cake mix | Luv What You Do

February 14th February 14, 2013

Filed under: Dessert,Holidays — Luv What You Do @ 10:44 pm
Tags: cake mix, Chocolate

You know what that means, right?

Yup…it means that I get to bust out this absolutely ridiculous shirt again! On what other day can an adult wear a fringe heart tshirt in public? I’d say that it also means that I will be wearing brightly colored socks with hearts, but since I have at least 10 pairs, I’ve been wearing them since the start of the month.

I guess that February 14th also means SWEET TREATS!

I’ve already shared with you two of the cookies that I baked for today’s Valentine’s Day celebration…

Hint…click on the cookie to find the full recipe! But I must admit that I also made heart shaped Cake Batter Fudge.

I’m sure you remember Cake Batter Fudge from last summer because let’s be honest, how could anyone forget it?! And in the shape of a heart, doused in purple and pink sprinkles, does that not just SCREAM Valentine’s Day?!

This recipe is a crowd pleaser EVERYWHERE I take it! And I love how easily it fit into this heart shaped pan. To top off today’s festivities, I made a big batch of Chocolate Pretzel Rings.

Using dark chocolate, mint truffle, and peppermint kisses, this might be my best tasting group yet!

For our party today, I surrounded my fudge with pretzels creating one colorful tray of sweets.

Looks wonderful, I know! And you can hate me all you want for tempting you with sugary goodness. I, for one, know that I ate WAY too many sweets today and will be back to my usually sugarless ways bright and early tomorrow morning : )

With our without the treats, I hope you had a sweet and happy day!

Looking for more temptation?

Check out last year’s list of Valentine favorites!

Looking to recharge after a sugary day?

I recommend a Green Smoothie for breakfast!

(and even shared this recipe with a coworker today)

Comments (6)

Forth Annual Bear’s Chili Party December 16, 2012

Filed under: Dessert,Life — Luv What You Do @ 6:04 pm
Tags: Bears, cake mix, chili, Chocolate, football, No Bake

Bears vs Green Bay = Big Game

Throw in a Hanukkah Party…it’s an even bigger deal

And make it our 4th Annual Bears Chili Potluck…Now, you’ve got yourself one fun Sunday Afternoon!

2011 Bears Chili Potluck

Old Picture…Same Great Crowd!

I was in charge of dessert, and I knew exactly what I wanted to make!

This recipe was given to me by a close friend, who at the time didn’t know I was a blogger, but did know that this would be right up my alley. It was right around the time I was living on Cake Batter Fudge, and I have been looking for an excuse to make it. This years Annual Chili Party sounded like the perfect event.

Every year, we have more than enough food and fun to go around. It’s amazing I even had room for anything this afternoon after all of my taste tests : )

We had an amazing spread of appetizers, cornbread, salad, chili, and mac and cheese (and that was just during the first quarter).

Rumor has it…when the Bear’s are losing, calories don’t count.

I sure hope so!

As the game continued into the forth quarter looking ever more bleak, everyone made their way to the dessert table to sweeten up the afternoon. So sad to think just 6 weeks ago, the Bears were looking SO good!

At least all of our desserts were SO good!

I was also in charge of bringing an appetizer. After much thought, I decided to on some simple and healthy hummus. I made one batch of Garlic Hummus, and planned to serve them with the Trader Joe’s Falafel Chips and some cut up veggies. Except, that I forgot the chips. Bummer!

Mint Chocolate Dessert Ball

Recipe adapted from Taste and Tell

Idea given by my friend

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups triple chocolate cake mix, dry

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1 cup Andes Crème de Menthe Baking Chips

Assorted cookies and crackers

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add in the cake mix, the brown sugar and the powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Turn the mixture out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Wrap up into a ball and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Put the mint baking chips on a plate. Remove the cheese ball from the refrigerator and unwrap. Roll in the mint chips. Place on a serving plate and surround with cookies, animal, or graham crackers.

*Note: You can make the cheese ball a day ahead and then roll in mint chips and refrigerate before serving.

Comments (13)

Candy Corn Success September 15, 2012

Filed under: Candy,Cookies,Dessert,Dinner — Luv What You Do @ 9:31 pm
Tags: Beer, cake mix, candy corn, fudge, No Bake, Recipes

I have 2 successes to share and both involve my favorite fall treat…Candy Corn!

