The Recipe Doctor Takes On Popular Cake Mix Recipes and Gets Slammed!
Mostly I love my job and the work that I do. But every now and then I get a letter or email from a reader that has taken issue with something I've done or said and frankly, it doesn't feel good at all. The latest slam comes from a reader of my national newspaper column, THE RECIPE DOCTOR. For the month of January I ran a Cake Mix Makeover series where I "madeover" 4 popular cake mix recipes. This was her inquiry to her editor:
Point 1 - My column tries to reach all types of people and many types of people use
cake mixes. This series was showing people who like to use cake mixes that you can create the same awesome desserts but without a lot of the added fat that these recipes usually call for.
Point 2 - My column doesn't call for cake mixes often, just every once and a while.
Plus now that most companies are listing the trans fats on their labels, a reader can choose the cake mix that they feel best about. The one I used to test the recipes actually had ZERO trans fat per serving.
I used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe and all of the flavors now have zero grams of trans fat. In fact, I've noticed that their reformulations have lowered the fat per serving of the dry cake mix to 3 grams of fat (in the past most cake mixes have had 4 or 5 grams of fat per serving of dry cake mix). Here's the information on the classic white box:
Moist Deluxe Classic White Cake 1/12 package (just mix)
calories 180
fat 3 g
saturated fat 1 g
trans fat 0 g
polyunsaturated fat 1 g
monounsaturated fat 1 g
cholesterol 0 mg
sodium 250 mg
total carbohydrate 36 g
sugars 18 g
protein 2 g
Exhibit A:
Here"s my picture of one of my favorite recipes in this series. A picture is
worth a thousands words, right?
--Elaine
Related Topics: Chocolate Recipes to Die(t) For, Birthday Cake Without Calorie Chaos
Technorati Tags: cakes, cakemixes, transfats, baking, duncanhines
"I am very surprised to see recipes requiring cake mixes in the "health" section of your newspaper. Don't you folks realize that cake mixes have trans fat? Isn't your section always encouraging its readers to stay away from trans fat? You folks should do more research and get a little more creative with your recipes."Ouch! I rather thought my cake mix series WAS being creative. In my defense:
Point 1 - My column tries to reach all types of people and many types of people use
cake mixes. This series was showing people who like to use cake mixes that you can create the same awesome desserts but without a lot of the added fat that these recipes usually call for.
Point 2 - My column doesn't call for cake mixes often, just every once and a while.
Plus now that most companies are listing the trans fats on their labels, a reader can choose the cake mix that they feel best about. The one I used to test the recipes actually had ZERO trans fat per serving.
I used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe and all of the flavors now have zero grams of trans fat. In fact, I've noticed that their reformulations have lowered the fat per serving of the dry cake mix to 3 grams of fat (in the past most cake mixes have had 4 or 5 grams of fat per serving of dry cake mix). Here's the information on the classic white box:
Moist Deluxe Classic White Cake 1/12 package (just mix)
calories 180
fat 3 g
saturated fat 1 g
trans fat 0 g
polyunsaturated fat 1 g
monounsaturated fat 1 g
cholesterol 0 mg
sodium 250 mg
total carbohydrate 36 g
sugars 18 g
protein 2 g
Exhibit A:Here"s my picture of one of my favorite recipes in this series. A picture is
worth a thousands words, right?
--Elaine
Related Topics: Chocolate Recipes to Die(t) For, Birthday Cake Without Calorie Chaos
Technorati Tags: cakes, cakemixes, transfats, baking, duncanhines
5 Comments:
Thank you very much for your comments. I do like to use cake mixes when I bake. Especially some of my weight watchers recipes. As I you have to be and educated consumer. Thankyou.
Brandy Lynn
I apoplogize for my wording in my above comment. It is still early and the coffee hasn't kicked in yet. What I meant to state was, we need to be educated consumers (shoppers). Again Thankyou.
Brandy Lynn
I have stopped buying cake mixes.My husband is a type 2 diabetic.I now make cakes out of scratch.I use a sugar substitute.When I read the ingredient list on the cake mix box,I almost fainted.There was for a time when you could buy a cake mix that had splenda or sugar twin in the mix.I don't find those mixes any more.I wished they still had them on the market.I'd buy them.Thank you,Debbie Cain
1 box of cake mix
1 can of diet soda
mix as directed, don't add oil or eggs. Pour into a greased and floured pan or cupcake liners, bake as directed. Cupcakes are equivalent to a half a piece of cake. Saves calories! Recipe from the Weight Watchers website.
I have yet found a name brand cake product that has honestly produced a cake mix with zero trans fats. Including Duncan Hines. Instead what I have found as I continue to read the label is that the ingredients reveals that trans fats are still present in the mix, i.e., partially hydrogenated oils, or hydrogenated oils (cottonseed, palm oils) etc. One must read further and not be duped into thinking that just because the label states no trans fats, that there really aren't any. However, for savvy, shoppers who keep reading will steer clear if they see ingredients that reveal hidden trans fats, regardless of the label.
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