It's Easy As 1-2-3 Cake!

I have been lurking on Youtube learning to pressure can by watching the videos of 5 different women.  In addition to teaching me the fine lost art of canning and preserving food they also post just regular everyday recipes and I get to watch the success or failure of each.  I will admit to being somewhat addicted to them and look forward to each new video.

There is a woman who posts under the name imstillworkin who tries new recipes at least 2 times a week.  I have learned from her recorded efforts graham crackers are better bought, but homemade vanilla wafers taste the same.  She has a recipe for homemade ice cream sandwiches that she says are delicious ( will try them soon) and this little cake she calls a 1-2-3 cake.

It is a simple cake using 2 different cake mixes, water and literally 1 minute of microwave time.

2 tablespoons any flavor cake mix
1 tablespoon Angel Food cake mix  ( the combined cake mix, 3 tablespoons,  is the 3 in the name)
2 tablespoons water
1 minute in the microwave

She mixed hers together in a microwave safe coffee cup, baked it in the same cup and had no real trouble getting hers out of the cup to look like a neat little cake.  I was not quite as successful as she was at the removal stage, so from now on I will mix it together in a small bowl, spray the inside of a ramekin with a little non stick spray and then add the completely mixed batter to it.

I used 2 tablespoons of Devil's Food cake mix to 1 tablespoon of Angel Food.  The end result is a perfectly good little one serving cake.  It is just enough to be satisfying but not enough to feel stuffed.
The Hub had his with  a scoop of vanilla ice cream and was very happy.  It is not often I start making him dessert and have it on the table in a minute and a half.  I did take his out of the ramekin and though it came out mostly intact it was not very pretty.  I just ate mine straight from the dish.

Since we only had one scoop of vanilla left and I was kind and let him have it, I planned to eat mine as plain cake.  Then I remembered I had frozen about 1/2 cup of icing from a birthday cake I made Mom a few weeks ago. ( I am deadly serious about cutting our food waste to as near zero as possible)  I managed to scrape about 2 teaspoons of the rock hard frozen icing onto the top of the fresh out of the microwave cake.  It melted just in time to take the picture.  Be sure to eat this while it is warm.  The cake hardens a tad as it cools.

I could only shoot the picture from this side because a little bit ran over the back of the dish.  I would suggest putting the ramekin on a plate while cooking.  Then any overflow would be on the plate rather than the bottom of the oven ( Learn from my mistakes)

Imstillworkin also offered directions for making a pineapple upside down cake.  Use yellow cake mix obviously and mix the batter in a separate bowl.  In the bottom of the mug or ramekin put about 2 teaspoons crushed pineapple, a cherry half, 2 teaspoons chopped nuts, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 2 thin pats of butter and then pour the batter on to of all.  Bake for 1 minute and 20 seconds.

You could also put in some brown sugar, butter, butterscotch chips and nuts for a butter pecan cake.

I started thinking  chocolate cake mix, some nuts, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows with the batter on top might be a decent Mississippi  Mud Cake.


If you think you would like to do just one flavor, mix 2 boxes of cake mix with the box of Angel Food mix, stir well and store in a big jar.  Since I am going to experiment I am going to put my mixes in different jars and will combine only when I decide to bake them.  After today I will use Jiffy Cake Mixes so I won't have so much of any one flavor left over.

Use your imagination and try whatever sounds good.  If it doesn't work you are only out 3 tablespoons of cake mix and a minute or so of time.