First…I received this bag of candy corn from a cute little patient yesterday morning at 7:45am. She knows me well! I am pleased to say that I did eat a few candy corns (and shared some), but by Saturday afternoon, the majority of the bag is still here.

HUGE Success! There are candy corn people and there are not. I, as most of you know, am a Candy Corn girl! But in an attempt to stick with my Healthy Habits, I have only snacked on a few, saving the rest for a fun baking treat.

Number Two…Look what I found at Target today?!

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They do exist! At first, it wasn’t looking good…

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Can you believe how many new types of Oreos they make?

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It wasn’t until I made my way up front to pay that I spotted the Candy Corn Oreos on the end cap by the register. Success!

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I wasn’t able to get a picture of where I found them because a worker was arranging the display, but I picked up 3 boxes and took a picture in the parking lot. It took all of my will power not to dig right in, but I had a few stops to make before going home.

Once at home, I opened up the cookies immediately.

They are sweet and delicious! I don’t know if I’ve ever had a golden Oreo, but I think I could be in love. These cookies (slightly warm from the car) tasted wonderful!

Before I even found the Oreos, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them…Cake Batter Fudge!

I used the original Cake Batter Fudge recipe for inspiration adding in some chopped Oreos.

I sprinkled a few more cookies over the top of the fudge.

And then pressed in some candy corn pieces for decoration and flair.

Waiting while the fudge cooled was the hardest part. But, the BOY grilled us up some dinner, and I made a salad using my funky new bowl.

And we had some cool Wisco beers to sip on.

By the time the BOY and I ate dinner, cleaned everything up, and sat out back enjoying the gorgeous evening, the fudge was ready to be sliced. I was surprised that the cookies mixed into the batter so well, and I loved the light orange hue of the fudge…very festive!

The cookie crumble on the top is a must! I would consider this recipe success Number Three!

I can’t wait to figure out what to do with the other 2 boxes!

Candy Corn Oreo Cake Batter Fudge

Adapted from Cake Batter Fudge

Ingredients

2 cups white cake mix (yellow could work too)

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter

1/4 cup milk

1 container of Candy Corn Oreos, crushed into big pieces

A few pieces of candy corn

Directions

Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large bowl and combine. Pour in the milk, top with stick of butter, and microwave for 2 and a half minutes. Immediately begin mixing everything together – the butter may not be fully melted but will as you continue mixing. Stir in the majority of the cookie pieces, then pour fudge into a greased 8×8 cake pan covered with foil. Sprinkle remaining cookies and candy corn over the top, pressing everything in with the back of a spatula. Chill for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

Do you like Candy Corn? Have you tried the Candy Corn Oreos yet?

What recipe would you make with them?

One other fudge recipe worth sharing is this Peppermint Oreo Fudge.

Without the Peppermint, I bet it would be perfect with these Oreos.

Comments (8)

I Dream of Chocolate {Cake Batter Fudge} July 26, 2012

Filed under: Dessert — Luv What You Do @ 9:42 pm
Tags: cake mix, caramel, Chocolate, pecans, Recipes

I know I wet your appetite with this post yesterday…did you guess the last recipe yet???

I have been dreaming about this recipe forever!

Ok, that is an exaggeration, but I have been thinking about it, planning for it, and talking about it since I first discovered Cake Batter Fudge in June.

I had a whole bunch of leftover chips (and nuts) to choose from to stir into my cake batter fudge. Decisions…Decisions…

Not really tough when the answer is all of the above! I threw in some chocolate chips, caramel chips, and pecans and then topped the fudge with some white chocolate chips and a few more caramel chips (because you can never have too much caramel…right?).

I considered adding in some sea salt, which I think might have been amazing! It is definitely on the list for next time!

The only bad thing was that I used parchment paper instead of foil, so my fudge couldn’t spread out evenly along the bottom of the pan.

As long as you don’t mind the uneven margins, the fudge looks amazing!

And it tastes just as good as you think it should!

I brought the fudge to work where everyone LOVED it! I can’t say I’m surprised because what is not to love about chocolate cake batter, caramel, and pecans? It tastes like you’re licking the bowl of your favorite cake recipe (or just diving in head first)!

The BOY is also a huge fan, and I’m hoping to make another batch to take up to Wisconsin this weekend!

Maybe I will even add in some sea salt! Yummmmm!

