Natural Whoopie Pies and Updated Natural Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix

Oh I love exploding myths and making convenience foods from scratch. Why is it? Why do I love it? Well...perhaps it's the sweet stream of email flowing to my heart thanking me for saving family budgets around the world. Literally. It's so highly motivating to get a thank you note. It warms the coggles of my heart.

How many recipes call for a box of cake mix? Well, in America anyway, I've seen whole books written on the subject. They're books that doctor a cake mix into a lot of other stuff. However...what if the person making the cake or doctored mix had some crazy stipulations? I do. I want the mix being made with all natural ingredients, from scratch and things most people have access to. I want it made to taste wonderful without adding a lot of chemicals to my diet. Yikes...did I just say "diet" in blog entry about chocolate cake? Oh the irony of my existence is sometimes scary.

You will need some very high quality vanilla. It will still make a very impressive cake. If this recipe looks familiar, It is in fact an adaptation of the Chocolate Toffee Buttermilk Cake Mix. A simple form of that cake with some subtle changes. The texture is still perfect.

Chef Tess' Natural Chocolate Cake Mix

yield 16 cups mix (4 mixes total)

1 cup (8 oz) Avocado oil
6 cups (1 lb 11 oz)  Organic grains sprouted  white wheat flour here
3 cups (11.5 oz) baking cocoa
1 cup ( 4.5 oz) non-fat milk powder or soy milk powder
2 1/2 cups coconut sugar or  Pyure Organic Stevia Sweetener
4 tsp salt
1/3 cup baking powder (2 oz)
1T double strength vanilla bean paste
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cayenne pepper

To prepare mix: In a large 3 gallon or larger bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, dry milk
sugar, baking powder and salt very well. You may use an electric mixer if you have one with a large enough bowl. With a wire whisk, ease the avocado oil into the dry ingredients in a steady stream until the mixture resembles sand. Take the mix and a couple of cup fulls at a time, run through a flour sifter. I use a hand flour sifter that works very well to help the mix become smooth and homogeneous. ( Need a picture tutorial on the mix making process? See: My Yellow Homemade Cake Mix) Divide into quart size bags. 20 oz of mix equals one  conventional cake mix. This is almost exactly 4 cups of measured mix.

To bake:
Combine with 3 eggs
1/3 cup Avocado oil
1 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes
2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bunt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed.

Whoopie Pies from Cake Mix

4 cups cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup Avocado oil
Mix to combine. Scoop by rounded Tablespoon onto parchment lined baking sheet, allowing 1 inch between cookies for spreading. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes until cake springs back. Remove from oven and cool completely. Sandwich with cream cheese white chocolate frosting (below).  

Cream Cheese and White Chocolate Orange Frosting

3 ½ c powdered sugar
 ½ c butter, softened 
8 oz cream cheese, softened 
6 oz white chocolate*, melted and cooled 
½ t orange extract 
1 T orange zest

Chop the white chocolate and melt in the microwave. Start with 30 seconds then stir and microwave in 10 second increments until nearly melted. Stir until remaining small chunks melt entirely. Set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it is completely smooth, with no visible lumps. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined. Add the powdered sugar and orange extract and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the white chocolate and the orange zest. Do not over beat the filling, or it will lose structure. (The filling can be made 1 day ahead. Cover the bowl tightly and put it in the refrigerator. Let the filling soften at room temperature before using.) *Please use real white chocolate. White“confection,” “dipping chocolate,” “bark,” or “morsels” will not work. You know it’s white chocolate if in the ingredient list you see cocoa butter. If you can’t find white chocolate, it’s better to leave it out than to use the fake stuff.


There you go darlings! Something wickedly delicious and somewhat healthy for a crazy day.

Always My Very Best,
Your Friend Chef Tess

Gifts of Impeccable Taste (Class Notes)

I'm sharing the class notes from my Honeyville Farms class here. Many of the recipes make amazing scratch mixes and some use Honeyville's bulk mixes as a base. Enjoy!

Gifts of Impeccable Taste

Holiday Mix Making 101

Giving a gift is an extension of who you are. It reflects a lot about your heart and your feelings toward another. It is something that can show your love and gratitude. It is something that can also be hard on your family budget if done incorrectly. I think one of the best things I ever started doing was making mixes for gift giving!

Why Make Mixes?

