Fun 2 Bake Oven Vs Easy Bake Oven
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Learn how to make your own Easy Bake Oven mixes from boxed cake mix… Yields 33 refills for under $4, making them just $0.12 each!
Easy Bake Oven — To Buy Or Not To Buy?
My oldest daughter turned 10 a few months ago — that precarious age where she's on the brink of leaving childish things behind but isn't quite ready to give it all up.
Her Christmas wish list was an interesting take on this, filled with clothing, a Beats Pill, a Vera Bradley purse, earrings, etc… but one item stood out:
An Easy Bake Oven.
I have to say I was torn… Would she actually use it? Or was it just a total waste of money? I added an Easy Bake Ultimate Oven to my Amazon cart but continued to debate purchasing for days.
You see, we had one of these toys several years ago — but it was promptly donated when my five kids quickly grew frustrated with how long it took to bake ONE teeny cake that was little more than a bite for each. But being the lone toy in a sea of preteen dreams, I finally decided: "What could it hurt?"
And what do you know?! She has used it near daily since opening it Christmas morning.
She loves to make special cakes for everyone in the family. And I love to watch quietly from afar, as she carefully stacks layers of various cake flavors, frosting each to perfection, and finally topping them off with her favorite rainbow sprinkles. I'm so glad that I caved, because I would have missed out on so much joy.
The down side to it? Those gosh darn Easy Bake Oven mixes are ridiculously expensive! I mean, we're talking $6.99 for a refill pack that makes just 2 cakes.
Whoa, I would have dropped hundreds on these things by now!!! But I got smart and figured out a way to make our own homemade Easy Bake Oven mixes…
Make Your Own Easy Bake Oven Mixes
It took some research and a lot of trial and error, but my daughter and I hit upon just the right formula for using store-bought cake mixes to make our own Easy Bake Oven refills.
We tested several brands in the process. While the method I'm going to share worked reasonably well for all the brands we tried, we both agreed that the Duncan Hines Signature cake mixes consistently produced the best results.
Given that a box of this cake mix retails for around $1.28 at Walmart and we were able to get about 11 Easy Bake Oven mixes per box, you can easily see how the savings add up. That breaks down to just $0.12 per mix versus $3.50 for a single Easy Bake Oven refill!!!
I picked up three boxes of Duncan Hines Signature cake mix, one each of French Vanilla, Dark Chocolate Fudge, and Strawberry Supreme, which is enough to make 33 Easy Bake Oven mixes in under 15 minutes.
In addition, I recommend picking up a can of baking spray to prepare the pan, a couple of tubs of white frosting, and some rainbow sprinkles.
I also found this adorable mini turner and matching spatula that are the perfect size for smaller hands, so I grabbed them, as well. Unfortunately, they're no longer available online, but I just stumbled upon this adorable 5-piece set of silicone mini utensils that I love even more!
Setting Expectations For Easy Bake Oven Recipes
Before I share how to make your own refill mixes, I want to be VERY CLEAR about what you should expect from them. Gourmet cakes? NO. A budget-friendly mix that will allow your child to bake a perfectly edible and tasty (enough) cake all on his or her own? YES!!!
Eggs and oil are not necessary to attain this goal. A little smear of frosting can up the tastiness factor, but I've eaten many, MANY plain cakes with ZERO complaints. :)
Also, it's important to keep in mind that this is a child's toy, not a calibrated oven. The baking time may need to be adjusted slightly to achieve desired results.
With this goal in mind, my girls have been able to enjoy using their Easy Bake Oven whenever they want without emptying my wallet. They've been totally thrilled with these Easy Bake Oven mixes and have enjoyed hours upon hours of baking fun with them!
And THIS is my intent in sharing these Easy Bake Oven recipes with you.
How To Make Easy Bake Oven Mixes
Making your own Easy Bake Oven mixes is super simple when you follow these instructions. I recommend these Ziploc Snack Bags, because they're the perfect size to hold each mix.
Label each with these simple Easy Bake Oven mix labels that are designed to print on standard Avery 5160 address labels. Of course, in a pinch, you could just print them on regular paper and tape them on.
NEW: By popular request, I've added another set of printable labels for use with the Duncan Hines Signature Lemon Supreme, Orange Supreme, and Red Velvet cake mixes! These also work with the Avery 5160 address labels and can be downloaded here.
- Original French Vanilla, Chocolate Fudge, and Strawberry Supreme labels
- New Lemon Supreme, Orange Supreme, and Red Velvet labels
Instructions
For the mixes:
- Sift each cake mix into a large bowl. There will be chunks of dried strawberries in the Strawberry Supreme cake mix -- these can just be discarded.
- Measure each mix into precise 1/4 cup portions by spooning the mix into a 1/4 cup measuring cup, and then leveling it off with a knife. Place each portion in a Ziploc snack bag and label (find printable labels here and here). You should end up with about 11 refills per box of cake mix.
To prepare each mix:
- Preheat your Easy Bake Ultimate Oven for 20 minutes.
- Lightly spray the Easy Bake pan with Pam Baking Spray. Here's a tip for making this less messy.
- When the Easy Bake Oven is done preheating, mix the bagged refill with 2 tablespoons of water and spread it evenly in the prepared Easy Bake pan.
- Bake in the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven for approximately 17 minutes.
- Cool for 5 minutes, then frost and decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
DO NOT pre-mix the cake batter while waiting for the Easy Bake Oven to preheat. It will rise too high and stick to the inside of the oven. Read through these additional tips for best results.
High altitude bakers: Thanks to Sarah for sharing that you can adjust these mixes for high altitude baking by adding 1/4 teaspoon of flour to each snack bag!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 prepared mix
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 15 Total Fat: .5g Saturated Fat: .1g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 20.9mg Carbohydrates: 2.7g Fiber: .1g Sugar: 1.5g Protein: .1g
A Few Tips For Best Results
1| Measure the mixes precisely using the method described in the "recipe". If you pack the mix into the measuring cup too densely, your cake will rise too high and stick to the top of the inside of your Easy Bake Oven.
2| Cooking spray is a MUST to get the cake to release from the pan easily. As I mentioned, I like this baking spray for effectiveness, as well as flavor. Be sure to check out this quick tip for applying cooking spray with less mess!
3| DO NOT pre-mix the cake batter while waiting for the Easy Bake Oven to preheat. This can also cause it to rise too high and stick to the inside of the oven. Mix it up after preparing your pan and place it in the oven right away.
4| For a fun change of pace, shake decorating sprinkles on top of the prepared batter once it's spread in the cake pan. This creates a "funfetti" style cake without muddling the bright colors!
So there you have it — 33 Easy Bake Oven refill mixes for under $4!
These would be an awesome gift idea for any little girl that loves to bake with her Easy Bake Oven. Just package up the mixes with a can of the baking spray, frosting, and sprinkles. Toss in some super cute mini utensils, and you've got hours and hours of baking fun for well under $20 (not including the oven, of course).
Is your child ready to graduate to baking with a real oven? These brownie mix cookies using boxed brownie mix are perfect for kids to start out with! With just 3 ingredients, it's an ideal recipe for beginner bakers (as well as busy moms)…
I'd love to see how your Easy Bake Oven refills turn out… Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
Source: https://unsophisticook.com/how-to-make-easy-bake-oven-mixes/
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