Chocolate Cake Batter Caramel and Pecan Fudge

Adapted from Cake Batter Fudge

2 cups chocolate cake mix

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 stick (1/2 cup) of butter

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1 cup caramel chips

1/2 cup sliced pecans

Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large bowl and combine. Pour in the milk, top with stick of butter, and microwave for 2:15 minutes. Immediately begin mixing everything together – the butter may not be fully melted but will as you continue mixing. Mix in the chocolate chips, caramel chips and pecans. Don’t over stir or chips will start to melt. Pour fudge into a greased cake pan (or pan lined with foil and cooking spray). Pour white chocolate chips and any extras that you have over the top and gently press them in to the batter. Chill for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

Comments (12)

Festive Cake Batter Blondies July 4, 2012

Filed under: Dessert,Holidays — Luv What You Do @ 3:40 pm
Tags: Baking, cake mix, Recipes, white chocolate

It would be hard to have a holiday without a festive red, white, and blue dessert. So with a quick bit of time after this morning’s race and before this afternoon’s nap, I whipped up a holiday treat. I found this holiday cake mix during our recent trip to Woodman’s, and I knew immediately that I would make 4th of July Cake Batter Blondies!

The BOY was thrilled to see a cake mix out on the counter and was curious to see what I would be making.

I only used 1/4 cup of milk before a nice thick dough formed.

I had full intentions of adding in the white chocolate chips as they totally make the blondies. I’m not even a huge white chocolate fan, but I like the chip texture as you bite into these soft and chewy bars. However, I totally forgot about them! I didn’t want to pull all of the dough out of the baking pan to mix them in, so instead I sprinkled them across the top and pressed them in firmly so they would stick to the bars.

It’s definitely better than no chips at all!

I let these cool down while the BOY and I went upstairs for a nap. It’s a good thing we set an alarm because I was out COLD! I could have used another hour of sleep, but as I walked back downstairs, I was hit with the aroma of cake. For a non-coffee drinker, this is even better!

Even with limited chocolate chips, these bars are light and delicious!

If you are brave enough to turn on your oven, they are perfect for your 4th of July celebration!

And if not, then just stick with the multi-colored sprinkles that are perfect for EVERY DAY celebrations!

Cake Batter Blondies

From girl meets life.

Ingredients

1 box yellow cake mix

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg, beaten

1/4 – 1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the cake mix and sprinkles in a large bowl, then mix in the oil and egg. Add the milk slowly just until the batter is combined – you want it to remain as dense as possible. Place better in a greased 8×8 pan or 8-inch cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or just until the edges turn golden. Let cool for 20 minutes before cutting because the gooey center needs to set. The result will be a decadent, cake-batter texture.

Comments (4)

Cake Batter Fudge June 29, 2012

Filed under: Candy,Dessert — Luv What You Do @ 9:46 pm
Tags: cake mix, fudge, No Bake, Recipes, treat day

You know you have made a good recipe when you are cleaning up in the kitchen and the BOY is texting you from the other room requesting more cake batter fudge!!! I had to tell him ‘no’ so that there would be enough for TREAT DAY, but I did promise to make another batch this weekend for my girl’s night in the city!

Just in case you thought cake batter recipes couldn’t get any better, let me introduce you to Cake Batter Fudge from girl meets life!

This fudge is so rich and tasty, you will never know that it began with a cake mix.

It only takes 2 hours for this fudge to set.

Leaving you plenty of time to lick the bowl clean!

There isn’t much not to like about this sweet treat!

It tastes exactly like cake batter (which everyone loves), and the sprinkles add just the right texture. Although I have seen the recipe with white chocolate chips added as well, which might we worth trying.

I had to hide the container of fudge in the back of the fridge before the BOY got his sticky fingers on it.

Luckily, batch number 2 is setting in the refrigerator as we speak!

Cake Batter Fudge

From girl meets life

Ingredients

2 cups yellow cake mix (I used Betty Crocker)

2 cups powdered sugar

1 stick butter

1/4 cup milk

1/2 cup rainbow sprinkles

Directions: Place cake mix and powdered sugar in a large bowl and combine. Pour in the milk, top with stick of butter, and microwave for 2 minutes. Immediately begin mixing everything together – the butter may not be fully melted but will as you continue mixing. Lastly, mix in the rainbow sprinkles, then pour fudge into a greased cake pan. Chill for at least 2 hours before cutting. Store in the refrigerator.