• Budget Friendly
• Control Ingredients
• Show Creativity
• Convenient to Give and Receive (I don't need to eat them right away).
• Save Time
• Easily incorporated into Long Term Food Storage

How Do You Package Mixes?

• Mason Jars and Up-cycled Glass Jars
  be creative with the ties, lids and more! You can have a lot of fun with ceramic paint on the outside of jars. Just be sure not to use it inside as most are not food grade. Or...just wrap it really funky with the scrap book paper! How easy is that?
  
• Gift Bags/lunch sacks or Goodie Bags
  
  
  
• Gift Basket Sets...
  
• Up-cycled containers
  Tins, canisters, boxes, and more...most often I employ the use of my friendly neighborhood contact paper! It's like a giant sticker that changes any container into a up-cycled
  
• Fabric Bags
  Fabric bags can add a lot of great texture and color to a gift. They don't have to be expensive. I find them many times at the dollar and discount stores. Antique stores are also great for this!
  
• Hot pads
  These are the best "fabric bag" for a practical gift mix! It doubles as the tool to take the cookies out of the oven! Check the discount stores. They go in sale big time this time of year!

My Beginner's Gourmet Recipe Collection

MY Chef Tess VERSION OF “BISQUICK”

9 c all purpose flour (organic whole wheat...if you want whole grain wheat use pastry wheat flour, or if you use hard wheat, you will need to replace one c of wheat flour with cornstarch) 2 cups shortening powder OR Butter Powder 1/3 c baking powder 4tsp salt 1 c fat free powdered milk (optional). Combine all ingredients to make the mix.

• For biscuits: 2 c mix, 1/2 -3/4 c cold water (depending on the flour*), bake 425 10-12 minutes; up to 1T seasoning, Freeze Dried cheese or dehydrated green onion.
• Pancakes: 2 c mix, 1 c water-- hot griddle; (up to ½ cup freeze dried berries. Let batter sit 5 minutes before making pancakes). “Spiced” use ½ tsp Wise Woman or ginger powder.
• Muffins: 1 1/2 c mix, 2T egg powder, ¾ c water. 425 15-20 minutes; (add 1/3 cup sugar for sweet muffins)
• Cobblers: 1 3/4 c mix, 1 tsp powdered vanilla, 1/3 c sugar or ganulated fructose, 3/4 c water, mix just until combined. Put over 4 c of fruit or fruit filling in a 9 inch by 9 inch casserole. 375 35-40 minutes;
• Scones: 2 c mix, 1/2 c sugar, 1/2 c water, (flavor agents of choice, like cinnamon, currants, dried cherries, chocolate chips...) Roll out in circle 1/2 inch thick and cut into wedges. Bake 425 10-12 minutes. an infused sugar ( I love vanilla sugar with rose petal and cardamom).

*Note that whole wheat flour will require an addition of about 2 T of water per 1cup called for due to the fiber content and it's amazing ability to soak up the water. Note on coconut oil: this is a good for you oil, just add it in a steady stream while your mixer is going. Lower fat is good right?

Variations On Honeyville Pancake Mix

Honeyville Pancake mix makes an excellent substitute for homemade mix and can easily be turned into gourmet pancake mixes to give during the holidays! I put 2 cups of Honeyville pancake mix in “goodie baggies” and make the following variations.

Spiced Peach Pecan pancake Mix : 1 scoop Honeyville peaches and cream smoothie mix and ½ cup chopped pecans and 1 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of The East

Peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes: 3T dehydrated peanut butter and ½ cup mini chocolate chips.

Gingered-Mixed Berry almond pancake mix: 1 scoop Honeyville Mixed Berry Smoothie mix, ½ cup chopped almonds, ½ tsp ginger, ½ tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend

Apple Spice 6 grain pancake mix: ½ cup rolled 6 grain and ¼ cup freeze dried apple (crushed or pulsed in a spice mill to be a powder) ½ tsp Wise Woman of the East Spice Blend

Spiced Sweet Potato Pancakes: ½ cup freeze dried sweet potato (pulsed in a spice mill until a powder) ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice. Or use 1 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman for the spice. 1 tsp vanilla or maple powder.

To Prepare Pancakes: Combine Pancake Mix with 1 ½ cups water (add more or less water depending on how thick you like your pancakes). Preheat electric griddle to 375 degrees. Oil griddle and bake pancakes. Serve with syrup, cream and nuts if desired.

