Homemade Yellow Cake Mix ~ #SundaySupper

I've found I have a problem communicating about foodie things with non-foodies. I mean conversations with them sort of go like this:

Them: These cookies are really good, where did you get the recipe?
Me: No where. I made it up.
Them: Really? How do you do that?
Me: I dunno, I just kind of... do.

Or they go like:

G: Kim makes marshmallows.
Co-worker: You make marshmallows?
Me: I make marshmallows.
Co-worker: How do you make marshmallows?
Me: Oh, it's easy. You just cook some sugar to the soft-ball stage, add it to the softened gelatin, then whip it until it's nice and airy.
Co-worker: ... Right.

Or like recently:

Co-worker: And you make everything from scratch? You don't use mixes?
Me: I actually make my own mixes.
Co-worker: To sell?
Me: No, just... cause. It's fun.

You can't beat a mix for convenience when baking, I will freely admit to that. But a boxed mix tastes like a boxed mix. You can't beat homemade for taste.

That's right: the convenience of a mix plus the taste of homemade. And it's so easy to make your own mix; it only takes a few minutes, and then you can whip up an entirely homemade cake easy-peasy next time you need it. Seriously, there's no downsides here. Plus, in the cake batter All THE THINGS era we live in at the moment, you can use homemade mix instead of the preservative-laden, pricey boxed alternatives.

Now, I use butter-flavored shortening in my mixes because it's shelf-stable. I know a lot of people are weirded out by shortening, and I've already been over the reasons that you shouldn't be (non-hydrogenated shortening is available if you're worried about trans fat, and shortening actually contains less saturated (bad) fat and more unsaturated (good) fat per serving than butter.), but you're not likely to change your minds on my say-so, so you can use cold butter, you just have to store the mix in the freezer.

(And please, do not suggest coconut oil to me. That is a pet peeve of mine when people assume something is healthy just because they use it. It's great for cooking, but I've done the research and it's most certainly not health food. Although, if you want coconut cake, that might work as a substitution)

That's Cupcake 'Bot, the cupcake-inspired robot I designed and got 3D printed. Isn't he sweet? (I may or may not have been completely at a loss as to how to photograph cake mix and so broke out the toy robots)

Anyway, yellow cake is one of the most basic staples in any baker's repertoire, and the best for getting that real cake batter flavor. I based this mix off of my favorite yellow cake recipe (bet you can't guess from where), and doesn't have any weirdy powdered ingredients like powdered peanut butter or powdered food coloring. (Although I did see powdered vanilla at Candyland today, and I was tempted to buy it)(I seriously may have a cake mix making problem). So take 5 minutes out of your day and make this mix. Next time you need to bake a cake, you'll be so glad that you did.

Yellow Cake Mix

Yield: Approx. 5½ cups dry mix

Ingredients

2¼ cups flour

1½ cups sugar

½ cup powdered milk (optional)

2½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

¾ cup butter flavored shortening

Directions
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all ingredients except the shortening. Using a pastry cutter (or pulse in a food processor) cut in the shortening until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place up to 6 months.

To bake: Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and flour, or line with parchment paper, two 9-inch round cake tins. Combine the mix with 3 eggs, ¾ water (or milk, if not using powdered), 1 tsp. almond extract, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. Mix well until no lumps remain. Divide the batter equally between the 2 prepared pans, and bake 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on wire racks.

Based on the Yellow Cake recipe from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook

This week's #SundaySupper, hosted by DB of Crazy Foodie Stunts, has got you covered, both literally and figuratively. I've got you covered with the convenience of a mix but without having to go boxed. The rest of the group has got your back with the recipes below.

Covered Appetizers and Entreés

• Slow Cooker Cheesy Party Mix from Hot Momma's Kitchen Chaos
• Personal Steak Pot Pies from The Foodie Army Wife
• Slowcooker Bean and Ham Soup from Jane's Adventures in Dinner
• Butternut Squash & Cheddar Potatoes Au Gratin from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Salmon en Croute from Curious Cuisiniere
• Excellent Beef Stew from Noshing With The Nolands
• Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy from Food Lust People Love
• Pigs in a Blanket (Cabbage Rolls) from Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Covered Desserts

• Banana Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Bacon Cinnamon Rolls with Maple Frosting from Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen
• Streusel Topped Apple Pie from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Dark Chocolate Cake Batter Truffles from Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Chocolate Satin Pie from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Banana Butterscotch Muffin-Cake from What Smells So Good?
• Chocolate Banoffee Pie from Happy Baking Days
• 1 Easy Chocolate Macaron Recipe, 3 Japanese Wine Fillings from NinjaBaking.com
• Chocolate Covered "Party Popcorn" from Ruffles & Truffles
• Caramel Apple Bundt Cake from Pies and Plots