Other Cake Batter Faves…

Cake Batter Bark

Cake Batter Blondies

Cake Batter Puppy Chow

Cake Batter Truffles

Chocolate Cake Batter Popcorn

What is your favorite cake batter recipe???

Comments (7)

Chocolate Covered Cake Batter Popcorn May 23, 2012

Filed under: Candy,Dessert,Snacks — Luv What You Do @ 9:41 pm
Tags: cake mix, Chocolate, popcorn, shoes

I took one of my new pairs of running shoes out for a test drive yesterday morning.

I was happy to get in a run because I am planning on wearing them for the Soldier Field 10 miler this weekend! They did great on a 5.5 steady run. I’m looking forward to getting my feet into my Pure Cadence shoes next week after the race.

There has been a whole lot of cake batter going on around here lately (which probably explains why my pants have been feeling a little snug). This evening as I was leaving work, a coworker handed me a container of yellow cake batter. Kind of random, I know, but everyone knows that I love to bake and she had used it for a project with a few of her kids. I promised to do something fun with it before returning tomorrow because let’s be honest…you can’t really let cake batter go to waste.

Although my first thoughts were to dive head first into the batter or drink it with a straw, luckily I had the entire commute home to ponder what I was going to do with it…

I came up with a few fun and creative ideas using ingredients that I have on hand, but as I was getting closer to home, I remembered seeing this recipe for Red Velvet Popcorn on Cookies & Cups. If you know me, then you know that I LOVE popcorn and I have been wanting an excuse to smother it in chocolate and cake!

I didn’t have any white chocolate in the house (also a problem!), but I did have a full package of chocolate almond bark.

Which I discovered tastes amazing when poured over air popped popcorn!

Because I had so much popcorn, I divided it up into two batches. For the first batch (using half of the almond bark), I smothered the popcorn in chocolate and then spread it out over parchment paper before drizzling it with crumbled cake and sprinkles. Fair warning…this is a messy project but totally worth it when you get to lick off your fingers in the end!

For the second batch, I coated the popcorn in chocolate, then stirred in the cake and sprinkles before laying it out the counter to harden.

I found the second way to be much easier, which is why I used that for the directions below. However, both ways produced the most scrumptious blend of sweet tasty popcorn that I have ever had!

I did not wait for the chocolate to harden before stealing a bite (or six). Make that seven…

It reminds me of that amazing chocolate covered popcorn that comes in the holiday baskets…only better…because this one includes CAKE!!!

I seriously can not keep my fingers away from the counter where I have two heaps of chocolate covered goodness. Although in my no so well-lit pictures, it might look more like fuzzy popcorn with sprinkles, this dessert is truly delicious! Trust me…I just went and tried another bite : )

Yikes!!! I will definitely be taking my running shoes out for another morning jog tomorrow before work! I just hope I can fall asleep after eating all that sugar!

Craving more Cake Batter? May I suggest indulging in…

Cake Batter Bark

Cake Batter Blondies

Cake Batter Puppy Chow

Cake Batter Truffles

FunFetti Fudge (this recipe is on my To Do list)

Chocolate Covered Cake Batter Popcorn

Inspired by Cookies & Cups

Ingredients

10 cups air popped popcorn

20 ounces chocolate or candy coating (like almond bark)

1 yellow cake mix, baked according to directions (for easy cake bake, I recommend THIS adaptation using applesauce)

Sprinkles

Directions

Bake cake mix according to directions. Let cook slightly before crumbling with your hands.

Melt chocolate in microwave or double broiler. Pour over popcorn and stir to coat. Stir in crumbled cake batter (I used almost the entire cake!) and sprinkles, stirring until combined.

Spread popcorn in single layer over parchment paper to cool and harden. Add more sprinkles and cake if desired.

Store in air tight container. This won’t last in your house very long…it’s just that good!

Comments (4)

What Do You Do with an open Cake Mix? April 19, 2012

Filed under: Candy,Dessert — Luv What You Do @ 9:33 pm
Tags: cake mix, Recipes, white chocolate

To me, the most obvious answer is to scoop out some of the yellow crumbs and stir in just a dash of water to create Yellow Cake Batter Dip, which can easily be eaten with a spoon (perhaps the one you used to stir) or better yet, animal crackers or graham sticks. However, this often leads to eating the entire contents of said cake mix box, because once you have tried this easy and surprisingly tasting dip, you will want to make more and more. And although eating an entire box of cake is not the same (or as bad) as eating an entire actual cake, it is possibly going to derail your weight loss efforts and will most definitely cause a massive stomach ache. Don’t ask me how I know this!!!

