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Create MOO Mixes in 5 Easy Steps
Commercial baking mixes are pretty mainstream these days. Cake mixes, muffin mixes, biscuit mixes, pastry mixes, pancake mixes, even cheesecake mixes are common and vary in price from the budget 65 cent generic cake mix to the very expensive gourmet mixes that cost up to $11 a box.
What was once a novelty for our grandmothers is common place today.
There are some people who think cooking from scratch means adding eggs and water to a boxed mix. They can't imagine making pancakes unless the mix comes in a bottle or muffins without a box.
Mixes are convenient, I'll grant you that, but they contain dubious ingredients (what is a caking agent and do you really want to be feeding it to your family?) and they are often quite flavourless.
There is a better way, a much better way, to have the convenience of mixes without the expense or the health hazards.
You can have your cake and bake it yourself, too, by preparing your own baking mixes.
This is so simple, you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing it already.
What was once a novelty for our grandmothers is common place today.
There are some people who think cooking from scratch means adding eggs and water to a boxed mix. They can't imagine making pancakes unless the mix comes in a bottle or muffins without a box.
Mixes are convenient, I'll grant you that, but they contain dubious ingredients (what is a caking agent and do you really want to be feeding it to your family?) and they are often quite flavourless.
There is a better way, a much better way, to have the convenience of mixes without the expense or the health hazards.
You can have your cake and bake it yourself, too, by preparing your own baking mixes.
This is so simple, you’ll wonder why you weren’t doing it already.
To Create Your Own Mixes
1. Locate your favourite recipes for quick breads, coffee cakes, scones, cornbread, brownies, muffins, pancakes, and/or waffles. Just choose two or three to start. Pretty soon you’ll have an arsenal of baking goodness at your ready. (I even do this for instant oatmeal packets.) I've included my favourite chocolate cake recipe below, it makes great cakes and wonderful cake mixes.
2. Gather the ingredients for the recipes in question along with measuring cups and spoons and ziplock bags or air-tight containers and labels or a permanent marker. I find ziplock bags are the most convenient, cost effective and space saving. As a bonus they can be washed and re-used over and over and I use a permanent marker for labelling. I buy my ziplock bags from Aldi.
3. Label your ziplock bags with the name of the recipe, the baking directions, and any wet ingredients that will need to be added later.
4. Create an assembly line to fill the bags with the ingredients needed for each recipe. I typically make six batches of each mix at a time. It doesn’t take much longer than doing one, and I have all the ingredients ready to go anyway.
5. Store these items in the freezer for longest storage. Even though all dry goods go into my freezer for at least a week, I always freeze mixes as soon as they are made too. Freezing not only kills any weevils that may be in the dry ingredients, but prolongs the shelf life of flours which can go rancid over time. If you're not going to use those mixes within six months or so, I suggest they stay in the freezer.
And there you have it - your very own method to make your own, unique baking mixes.
1. Locate your favourite recipes for quick breads, coffee cakes, scones, cornbread, brownies, muffins, pancakes, and/or waffles. Just choose two or three to start. Pretty soon you’ll have an arsenal of baking goodness at your ready. (I even do this for instant oatmeal packets.) I've included my favourite chocolate cake recipe below, it makes great cakes and wonderful cake mixes.
2. Gather the ingredients for the recipes in question along with measuring cups and spoons and ziplock bags or air-tight containers and labels or a permanent marker. I find ziplock bags are the most convenient, cost effective and space saving. As a bonus they can be washed and re-used over and over and I use a permanent marker for labelling. I buy my ziplock bags from Aldi.
3. Label your ziplock bags with the name of the recipe, the baking directions, and any wet ingredients that will need to be added later.
4. Create an assembly line to fill the bags with the ingredients needed for each recipe. I typically make six batches of each mix at a time. It doesn’t take much longer than doing one, and I have all the ingredients ready to go anyway.
5. Store these items in the freezer for longest storage. Even though all dry goods go into my freezer for at least a week, I always freeze mixes as soon as they are made too. Freezing not only kills any weevils that may be in the dry ingredients, but prolongs the shelf life of flours which can go rancid over time. If you're not going to use those mixes within six months or so, I suggest they stay in the freezer.
And there you have it - your very own method to make your own, unique baking mixes.
Here are some of the things I prepare as make-ahead mixes:
Quick Chocolate Cake
Dry Ingredients:
3 cups SR flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Wet Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
You can double, triple, quadruple the quantities (I measure out 7 lots at a time). Put the dry ingredients into ziplock bags and seal. Label the bag and with a permanent marker, add a list of the wet ingredients and the instructions to the front of the bag.
To make a cake add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
One quantity will make 2 dozen cupcakes or two 20cm square cakes. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes for 20cm cake (or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean). Bake for 12 - 15 minutes for cupcakes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cakes (chocolate cake/coffee cake/gingerbread/orange cake/pound cake)
- Basic muffin mix
- Pancakes/pikelets/crepes
- Biscuits
- Bread (white/wholemeal/corn)
Quick Chocolate Cake
Dry Ingredients:
3 cups SR flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
Wet Ingredients:
2 cups cold water
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp white vinegar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
You can double, triple, quadruple the quantities (I measure out 7 lots at a time). Put the dry ingredients into ziplock bags and seal. Label the bag and with a permanent marker, add a list of the wet ingredients and the instructions to the front of the bag.
To make a cake add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
One quantity will make 2 dozen cupcakes or two 20cm square cakes. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 - 30 minutes for 20cm cake (or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean). Bake for 12 - 15 minutes for cupcakes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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