Be better than Betty: DIY baking mixes are better for you
In the 1950s, it was said that when an elderly woman died, the “flour and shortening” business lost a customer, while when a young woman married, the cake-mix industry gained one. In short, two constituencies: those who baked and those who faked. Today, there’s an audience that falls somewhere in the middle and proves the value of a different kind of mix, the kind that is versatile, ready to go and additive-free.
The kind you make yourself.
Here’s what convinced me: I received a recent email touting “the first and only baking mix brand in the category to sustainably source clean, regenerative and socially-aware organic ingredients.” How preposterous, I thought, that those who are so deeply invested in the quality and origin of their ingredients would be baking cake from a box.
Then I remembered my neighbors, who regularly receive boxes full of premeasured and diced ingredients. They use them to “cook” dinner. These same people also like to go to the farmers market to appreciate, and maybe purchase, what is locally grown. While this might strike me as contradictory, my dive into the modern cake-mix market reveals that, for many cooks today, this state of affairs is normal.
Like everything else in cooking, though, even the cake mix market is changing. An overview from 2010 to 2020, generated by the market research firm Mintel, predicts the total sales of baking mixes in the United States will dip from $4 billion to $3.6 billion “as consumers opt for fresher, less-processed alternatives.” Cake-mix sales, specifically, are at $650 million and expected to drop to $460 million over the next three years. The loss correlates with a broad change in attitude. A younger generation of potential bakers cares about “transparency,” a concept that extends to what they put in their pantries and on their plates, and about the experience of cooking. And they have no shame about using baking mixes to get there.
“Consumers are looking to bake ‘from scratch,’ “ says Billy Roberts, a senior food and drink analyst at Mintel. Armed with a “greater degree of personal disposable income” and more confidence, they are going to bakeries, and, because of television shows such as “The Great British Bake Off,” wanting to experiment in their own ovens. At the same time, they prioritize ingredients, rejecting anything artificial or unrecognizable, and seek out specialty products they cannot find in local grocery stores. When something is presented as higher in quality, they tend to perceive it as a more healthful option, he says.
Their problem with traditional cake mixes is unrelated to the idea of their being seen as an inauthentic form of baking; it has to do with the assumption that they are full of fake materials. Unsurprisingly, the one area of growth in this sector is in specialty brands that cater to dietary concerns or promote “better” ingredients. This would explain King Arthur Flour’s “clean label” Essential Goodness mixes or Pillsbury’s Purely Simple products.
If the intention is to instruct and engage the home baker, making your own mixes seem like an even better step. With the help of Abigail Johnson Dodge, author of “The Everyday Baker” (Taunton Press, 2015), I came up with three mixes – a white mix, a chocolate mix and a cornmeal option. All you have to do is whisk together a large quantity of dry ingredients to create a base you can use to make multiple styles of cake. Whenever you feel like baking, you have them at your fingertips.
Once you compose these dry mixes from scratch, I doubt you will want to give Betty, Duncan or the rest of their kind another look. A DIY baking mix makes for a thoughtful gift, too. You can put it in a box – a beautifully wrapped one.
Big Batch Dry Mix
This plain, versatile mix can be used to make cakes, cupcakes, muffins, scones and pancakes. You can use spelt or whole wheat flour, or make the mix using only all-purpose flour.
5 cups (22 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups (18 ounces) spelt flour or whole-wheat flour (see headnote)
1 1/3 cups (9 1/3 ounces) granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1 3/4 ounces/50 grams) baking powder
2 teaspoons (1/2 ounce/15 grams) table salt
Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large container with a tight-fitting lid (15- to 16-cup capacity), until thoroughly incorporated. Seal, label and store at room temperature until ready to use. Stir mix well before using. Mix can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Per cup (using whole-wheat flour): 500 calories, 13 g protein, 111 g carbohydrates, 2 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 7 g dietary fiber, 27 g sugar
Yield: 10 1/2 cups; 1 cup equals 4 3/4 ounces
Three-Step Basic Cake: To make a basic single-layer cake (8-inch square or 9-inch round) or loaf cake (8 1/2-by-4 1/2 inches), use a fork to whisk together 2 1/2 cups Big Batch Dry Mix, 1/3 cup granulated sugar or packed light or dark brown sugar and up to 2 teaspoons spices in a mixing bowl.
