reduced. And consumers like myself, who don’t necessarily check package weight, but rather focus on the ingredient list don’t figure it out, sometimes for years. (Guilty as charged!) In my defense, I simply don’t use cake mixes that often, but I have several killer cake recipes on this site that call for an 18.25-oz. cake mix. As a result of finally realizing what has happened in the cake mix world, I plan to edit my blog recipes in the very near future to include extra cake mix as explained below.
My solution: Since cake mixes now all seem to come in 15.25-oz. packages rather than 18.25 ounce packages, I’m going to simply add about 1/3 cup yellow cake mix to all my recipes that call for an 18.25 ounce cake mix. (I’ll use yellow because it won’t add or detract from the flavor of the cake I’ll be baking.) And yes, I know it’s a pain to always have to add that little extra cake mix. But I frankly can’t think of any other way around the problem. I’m simply going to keep an extra open cake mix (stored in an airtight container) at the ready. One additional cake mix should last me through several recipes.
I’m sure many of you are way ahead of me on this new product challenge. But sometimes I’m just clueless. This was obviously one of those times. But I still know a good cake when I taste one. And this is one good cake!
- 1 c. chopped pecans, divided
- 1 package (15.25-oz.) yellow cake mix
- 1/3 c. additional cake mix
- 1 pkg. (3.4-oz.) instant vanilla pudding mix
- 4 eggs
- ¼ c. room temperature water
- ½ c. vegetable oil
- ¾ c. + 2 T. Irish cream liqueur, divided
- 1 tsp. espresso powder
- 2 T. hot water
- 1-2 c. powdered sugar, or more as needed
Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle ½ of the chopped nuts evenly over bottom of pan. Reserve the rest of the chopped nuts for the cake batter.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cake mix and dry pudding mix together. Add the eggs, ¼ cup room temperature water, oil, the ¾ cup of Irish cream liqueur, and the remaining chopped nuts. Beat for 5 minutes at high speed. Pour batter over nuts in pan.
Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 52-57 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Do not overbake. Remove from oven. Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then gently pry the cake away from the sides of the pan, and gently invert onto a serving dish. Cool completely before adding the glaze.
To make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the espresso powder, hot water, the 2 tablespoons Irish Cream Liqueur, and enough powdered sugar to bring to desired consistency. When the cake is cool, drizzle glaze over the top letting it flow down the sides. Let the glaze set before serving.
To reiterate: – Adding an additional 1/3rd cup cake mix whenever you use a cake mix as an ingredient and the recipe calls for an 18.25-oz. cake mix and what you have in front of you is a 15.25-oz. cake mix, solves the weight problem and thus assures you a wonderful final product. But please note, if you are simply making the cake as is, and not using the cake mix as an ingredient, follow the instructions on the package.