A couple of weeks ago, I went to a bloggers baking event with Betty Crocker.
I got stuck on the tube and was running late so I sneaked in late and unfortunately missed most of the presentation about the brand.
But I quickly jumped into a baking team with the lovely Laura, tied my apron on and got cracking with the important part: THE BAKING.
Now, I think cake-mix boxes are a bit of a controversial topic among foodies.
I personally love ’em. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I really like home-baking. Mum and I always try out the Great British Bakeoff recipes whenever I go home, and I love nothing more than spending an afternoon in my kitchen making up sweet treats.
Unfortunately, I barely have time to do my laundry every week, let alone find hours to stand around mixing up beautifully light sponges!
That’s when these boxes come in super handy. Good ol’ Betty has saved my bacon many a time when I’m in a rush to get stuff baked and iced in double-quick time.
(Such as the time when I offered to bake cakes for 25 people, before work, on a vicious hangover, for a house party I couldn’t even go to cos I was working…)
The point is, Betty Crocker’s products are super quick and so EASY to make: Add an egg, some water and (sometimes) a drop of oil, mix, pour, bake, DONE!
And their newest product is supposed to make it even easier to get a good finish on your bakes: Vanilla Frosting and Rainbow Sprinkles.
Betty Crocker’s icing is one of my favouritest products. They make THE best pre-made frostings ever, and this one is no exception. A creamy vanilla-infused buttercream-style icing with the helpful accompaniment of colourful sprinkles.
So literally all you have to do is swipe the frosting out of the tub and on to your cake with a spatula, then get sprinkling! Easy peasy. Perfect cakes every time.
(I’d say it’s almost impossible to get wrong, but we did all manage to mess up the brownies on our first go. We had to throw the batch away and start again… So just make sure you learn from our mistakes and read the instructions!)
With help from the lovely Louise, we finally managed to get our stuff baked and cooled and iced.
First: Vanilla and Red Velvet marble cake topped with vanilla swirls and fondant icing decorations.
Then we got cracking with Devil’s Food cupcakes topped with green-tinted icing and a ton of sprinkles and gold stars. They were meant to be Christmas trees but my piping skills ain’t so hot. So I turned mine into wreaths!
Lastly (get ready cos this was the best one): Chocolate Brownies with Chocolate Chip Cookies INSIDE the mix! I took my whole stash home to Gary and three hungry men who hadn’t eaten yet. I got some serious BROWNIE points (geddit?)
The red velvet marble cake was also delicious and I’m very tempted to make one for our Flat Decorating Night next month. I’ve already got Rosie’s Vin Chaud recipe all lined up for it. Hot wine and cake go together right?
It was a great evening and I’m so grateful to have been invited.
We got a fab bag of goodies to takeaway afterwards as well: an apron, a recipe book, a box of white chocolate chip cookie mix, a box of Carrot Cake mix, and a tub of the new Vanilla Frosting and Rainbow Sprinkles.
Just goes to show how short on time I am these days that I haven’t had a chance to use any of it yet!
Might make that my mission for this weekend… Cup of tea and a slice of Carrot Cake anyone? :)
PS. None of the photos are mine. They were all taken (and used with permission of) Preston Perfect Photography
