Betty Crocker's Chocolate Fudge Cake (experiment)

usually i don't bake with pre-mix, much less blog about it !

but i have friends who have been asking me why do their betty crocker's cake crack when baked.

i decided to use the pre-mix & experiment with the baking temperature + time to see how it goes, & since cakes i bake from scratch usually crack too (only that i use icing/cream/ganache to hide the cake flaws, ha), this recipe test would be good for me as well.

when a cake crack, there could be many reasons why..but top 2 reasons based on my past bakes:

1) overmixing

2) baking at a temperature that is too high

so here is my betty crocker's recipe test for Robin + his girlfriend & Alica Monroe:

Zesty Poppy Poms Tart

This is a citrus tart baked with poppy seeds in the crust 

with lots of lemon + orange zest & juice in the filling 

& sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. 

I was inspired by Edd Kimber's Lemon Tart..& had the itch to bake a lemon tart,

since it has been awhile that tarts were churned out of my bakery.

So I started searching for a simple recipe & found this by Rachel Allen. 

I tweaked it a little bit & here it is - zesty poppy poms tart:

Cranberry Orange Cookie

this was an inspired bake... by Marks & Spencer.

Lemony Oats Melts

oh well, here's something lemony-oatsy again.

i must say, lemon & oats do complement each other very well .

 this recipe was demonstrated during the World of Healthy Flavours Asia Conference, just a few weeks back by one of the chefs.

i attempted an oatsy-twist of it, so here we go:

Lemony Oats Muffins

It was a Sunday morning & there was some free time & the craving for something lemony, as well. 

2 lemons have been sitting in my crisper since last week...

& so, that was my cue to bake. 

Sea Salt Caramel Macaroons

X'mas Financiers

Vanilla Cream Chocolate Cake

A birthday cake using the frozen-&-thawed chocolate cake made a week ago from Bailey's Chocolate Cake.

Earl Grey Pound Cake

Pound Cakes are cakes that contain flour, eggs, sugar & butter with a ratio of
1:1:1:1. 

Pound cakes can be also known as sponge cakes & madeira cakes.

DTLB made a madeira cake once - check it out here!

This is a reduced-sugar pound cake with an Earl Grey twist.

Bailey's Cuppycake

Bailey's is an Irish cream-based liquor with 17% alcohol.

Chocolate Cake with Bailey's Glaze

A cake filled with the goodness of cocoa, sandwiched and covered with Bailey's glaze. 

This is for all the birthday boys of November.

Mister Fudgy

A rich chocolate brownie. 

Truly fudgy.

& a pretty easy bake, too. 

Green Tea Chiffon Cake

Chiffon cakes are very light...

they are made with vegetable oil, flour, baking powder and most importantly...egg whites (foam).

Financiers

Financiers are small french cakes which usually contain ground almonds.

It is similar to the friands (check em' out here) which are available in many flavours... & are a hit in Australia & New Zealand.

Mister Hazelalm

one of DTLB's Classics.

Mister Oatsy Chips

one of DTLB's Classics.

Mister Poppy Jam

one of DTLB's Classics.

have a peep into the baking of poppy seed & jam cookies!

Mister Cheesy Citrus

 cheese biscuits with a tinge of citrus from lemon & grapefruit zest.

Banana Mocha Muffins

Coffee banana muffins.

Earl Grey, Lemony Madeleines

Madeleines are petite french cakes.

Raspberry Chocolate Cake

An eggless chocolate cake that turned out great !!

Bricks of Traffic Lights

Red Velvet Cuppy Cakes (A)

"to agree to disagree on red velvet cake" - The Vow (2012)