Chef Tess Magic Fudge Mix 

2 lb powdered sugar
1 cup Honeyville powdered butter
2 cups baker's cocoa
1 tsp salt
1 tsp double strength vanilla, 1/2 tsp rum extract
1/2 tsp chef Tess Wise Woman of The East Spice Blend
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Mix directions:
Combine all ingredients  until well blended. Place in a gallon size freezer bag. I store the bags in the fridge or freezer. Great gift for the holidays! When the holiday get closer, I simply slip the mix into a fabric bag with the directions to mix on a cute tag. Give it away not just for the winter holidays, but for Mother's Day. Father's Day. Tuesday.
To prepare:
Put mix in a microwave safe bowl with 3/4 cup water and heat about 2 minutes stirring well. Heat one more minute. In the meantime line an 8 inch by 8 inch cake pan with foil then spray the foil with nonstick coating. Pour the melted mix into the foil lined pan and top with nuts or dried fruit if desired. Leave pan out to cool 3-4 hours or overnight. Remove from the pan, and take off the foil. Cut into 1 inch squares, yield 4 dozen love bombs. about 4 lbs of fudge.

Cookie Mixes

Chef Tess Bakeresse Extra Moist Buttermilk Cookie Mix

9 cups all purpose flour (or nine grain flour),1 ¼ cup Honeyville whole egg powder, 1 ¼ cup buttermilk powder or instant milk powder

1 ½ cup Honeyville vanilla pudding mix, 3T baking powder, 1T salt, 4 cup Honeyville butter powder, 2T LorAnn Princess Emulsion (optional) ,3 cups sugar or Honeyville dehydrated honey

Combine all ingredients well. This mix will make 20 cups of cookie mix. I use 2 cups of mix per gourmet cookie mix. This recipe will make 10 bags of plain sugar cookie mix.

Chef Tess White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Coconut Lime Verbana Cookie Mix

2 cups buttermilk cookie mix, ½ cup macadamia nuts, 1 cup white chocolate chips, ½ cup coconut flakes, 2 tsp lime zest (fine grated, dehydrated 24 hours in a dry room) Combine the zest in with the cookie mix. Put in the bottom of a quart mason jar. Top with Macadamia nuts, chocolate and coconut layer. Seal tightly. To bake, combine with 1/3 cup water. Place one inch balls of dough on a cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes.

Chef Tess Peanut butter toffee Crunch Cookie Mix

2 cups buttermilk cookie mix, ¼ cup peanut butter powder,¼ cup Heath Bar Toffee bits

Combine well. Put in quart size storage bag or mason jar.

Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a medium size bowl combine cookie mix with 1/3 cup water, just until combined. Drop by Tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheets, 1 inch apart. Yield 1 dozen cookies. Bake 8-10 minutes until golden brown.

Chef Tess Dark Chocolate Orange 4 grain Cookie Mix

2 cups buttermilk cookie mix,1 cup 4 grain rolled cereal (or quick oats),1 cup dark chocolate chips,2 tsp dry orange zest

Put 2 cups cookie mix in the bottom of a quart size mason jar. Add a layer of 4 grain cereal, a layer of chocolate chips and the orange zest. Seal tight. To bake: Combine cookie mix with ½ cup water. Drop by rounded Tablespoon on ungreased cookie sheet and bake 375 degrees 10-12 minutes.

Chef Tess Homemade Brownie Mix

1 1/4 c all-purpose flour, 1 cup Honeyville Dehydrated butter, 2/3 cup Honeyville whole egg powder,1 tsp salt 2/3 c cocoa powder, 1 c white sugar 1/2 c chocolate chips, 2T vanilla pudding mix.

Combine all ingredients and blend well. TO MAKE: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x

13 inch pan. Empty brownie mix into a large mixing bowl, and stir to blend. Mix in ¾ cup water, just until combined. Mix thoroughly. Spread batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely in pan before cutting.

Gourmet Deluxe Variations on a Honeyville Brownie Mix

(You get 3* mixes per 7 lb bag):

4 ½ cups Honeyville brownie Mix

Raspberry Red Velvet and white chocolate Brownies: Add 1 packet raspberry kool-aid, ½ cup freeze dried (crushed) raspberries and ½ tsp dehydrated orange zest. 1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks.