So to prevent future you from ingesting way too much cake mix in one sitting, I have another recipe option that lends itself to better portion control…sort of!

You may be wondering to yourself, why I have leftover cake mix. It is because I find this Cake Batter Puppy Chow to be so festive and wonderful that I have already made it three times since March.

So when I was left with a little extra mix, I found the PERFECT new recipe to try…

This recipe is Super Duper Unbelievably Amazing. It is easy to make and even easier to eat. The BOY is already a big fan, and this may be my new all time favorite treat…although I am loving what is left in my freezer of these guys!

If you were to tell me your mouth isn’t watering right now, I wouldn’t believe you! Even this ugly guy looks appealing enough to lick the computer screen!

So I know you are asking yourself…what are these things???

They are CAKE BATTER TRUFFLES from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Get ready to SAVE or LIKE this recipe immediately! These sweet treats are white chocolate covered balls of cakey goodness!

Does life get any better than that??? As previously discussed, my chocolate dipping skills leave much to be desired, and I thought these were the perfect example of my creative use of white chocolate.

In this case, it wasn’t totally my fault. My chocolate started getting hard creating an extra thick layer and making it challenging to dip the cake balls. Hence, the not so cute guys, but no worries…they all taste just as incredible as they look.

Next time, I will definitely use almond bark for easy dipping and a smoother finish. But for this time around, I will store the rest of these guys (the ones the BOY didn’t get his hands on) in the freezer until tomorrow where they will star along with the Thin Mint Truffles in a fun celebration at work.

Looking for more cake mix ideas??? Check out Fun with Cake Mixes (part 1)

On a truffle kick like me??? These Mint Chocolate Thin Mint Truffles are exactly what you need!

Cake Batter Truffles

Recipe created by The Girl Who Ate Everything (NO modifications needed)

Ingredients

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup yellow cake mix

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

½ cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 teaspoon salt

3-4 Tablespoons milk

2 Tablespoons sprinkles

Truffle Coating:

16 ounces (8 squares) almond bark (or white candy melts)

4 Tablespoons yellow cake mix

sprinkles

Directions

Beat together butter and sugar using an electric mixer until combined. Add cake mix, flour, salt, and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Add 3 Tablespoons of milk or more if needed to make a dough consistency. Mix in sprinkles by hand. Roll dough into one inch balls and place on a parchment or wax paper lined cookie sheet. Chill balls in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up.

While dough balls are chilling, melt almond bark in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted. Stir between intervals. Once melted, quickly stir in cake mix until incorporated completely. Using a fork, dip truffles into almond bark and shake of excess bark by tapping the bottom of the fork on the side of your bowl. Place truffle back on the cookie sheet and top with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining balls until finished.

Chill cake batter truffles in the refrigerator until serving. Makes around 24-30 truffles.

Comments (2)

Fun with Cake Mixes March 8, 2012

Filed under: Dessert — Luv What You Do @ 10:25 pm
Tags: Baking, cake mix

I finally got to taste the Mountain Dew Cake today and all I can say is that it is GOOD! I’m not sure if it tastes like Mountain Dew (which is fine by me because I don’t typically drink it), but with 4 eggs this moist cake was a real crowd pleaser!

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The next recipe on my list (also using a box cake mix) is…so easy….so much fun…and absolutely delicious!!!

Cake Batter Puppy Chow

I went to a wonderful party this weekend. A friend of mine turned 1 year old! His mother is amazing in the kitchen, and one of the sweets she had on the tables was this Cake Batter (or Birthday) Puppy Chow. I immediately looked up the recipe online and found an occasion to make it. What’s funny is that I found the recipe on the same blog page that a coworker mentioned this week.

The sad thing was that I had ONLY 3 SQUARES of vanilla almond bark left.

But…I was easily able to adjust the remaining ingredient amounts because I was SO EXCITED to make this recipe.

It turned out even better than I remember, although it could always use a few more sprinkles.

This puppy chow is as addicting as the white chocolate variety, but the use of yellow cake mix and powdered sugar is GENIUS!

I liked it so much that I decided to give it a try using regular Baker’s chocolate.