Not Sure What To Do? We Got You Covered

• Cilantro Turkey Salad with Farro and Mango from Shockingly Delicious covering turkey leftovers
• Back to Basics: How to Truss a Chicken for Roasting from Crazy Foodie Stunts covering a cooking technique
• Peppermint Whip Cream from Peanut Butter and Peppers covering a vegan and dairy-free dessert topping
• Gluten Free Lego Cookies from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks covering a gluten-free dessert
• Mexican Coffee Bun from The Urban Mrs covering a dessert with an uncommon ingredient
• Cranberry Walnut Crumble Bars from Magnolia Days covering an idea for fresh cranberries
• Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Bars from Alida's Kitchen covering a quick and easy cheesecake fix
• Prosciutto covered Rosemary Pork from Family Foodie covering a holiday meal on a budget
• Homemade Yellow Cake Mix from Treats & Trinkets covering a cake mix without the chemicals from store-bought ones
• Waffled Cranberry Cream Cheese Turkey Sandwiches from Neighborfood covering turkey leftovers
• Apple Cider Doughnuts from The Texan New Yorker covering a dish made at home so you don't need to wait in long lines for it

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7:00 pm ET. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. Check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more fabulous recipes and food photos.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy! You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Buffalo Chicken Dalek Pizza

Warning: If you haven't watched the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, there will be spoilers.

Weeee, the 50th anniversary special was so cool!!! Although I will never not be mad that Christopher Eccleston didn't agree to be in it. I mean, David Tennant does a great wounded Doctor, but there was definitely a step missing between John Hurt and David Tennant. The Doctor, hardened by his loss. I think that would have been a truly beautiful moment. Plus, I would have loved to see him sass Matt. I think that Nine and Ten would have totally ganged up on Eleven. But Matt and David were brilliant together, and I wish this was something they could do more often.

Although I thought how they worked Billie Piper into the storyline was very deft and unexpected. I thought it was very well done, and I totally believe the Moment was actually Rose. If you think back to Bad Wolf, Rose controlled all of time and space for a single moment and she did that to save the Doctor. Well, there's an awful lot someone can do when they control all of time and space, and of course she would do what she could to help the Doctor. Every Doctor. So I don't think that the Moment chose Rose's form, I think that the Bad Wolf is the Moment. And there were no Moffat-sized plotholes, which made me happy. *cough* Angels Take Manhattan *cough.* It actually helped explain some of what happened in The End of Time, so yay!

My one problem: the vortex manipulator. Captain Jack still had it in Miracle Day. They could have had Jack pass it along to Kate or Clara with a grin and a wink, and then John Barrowman would have been a part of the special. No plothole, happy John Barrowman, happy fangirls.

And, okay, but I think that Clara should have had less of a role in it. Because she's such a new companion, and the only one really to be a part of it (Rose wasn't really Rose, you know?), it was almost not fair to past companions. And it's not like there were a lot of them they could conceivably work into the episode. It just feels like they forget about the previous companions a lot, and it should have been all or none, you know? But that's just a personal gripe; otherwise I loved it.

To celebrate, I put together a full Whovian menu. Bowtie pasta salad, fish fingers and custard, last minute jammie dodgers (aka, leftover sugar cookie dough I had in the fridge and blackberry jam), and the star of the show, dalek pizza. Buffalo chicken dalek pizza, to be exact. It was a huge hit, and super easy to make. I had some leftover pasta sauce, so I mixed it with some buffalo sauce. Then I made some shredded chicken and tossed it in more buffalo sauce. Then I assembled it to look like a dalek.

Just roll out the dough in a vaguely dalek-y shape (think hydrant) and use a sharp knife to clean up the edges. Sauce it, add the chicken, some red onions, and the mozzarella cheese. Then add the details. I used green peppers, golden tomatoes, diced celery, and cheddar cheese. Then use the dough you trimmed off to make the lights and eye stalk. Then just pop it in the oven, 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. That's it, kiddies: simple, easy, and effective.

This is the second one I made, since there was enough dough for 2. I think this one actually came out a little better, since I knew what I was doing.

There wasn't a scrap of this pizza left by the time we sat down to watch the special. Cookies were leftover, the salad, and the fish fingers, but this was gobbled up in no time. The spicy buffalo tomato sauce really makes it. I used extra mild buffalo sauce, so I got to play with the spice, adding some smoky chipotle to just get that extra, deeper layer of flavor. Then I added a little bit of cilantro, because I like it and it works really well with those spicier flavors. In short, it's some good pizza. You will want to EXTERMINATE it with your mouth.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients
6 tbsp prepared tomato sauce
2 tbsp. buffalo sauce
1/2 tbsp. chipotle hot sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp. cilantro paste
Pizza dough
Shredded chicken, tossed with more buffalo sauce (I used this method)
About 1/2 a small red onion, sliced thin
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional: bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, diced celery, cheddar cheese

Directions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Mix together the tomato sauce, buffalo sauce, hot sauce, and cilantro paste. Roll out the pizza dough on a pizza stone or cookie sheet (I didn't have to grease it, but you may want to), to your desired thickness. Spread your desired amount of sauce on top, then sprinkle with the shredded buffalo chicken and red onion. Top with the mozzarella cheese and any other desired toppings. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the edges start to turn golden brown, and the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot.

Recipe by Kim