Peanut Butter Fudge Brownies: Add ½ cup dehydrated peanut butter and add 1 cup salted peanuts to the mix.

Pecan Turtle Brownies: Add 1 cup chopped pecans to the mix. In a separate bag provide 1 cup caramel bits (by Kraft). Prepare brownie mix. Bake. Remove from oven and top with caramel bits while still warm.

To prepare: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Combine brownie mix with 2 eggs, ¼ cup water and ½ cup vegetable oil in a bowl. Mix until well combined. Spread into a greased 9 inch by 13 inch baking sheet 30-35 minutes.

*If you make smaller mixes you can get 6 mixes. Just use 2 ¼ cup mix, cut “add in” ingedients in half. Use 1 egg, 2T water and ¼ cup vegetable oil. Bake in an 8 inch by 8 inch pan. 15-20 minutes.

Chef Stephanie Petersen's Homemade Gourmet Chocolate Cake Mix 

yield 18 cups mix (4 1/2 mixes total)

2 cup Honeyville powdered butter , 6 cups (1 lb 11 oz) all purpose cake flour, 3 cups (11.5 oz) baking cocoa, 1 cup ( 4.5 oz) instant milk powder
5 cups(2 lb) granulated sugar, 4 tsp salt, 1/3 cup (2 oz) baking powder, 1T double strength vanilla ( or vanilla bean paste),1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cayenne pepper

To prepare mix: In a large 3 gallon or larger bowl, combine the powdered butter,  flour, cocoa, dry milk
sugar, baking powder and salt, cardamom and cayenne very well. Divide into quart size bags.

 2o oz of mix equals one cake mix. This is almost exactly 4 cups of measured mix.

To bake:
Combine with 3 eggs ( or 6T of powdered egg hydrated with ¾ cup of water)
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes
2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bunt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed

Gourmet Chocolate Cake Mix Variations

Chef Tess Double Chocolate Hazelnut Cookies:

4 cups Chef Tess Chocolate Cake mix, 2T Honeyville dehydrated egg powder, 1 cup chocolate chips (high quality) ½ cup chopped hazelnuts

To prepare you will need : ½ cup water and ¼ cup melted butter.

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cookie mix, melted butter and water in a bowl. Drop by heaping Tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets. Bake until set but still soft in the center, 8-10 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and allow to cool on pan 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan and allow to cool completely.

White chocolate Sundried Cherry-Almond chewy cookies: 4 cups Chef Tess Cake Mix, 2T Honeyville whole egg powder, 1 cup white chocolate chips, 1/2cup chopped almonds ½ cup sundried cherries. To prepare you will need ½ cup water and ¼ cup melted butter. Place rack in center of oven. Preheat to 350 degrees. Combine melted butter and water with the cookie mix. Drop by rounded Tablespoon onto greased cookie sheet and bake 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven. Allow to cool 2-3 minutes on pan. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely.

Chef Tess Chocolate Macaroon Bar Mix: 4 cups Chef Tess Chocolate Cake Mix,2 T Honeyville whole egg powder, ½ tsp almond extract.Macaroon Topping mix: 1 ½ cup macaroon coconut, ¼ cup honeyville whole egg powder. Separate bag of 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. To prepare crust you will need 1c melted butter and ¼ cup water. For topping ½ cup cool water. Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crust mix with 1 cup melted butter and ¼ cup water. Spread into the bottom of a 9 by 13 inch baking pan. The batter will be thick. For the topping, combine with ½ cup cool water and mix until very combined. Spread over the chocolate crust mixture. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake until the coconut mixture sets, 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 1 hour. Yield 24 bars.

Honeyville Gourmet White Cake Mix Variations

Honeyville white cake mix not only makes great cake, it can be used for dessert mixes as well. Here are a few of my favorite variations!

Chef Tess Jam Crumble Bar Mix: 4 cups Honeyville White cake mix, 1 cups sugar, 1 cup Honeyville quick oats or 4 grain cereal mix, ½ cup dehydrated honey, ¼ cup Honeyville whole egg powder, 1 tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East. To prepare you will need 1/4 cup water, 1 cup melted butter and 2 cups jam (any flavor) 1 9 by 13 inch baking pan.

