Thula’s Cake Mix – The Story











This is an attempt at making baking more enjoyable! After weeks of testing and re-testing I have created two cake mixes- white and brown on which my future recipes will be based upon and here in I am giving it out – yes giving it out. .

Ok. What is the goal/aim/design requirements behind the “cake mix”……

AIM:



Yield cakes that are tender and flavorful.

Yield cakes that are structurally strong enough to decorate upon – “decorator friendly”.

Cut-short cake preparation time by the having the mix pre-made and ready to use as needed.

I must admit- I am Bakeaholic !

In my early days of baking , many years ago, I first started with family recipes (my mother’s date and nut, pineapple upside down and jaggery cakes are a hit!)…. Once I got comfortable with basic baking, I moved onto trying popular internet found recipes .

As much as I have loved following others’ recipes, the researcher in me wanted to experiment and create my own scratch recipe line that gave a good balance between taste and structure.

I did the needed study- Learnt the science behind every step and technique, and understood the role each ingredient plays in baking (Read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of basics)…. With a teeny bit of confidence and my fingers crossed I started experimenting ! After 12 painstaking days of trials and fails came VICTORY !!!

I found a perfect balance of dry : wet ingredients and created from scratch basic- vanilla and chocolate cakes. I re-tested these recipes several times with my family, colleagues, and friends who gave me the needed validation………………..HOOORAAAAH !!

Next, my goal was to find a solution to cut short preparation time and make baking more enjoyable…

Ever since my career break in science, I have been trying to find a balance between full-time parenting and pursuing my passion in cake decorating. As much as I love designing cakes and experimenting with new flavors, I find baking from scratch -the steps involved in accurate measurements, flour preparation, pan preparation etc to achieve that perfect cake, a little overwhelming at times.

My family has had days of sudden cake cravings…there have been numerous occasions when friends contact me for last minute cakes .. And those “on short notice” visitors ….”Thula, hope we get to try one of your cakes !!”;)

How to have a win-win ?

The most tedious task in baking seemed like the dry mix preparation…. So it occurred to me, why not create my own cake mix that can be made and stored in advance! I combined the dry ingredients to create two standard base mixes- white and brown. These mixes were then used as a base to create new recipes from basic vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, yellow sponge etc. to many other creative and delicious flavors which I am hoping to share with you over the coming days!

I like to allocate a day each month to prepare these jar mixes- usually 6-8 at a time as per my baking needs…..and enjoy the rest of the month baking and diving into treats ! You can store your cake mixes in 32 Oz jars, and every time my recipe calls for a “white” or “brown” cake mix just bring it out, sift and use!

Time cut short, and baking got more enjoyable!!!!…………I must admit, I am BAKEAHOLIC !!!!

INGREDIENTS

Thula’s White Cake Mix

Thula’s Brown cake mix

*If you don’t have “cake flour” then use 360 grams all-purpose flour (bleached or unbleached)+ 40 grams corn starch in place of “flour”.

Method

I use a bench electronic weighing scale to measure out my dry ingredients. Place a mason jar (32 Oz), hit tare to bring the reading to zero. Add each ingredient into the mason jar. Hit tare and start from zero grams every time you add an ingredient. Hand-whisk this to give it a quick rough mix. Store in a dark, dry cabinet or if you live in a very humid environment store in the refrigerator in which case you will need to bring the mix to room temperature before use. The expiry date of this mix will be the date on the carton of the ingredient which expires first. (for example if my flour has a shelf life of one year but milk powder for 5 months then the mix expires at this 5 month mark (hope this makes sense). Write down this date on your lid. Proceed to Flour mix preparation

Tip: These cake mix Jars with an attached recipe card and simple ribbon decoration can be great house warming/shower/birthday gift !

Hope you enjoyed reading. Please leave a feedback and share if you found this article useful.

Happy Baking!

Post Edit: Many of you requested, so I have created two recipe cards under the “recipe” tab for easy reference. Enjoy !







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