Whisk together 1 cup buttermilk, unsweetened coconut milk, water or a fruit puree, 2 large eggs, up to 1 1/2 tablespoons flavorings, 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, 8 tablespoons unsalted melted butter in a liquid measuring cup, then pour over the dry mixture, along with up to 1 1/2 cups of add-ins. Stir to form a lumpy batter. Pour into a greased/floured pan, scatter pre-bake toppings over the surface (optional).
Bake in a 375-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes (square or round) or 55 to 60 minutes (loaf), until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 to 20 minutes on a wire rack before removing from the pan to cool completely.
To make a two-layer cake, double the recipe and bake in two pans.
Big Batch Cornmeal Dry Mix
Cornmeal can go sweet or savory. With this mix, you can make old-fashioned blueberry muffins or skillet corn bread. But don’t stop there: Apply it to a peach upside-down cake or sophisticated olive oil cake. Serve syrup-coated cornmeal pancakes for breakfast, or their smoked salmon-topped counterparts as hors d’oeuvres.
4 cups (18 ounces) finely ground cornmeal
4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (4 5/8 ounces) granulated sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons (42 grams) baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons (10 grams) table salt
Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large container with a tight-fitting lid (15- to 16-cup capacity), until thoroughly incorporated. Seal, label and store at room temperature until ready to use. Stir mix well before using. Mix can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Per cup: 470 calories, 10 g protein, 101 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 450 mg sodium, 11 g dietary fiber, 15 g sugar
Yield: 9 cups; 1 cup equals 5 ounces
Three-Step Basic Corn Bread (Sweet): To make an 8-inch square or loaf (8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches), use a fork to whisk together 2 1/2 cups Big Batch Cornmeal Dry Mix, 1/3 to 1/2 cup granulated sugar or packed light or dark brown sugar and up to 1 teaspoon spices in a mixing bowl.
Whisk together 1 cup buttermilk, unsweetened coconut milk or a fruit puree, 2 large eggs, up to 1 1/2 tablespoons flavorings and 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract in a liquid measuring cup, then pour over the dry mixture, along with 8 tablespoons unsalted melted butter and up to 1 cup of add-ins (optional). Gently fold until well blended, then pour into the greased/floured pan.
Bake in a 350-degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes (square) or 50 to 55 minutes (loaf). Cool on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes in the pan, then dislodge to cool completely.
Big Batch Chocolate Dry Mix
Everyone needs a chocolate layer cake at the ready for those special celebratory moments. That’s what this one’s for, and with just some water and oil, and an egg, it’s pretty much frosting-ready. It’s so much better than anything you could have bought in a box. Muffins, scones and cupcakes, of course, are all doable as well.
4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 1/3 cups (15 ounces) whole-wheat flour (may substitute spelt flour)
2 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups (9 3/8 ounces) granulated sugar
4 tablespoons (1 3/4 ounces/50 grams) baking powder
2 teaspoons (1/2 ounce/15 grams) table salt
Combine the flours, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large container (15- to 16-cup capacity). Whisk until very well blended, making sure to get into the corners and bottom of the container. Cover, label and stow at room temperature until ready to use. Stir mix well before using. Mix can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 months.
Per cup: 470 calories, 14 g protein, 98 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 500 mg sodium, 9 g dietary fiber, 25 g sugar
Yield: 11 cups; 1 cup equals 4 1/2 ounces.
Three-Step Basic Chocolate Cake: To make a basic single-layer cake (9-inch round), whisk together 1 3/4 cups Big Batch Chocolate Dry Mix, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, up to 3/4 teaspoon spices (optional) and 1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional) in a mixing bowl.
Add 3/4 cup water, 1/2 cup oil, 1 large egg and 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract and whisk to form a smooth batter. Pour into a greased/floured 9-inch round layer cake pan and tap it gently on the counter to release some of the batter’s air bubbles.
Bake in a 375-degree oven for 39 to 41 minutes (square or round) until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 to 20 minutes, then invert to dislodge and turn right side up on the rack to cool completely.
To make a two-layer cake, double the recipe and bake in two pans. To make 12 cupcakes, bake in a 375-degree oven for 17 to 19 minutes.
This story was originally published September 26, 2017 at 10:23 AM.