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Place the crumble bar mix in a large bowl and combine with water and melted butter until combined (about a minute). The mixture will be thick. Reserve 11/2 cup for the topping. Using fingertips, press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan so it reaches all sides. Spread the jam over the the mixture in a layer with a spatula. Pinch off pieces of the reserved crust mixture and scatter over the jam. Bake until light brown and bubbling, 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool 30 minutes before cutting. Yield 24 bars.

Wise Woman's Snickerdoodle Blondies:

Bar mix: 4 cups Honeyville white cake mix, ¼ cup Honeyville whole egg powder. Spiced sugar mix: 1T chef Tess Wise Woman of the East spice blend ¼ cup sugar To prepare you will need: ½ cup melted butter and ½ cu water

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch by 13 baking pan. Combine Bar mix with melted butter and water until just combined. Spread into baking pan. Sprinkle with Spice sugar mixture

Chef Tess Butterscotch Pistachio Scotchies Mix:

4 cups Honeyville white cake mix, ¼ cup dehydrated honey, ¼ cup Honeyville whole egg powder, 1 tsp butterscotch flavored oil or powder. In a separate bag: 1 cup salted pistachio, 1 cup butterscotch chips

To prepare you will need 1 9 by 13 inch baking pan, 1/2 cup water, ½ cup melted butter

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine Mix with water in a bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes by hand. Transfer batter to 9 by 13 inch baking pan, spreading evenly. Sprinkle the bars with the pistachio and butterscotch chips. Bake until golden brown, 27-29 minutes. Allow to cool 30 minutes before cutting. Yield 24 bars.

Candy-land Bars Mix: 4 cups Honeyville white cake mix ,½ cup dehydrated honey, ¼ cup Honeyville whole egg powder, ¼ cup Honeyville butter powder. In a separate baggie: 2 cups chopped candy bar pieces (Butterfinger, Mounds or Almond Joy, Snickers, Zero or Reese's Peanut butter cups). To Prepare you will need: ½ cup melted butter, ½ cup water and 1 9 by 13 inch baking pan.

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine bar mix with melted butter and water until just combined. Spread mixture into a well greased 9 by 13 inch pan and sprinkle with candy bar pieces. Bake until golden brown, 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool about an hour before cutting. Yield 24 bars.

Chef Tess Gourmet Paradise Oatmeal Mac-Nut Cookies

4 cups Honeyville white cake mix, ¼ cup Honeyville whole egg powder,1 cup all purpose flour, ¾ cup quick oats, ¼ cup crushed cornflakes, ¼ cup coconut flakes,1 cup whole macadamia nuts,1 cup white chocolate chips. To prepare you will need ¾ cup melted butter, ½ cup water. Directions: Combine cookie mix with melted butter and water. Dough will be thick. Drop by heaping teaspoon two inches apart on a cookie sheet (you may use a cookie scoop). Bake until golden brown 8-10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Cool on baking sheet 2-3 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Chef Tess Christmas Mulled Apple Cider Bundt Cake Mix with Lemon Glaze

4 cups Honeyville white cake mix, ½ cup honevyille vanilla pudding mix, ½ cup honeyville whole egg powder, 1 ½ tsp Chef Tess Wise Woman of the East Spice blend. Glaze mix: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 T Honeyville lemonade powder.

To prepare cake you will need: 2 cups high quality apple cider, ½ cup olive oil, 1 Bundt pan, flour for dusting the pan. To prepare glaze you will need: 2T hot water.Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist Bundt pan with non-stick spray and dust with flour. Shake out excess flour and set aside. Place the cake mix in a mixer and combine with apple cider and olive oil, mixing on low speed 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed 2 minutes, scraping down sides again. The batter should be thick and well combined. Pour into pan, place in oven and bake 42-48 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Meanwhile prepare the glaze by combining the mix with 2T hot water and mixing until smooth. Inver the cake onto a platter while it is still warm and pour the glaze over the cake. Garnish with spices, and fruit if desired. Slice and serve.

My Favorite Soup Mixes for the Holidays

Warm and Bright Holiday Greetings: I give the jar wrapped in a shiny paper and tied with a gold bow. In a gift basket I'll include a wooden spoon with a red handle tied with gingham and some garlic-cheese biscuit mix.

