Betty Crocker GF Vanilla Cake Mix and Cake Balls

My little brother, Corey, came to visit yesterday and requested we all get together for dinner.  Andy quickly baked the new Betty Crocker Gluten Free Vanilla Cake Mix and we took that with us for dinner.  My mom and older brother and sister-in-law had thrown together a nice dinner, with the highlight being a salad of romaine and spinach, celery, green bell pepper, cucumber, and red onion, topped with leftover diced barbeque pork ribs and feta.  It was excellent.

This time, my entire family got to taste-test with us.

As Andy had pulled the cake out of the oven, he remarked that it looked a lot like cornbread.  I had to sneak a taste, and straight out of the oven (in other words, burning-my-mouth-hot) it tasted really eggy.

After it had cooled, Corey’s first impression was that it was spongy (to which we all agreed).  My mom delighted in the crunchy edges (it had not been covered at all at this point, because it had only been out of the oven about an hour and a half).

We all agreed that the cake was not gritty at all (which was totally excellent).  It was not very sweet, however, we found that it was really lacking in flavor.  Andy said that he put in 2 teaspoons of vanilla, just like it called for.  I think it needs more than that.

My older brother, Chad, said it had a “cornbread-like crust”.  His wife, Melissa, said that it was “okay for a mix”, “much better than some of the mixes we’ve tried”, “not as good as Cassandra’s homemade cakes”, and “frosting helps”.

Chad and Melissa have actually tried quite a few different mixes with me and also had a lot of my baked goods from scratch.  Corey was around for some of the very first mixes, so they all have something to compare.

Overall, we decided it was a pretty good mix (if we had added a little more vanilla), especially for people who don’t otherwise bake or for someone who wants to entertain a gluten-free guest.

Since we were taste-testing, I had only given out very small pieces of cake, leaving me with some leftovers.  I decided to try something new.  My nephew, Charlie, demonstrates his ability to hold a cake ball to his mouth for a long time while I run to get the camera, turn it on, focus and shoot:

Cake Balls

Ingredients:
Leftover cake with icing
More icing, if needed
Chocolate or vanilla almond bark (or chocolate chips)
Sprinkles, crushed nuts or crushed peppermints

1.  Using a fork, mash the leftover cake until it is completely in crumbs.  If it does not stick together well, add more icing.

2.  Roll cake into balls, roughly the size of ping pong balls, and put them on a wax paper-lined plate.

3.  Place in freezer for approximately one hour, or until firm enough to hold easily without squishing.

4.  Melt chocolate in a bowl, in the microwave, at 70% power, stirring every 30 seconds until completely melted.  I used 3 squares for about 1/4 of an 8-inch round cake.

5.  Roll balls in chocolate and dip into sprinkles or other topping.  Place back onto wax paper-lined plate.

6.  Refrigerate if desired.

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a Betty Crocker Gluten Free Dessert Mixes prize pack.

All the boys wanted their pictures taken with a cake ball headed into their mouths, lol.