The result was good, but not nearly as good as the vanilla cake batter version. Although I think it would be super fun to try it with a chocolate cake mix. We’ll save that for the next round of Fun with Cake Mixes!!!

I still had some leftover Mt Dew and yellow cake mix in the house. I considered making a Yellow Cake Mix Dip but knew that I would most likely eat the entire thing, which at 9PM is not the healthiest way to end the day. Instead, I remembered that you can easily make a cake with a can of coke and a cake mix. I decided to mix the rest of the yellow cake mix (about half) with 6 oz of Mt. Dew to make Mini Mountain Dew Cupcakes.

I even had a little extra glace leftover for one fancy mini cupcake.

What is your favorite cake mix recipe???

Recipes

Mountain Dew Cake

Cake Batter Puppy Chow

Mountain Dew Mini Cupcakes

Combine 1 yellow or lemon cake mix with 1 can of Mountain Dew Soda (or Sprite or 7-Up). Stir well until there are no lumps remaining. Bake mini cupcakes at 350 degrees for 20 minutes until edges begin to brown. Can glaze with extras from your Mountain Dew Cake recipe above.

More Cake Mix Recipes

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Two Ingredient Yellow Cake

Kahlua Cake

Cake Batter Blondies

Two Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Muffins

Birthday Trifle March 20, 2011

Filed under: Dessert,Holidays — Luv What You Do @ 9:20 pm
Tags: birthday, cake mix, Chocolate, Dad, family, Oreo

My family got together to celebrate my Dad (and Mom’s) birthdays today for some pizza and some basketball. Since we were celebrating my Dad, he got to pick the desert. He requested a trifle…not to rich, but no fruit, and maybe something crunchy like nuts. Ok…I can do that! I chose to make an Oreo trifle.

I have made a few trifles in the past and I always have fun making them. You can get as creative as you want and the ingredients are simple! Every time I mention bringing a trifle, someone jokes about the Friends episode where Rachel attempts a trifle. I was never a huge Friends fan, but as I gather she combined some dessert and some meat from another recipe. Luckily, my trifles always turn out better than that and I have never met anyone who doesn’t like the tasty combination of cake, pudding, and Cool Whip!

I am going to share today’s trifle concoction with you (which was a real crowd pleaser). No recipe involved, so feel free to substitute in whatever you want! I chose to use chocolate fudge and a yellow cakes as my base. In the past, I have also used brownies or pre-made pound cake. I made the chocolate cake per box directions and used this fabulous Hungry Girl recipe for the yellow cake. I highly recommend it the next time you are looking to make a cake, but I warn you…it is so delicious and dangerous.

You begin by combining your cake mix and 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce. Mix well until blended. This will look thick with a few lumps. Then whisk in 1 cup of water. Spread on a greased cake pan and bake per directions on the box. The cake tastes nothing like applesauce and is super sweet and moist! You can use this technique with any cake mix, but HG suggests yellow cake.

Look who came to help with the baking!

It looks like a typical yellow cake, but the taste and texture are fabulous! Especially with the trifle!

Now on to the trifle…

I used my immersion wand, which also happens to be a chopper to create some Oreo crumbs. I used the small snack sized Oreos (because I had a coupon) and because they are super cute to decorate with.

Is this not the best kitchen gadget ever?

To make the chocolate pudding, I combined 1 large box of sugar-free INSTANT pudding with 3 cups of milk and 6 oz of Neufchatel cheese (at room temperature). The cheese thickens up the pudding a bit. Since I had the wand out, I tried using the whisk to combine everything. Chocolate pudding went in ALL directions, so I switched to my hand mixer. Since you can control the speed, this worked out much better. Once combined, your pudding will still be lumpy.

Now the fun part begins…assembling the trifle! I randomly layered the cakes, pudding, Cool Whip (I used the Lite one) and Oreos, finishing with the Cool Whip on top. It helps to have a trifle bowl. Now I know you are thinking…how often will I really make a trifle, but I tell you…once you make one, you will be hooked. Plus the bowl is super fun for layered salads and dirt cake. The key is to try to make the layers smooth so that they look pretty from the outside. A little tip I’ve discovered, use a wet paper towel to wipe off the messes along the inside.

Ideally, your Cool Whip should be room temperature. I just got back from the store and so it was still too cold to spread well. If this happens, you can run the container under warm water or try mixing it with a spoon.