Chef Tess Creamy Tomato Soup Mix

In a quart jar with an oxygen absorber packet:

1/2 c flour (or 1/4 cup cornstarch or Ultra Gel ) 1 1/2 c nonfat dry milk powder 1/2 c tomato powder 1 bay leaf 1 T dehydrated onion ¼ tsp celery seed 2 tsp granulated garlic 2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp pepper 2 tsp thyme 2 T MSG free bullion (optional) (omit previous salt if you use bullion)

I keep this mix in jars sealed and labeled for a quick dinner anytime of the year. They keep fresh up to a year (for best flavor) so please be sure to label and date clearly.

To prepare, combine soup mix with 6 cups water (for a richer cream soup, use milk) and whisk until combined over medium heat. Simmer 15-20 minutes. Add any flavor variations you like: 2 cups chopped broccoli or cauliflower, potatoes, corn, carrots, chicken, clams, crumbled bacon. If you want a cheese soup, be sure it gets added only at the very end after

soup is off the heat or it will be grainy.

Country Style Holiday Greetings: I give this one wrapped in gingham with rustic wood ornament and a wooden spoon. In a gift basket I'll also add some homemade biscuit mix.

Chef Tess Country Style Beef Stew In a Jar

In a quart jar with an oxygen-absorber packet:

1 c Honeyville instant red beans, 1 c Honeyville freeze dried mixed vegetables, ¾ cup Honeyville Freeze Dried diced beef, 1 c Honeyville dehydrated diced potatoes, ¼ c Honeyville dehydrated onions. Seasonings I shake down into the jar: ½ c tomato powder 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp garlic ¼ c flour 1 T beef bullion. It will fit if you shake it really well. yield 12 one cup servings

Layer all in a clean quart canning jar. Place 1 oxygen packet on top and close tightly using a canning lid and ring. Shelf stable at 65-70 degrees for 6-7 years. To prepare Country Style Beef Stew: In a gallon pot, combine stew mix with 6 c water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes. Works great in a solar oven. Bake one hour.

Warmest Holiday Greetings: I give this one wrapped in funky red pepper fabric, Raffia bow with a bag of corn chips in a basket. Often, I embellish this one with poinsettia and Mexican yarn puff balls or tissue paper flowers.

Chef Tess Taco Soup Mix in a Jar

In Quart jar with an oxygen-absorber packet:

2 c Honeyville instant Red Beans 1 c Taco TVP meat 1/2 c Dehydrated Onion 1/3 c Freeze Dried Mixed Peppers 3/4 c Freeze Dried Corn 1/2 c Tomato Powder 1 T homemade taco seasoning

Put a funnel on the mouth of a quart jar the ingredients into the jar When you get to the tomato powder, just shake the jar so it works its way into the cracks. Add an oxygen packet. Seal. Good on the shelf in a cool place up to 5-7 years. To prepare,Taco Soup: place contents of jar in a gallon pot in a solar oven or on the stove. Add 2 quarts of water and simmer 20-30 minutes until veggies are tender. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and salsa if desired.

Cheesy Holiday Greetings: I give this one with a bright orange or yellow gingham bow, a small jar of freeze dried cheddar cheese and a bag of cheese biscuit mix in a basket.

Creamy Potato Cheese and Ham with Rosemary Soup mix

in a quart jar with an oxygen absorber packet:

3 cups Honeyville Creamy Potato soup mix

1 cup Honeyville Freeze Dried Ham (do not use the ham TVP for this)

1 bay leaf. 1 tsp dehydrated rosemary 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions: Combine soup mix with 10 cups cool water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Yield 12 cups soup.

There you go! Enjoy a very Merry Christmas! Xoxo!

Always My Very Best,

Your Friend Chef Tess

Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix

It's Mix Monday! Oh I love exploding myths and making convenience foods from scratch. Why is it? Why do I love it? Well...perhaps it's the sweet stream of email flowing to my heart thanking me for saving family budgets around the world. Literally. It's so highly motivating to get a thank you note. It warms the coggles of my heart.

How many recipes call for a box of cake mix? Well in America anyway I've seen whole books written on the subject. They're books that doctor a cake mix into a lot of other stuff. However...what if the person making the cake or doctored mix had some crazy stipulations? I do. I want the mix being made with all natural ingredients, from scratch and things most people have access to. I want it made to taste wonderful without adding a lot of chemicals to my diet. Yikes...did I just say "diet" in blog entry about chocolate cake? Oh the irony of my existence is sometimes scary.

