Kitchen Hack: How to make a Cake Mix Taste Homemade

I love baking from scratch: muffins, cakes, cookies, biscuits, you name it. However, after having my second daughter, and especially now being pregnant with my third (a boy!) I’ve come to appreciate the convenience of a store bought cake mix. I mean, you cut open a package, add some eggs and water, and you have a cake with barely any effort! The downside to not making homemade desserts is that they don’t taste homemade. I mean, they aren’t, but why can’t it taste the same? Well I have a few hacks (that I have used plenty over the past couple of years) that can make a cake mix taste homemade! People will never even know 😉

Chocolate/orange cake for a friend’s baby shower

With a typical cake mix you usually need to add oil, eggs, and water, so some basic swaps I like to make are: melted butter for oil, an extra egg, and milk (or coffee in a chocolate cake) for water. Those changes alone will take your cake mix to the next level, but you can take it a step further by adding some extra goodies to the batter. Some things I like to add are salt (always! It helps balance out the sweetness), ground cinnamon, some orange zest in a chocolate cake, lemon zest in a vanilla cake, a flavor such as vanilla (in any flavor), mint (in chocolate), or almond (in chocolate or vanilla), or some extra mix-ins like chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or chocolate chips. Be sure to stay away from anything too wet such as fruit because it will mess with the baking times.

When it comes to frosting, the same things work. Make canned frosting creamier by adding a bit more butter or cream cheese, add a pinch of salt, maybe flavor it with an extract or citrus zest, maybe mix in some jelly or nut butter, and it will taste like delicious, creamy homemade frosting!

This is such an easy kitchen hack, but it’s really been helpful, and I’ve been able to gussy up so many basic boxed cake mixes. These simple swaps and additions can help make an ordinary cake into something special, in a fraction of the time! Have your cake and eat it, too…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!

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Chocolate Nut Clusters

Hello! It’s Molly; it’s been a while, but I’m still here! I’m currently sitting here looking at pumpkin decor, smelling fall-scented candles, and really wishing I had a warm slice of pumpkin bread. It’s starting to *kind of* cool down, fall decorations are coming out, and the holiday season is in sight. All of this can only mean one thing: aside from eating all the goodies, of course, it’s time to bake the goodies! However, if you’re like me, you still get a little sweaty turning the oven on; I’m also still slightly sleep deprived from having my second baby only five months ago, so any extra energy I have is usually devoted to tidying up. I would love to be able to bake more, but right now most dessert recipes are a little too time intensive for me. So what’s a sweaty, tired mama to do when Fall comes a-knocking asking for goodies? Make this recipe! It is super simple, delicious, sweet, crunchy, and salty; these two ingredient Chocolate Nut Clusters satisfied my third trimester cravings, and are the perfect go-to in this busy season if you’re craving a treat but short on time. Hope you enjoy!

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• Servings: 12
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Ingredients

• 6 ounces of dark chocolate, chopped
• 1/3 cup of nuts of your choice, chopped (I used pecans and almonds)
• Flaky sea salt (optional)

Directions

1. Toast nuts for about 2 minutes on a dry skillet on medium heat, just until aromatic. Set aside
2. Melt chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stirring well after 30 second increments.
3. Stir nuts into melted chocolate
4. Drop spoonfuls of chocolate covered nuts on a parchment lined (or my favorite silicone mats)
5. Sprinkle with sea salt, if desired
6. Refrigerate until firm
7. Store covered in the fridge for a week, but they’ll be gone long before that hehe

For more fall goodness, check out my Pumpkin Pecan Muffins, Apple Pie Parfaits, or my No Bake Pumpkin Pie. I hope everyone has been healthy and well during this post-apocalyptic movie of a year we’ve had. You will find plenty of comfort food on this site, and feel free to reach out to chat if needed. Stay healthy, hug your family, eat fall goodies…and enjoy your Pinch of Crazy!

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase using the links, it is of no extra cost to you; just a small commission for me. Thank you for supporting A Pinch of crazy!

Banana Bread with Granola Crumble

A Girl Can Dream

Picture this: it’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and the baby is napping. You clean the house top to bottom, put all the dishes and laundry away, balance the checkbook, then do a nice little 20 minute home workout. After all that, the baby is still napping so you go get a piping hot cup of coffee and a warm slice of fresh banana bread from the kitchen. You curl up with your cozy fleece blanket and enjoy your snack while listening to the melodious birds outside your window.  Paradise. *sigh*

This is what I WANTED to happen when I made my banana bread, but honestly, those afternoons almost never happen. What actually happened was: I left the kitchen a mess, went to sit down on the couch with my coffee and banana bread when I heard, “MAMAAAA!” from upstairs. I ended up drinking lukewarm coffee and sharing my banana bread with Zemirah while simultaneously folding laundry (then re-folding after Z dragged it off the couch). The banana bread was so good and the company so cute, that I couldn’t help but enjoy my afternoon even though it wasn’t picture perfect.

Whatever your idea of the perfect day is, one bite of this banana bread and you will be transported to your own personal paradise! It’s cozy, warm, and perfect for the cooling weather, to either enjoy yourself or share with your little ones. No need to worry about sugar content making them hyper, because it is both gluten free and refined sugar free!

I have discovered the wonders of coconut sugar and will not be looking back! If you are wondering where to get coconut sugar, you can get it right here on Amazon as a multi-pack or a single bag. This is the brand I use and I absolutely love it; it smells amazing and adds a nutty/caramel flavor to baked goods. Yum! This recipe was also my first time baking with a gluten free flour mix so I was a little worried, but it turned out great! I used this blend of rice flours and tapioca starch; it rose beautifully and the texture is wonderful. (These are both affiliate links, but truly the brands I used with this recipe and others, and will continue to in the future!) If you need coconut sugar and/or gluten free flour, use the links, you’ll have them at your door in two days, then you can bake guilt-free to your heart’s content.

Other than the coconut sugar and gluten free flour, everything else is standard banana bread ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen! This is perfect for either breakfast or an afternoon snack, slathered with butter or ghee, and enjoyed with your favorite hot beverage. The laundry pile is optional.

Banana Bread with Granola Crumble

Makes one loaf or 15 muffins.

Ingredients:

For the bread:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1.5 cups gluten free flour
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

For the granola crumble:

• 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup of walnuts
• 1/4 cup of coconut sugar
• 1/4 cup of coconut oil
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Grease either a loaf pan or muffin tins and set aside
• Mash bananas with a fork
• Add in the rest of the wet ingredients
• Stir until well combined
• In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (for bread only, not the crumble)
• Combine dry ingredients into wet ingredients
• Stir until well combined
• Pour batter into pan (3/4 of the way full for muffins)
• Make granola crumble by combining all ingredients in a blender or food processor and pulsing until walnuts are chopped and it comes together loosely
• Top batter with crumble, pressing down slightly
• Bake 35-45 minutes for loaf (10-12 minutes for muffins), until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean
• Cool completely before slicing
• Store, covered, in refrigerator for a week

Whatever your personal paradise might be, I am almost certain it involves healthy baked goods 😉 Let this banana bread transport you there…and enjoy your pinch of crazy!