You will need some very high quality vanilla. It will still make a very impressive cake. If this recipe looks familiar, It is in fact an adaptation of the Chocolate Toffee Buttermilk Cake Mix. A simple form of that cake with some subtle changes.
The texture is still perfect.

Chef Tess' Chocolate Cake Mix

yield 18 cups mix (4 1/2 mixes total)

1 cup (8 oz) butter
6 cups (1 lb 11 oz) all purpose flour
3 cups (11.5 oz) baking cocoa
1 cup ( 4.5 oz) non-fat milk powder or soy milk powder
5 cups(2 lb) granulated sugar
4 tsp salt
1/3 cup baking powder (2 oz)
1T double strength vanilla ( or vanilla bean paste)
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp cayenne pepper

To prepare mix: In a large 3 gallon or larger bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, dry milk
sugar, baking powder and salt very well. You may use an electric mixer if you have one with a large enough bowl. Cut the butter into chunks and along with the flavor extracts incorporate into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles sand. Take the mix and a couple of cup fulls at a time, run through a flour sifter. I use a hand flour sifter that works very well to help the mix become smooth and homogeneous. ( Need a picture tutorial on the mix making process? See: My Yellow Homemade Cake Mix) Divide into quart size bags. 2o oz of mix equals one cake mix. This is almost exactly 4 cups of measured mix.
To bake:
Combine with 3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes
2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bunt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed.


Ganache Glaze:
1 cup cream
1 lb chopped high quality chocolate (we used Guitard)
1/4 tsp hazelnut oil
1/4 tsp fresh ground cinnamon

Boil one cup of cream in a sauce pan and pour over the chocolate. I added 1/4 tsp hazelnut oil, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/8th tsp ancho chile powder...and blended until smooth. When chocolate is melted completely and the glaze is smooth, drizzle over one inch squares of baked cake.
These where double layers of cake with peanut butter filling...

There you go. Chocolate Cake mix. All natural.

My Yellow Homemade Cake Mix

This is my cake mix.

Cake mixes. Who uses them? I think from the main stream baking point of view here in the USA it is pretty clear that most "middle of the road" every day cooks use cake mix. I know very few bakers who make them from scratch anymore. Which is too bad because we really have come far from how good cakes used to taste. I honestly love fresh from the oven scratch cake. Don't get me wrong, even I have used a mix in a pinch, but the flavor is always so boxed. I've always regretted it. I know there are a lot of folks who don't even know what scratch cake tastes like. So, when I decided to try a few cake mix recipes of my own that had the final product turn out nice but not taste boxed, it became really crucial to have people test the recipe who also liked scratch cakes. Finally after several disasters and a few good days...I came up with this recipe. Good tender crumb that holds together well enough to decorate with good flavor and no hint of a boxed cake taste. Another thing I wanted to do was make the mix reasonable accessible to those who had never used cake or speciality flour in their kitchen. Coming as a big shock to professional bakers, I measure with cups and spoons here on the blog because, lets face it, this blog isn't necessarily for the benefit of the seasoned bakers (though many learn a lot here) but for the students I know and love who have no idea where to start sometimes. So, please be patient with me for trying to take it to the masses. It just seems like a lost art that shouldn't be lost. If you happen to be one of those beginner bakers, please read my blog entry for "overnight started bread" for directions on how to measure flour and liquid. There is a method.

Do you know what else I wanted? I wanted to be able to use the same 3 eggs, 1/3 cup oil and 1 1/3 cup water it takes to make most cake mixes. Is that crazy?!

Finally what I came up with looked like this. Mr. Putt Putt says it tastes just like his mother's cake in 1955. So there. Take that. She was an amazing cook.

I really like it with a little flavored oil added to the mix but you don't have to add those if you don't have them. Almond or champagne being my favorite oil based flavors by far though orange brandy is divine. This can be made into a lemon cake by adding the zest of two lemons to the mix or orange. Using chopped maraschino cherries to make a cherry cake also works wonderfully. I'm still working on my fool proof chocolate cake mix.

Okay, here's the recipe. I use all purpose flour since most people don't have cake flour laying around. Again, I'm trying to make this as accessible to regular beginning bakers as possible and recognize that a few of you don't even know that there is a difference between different flours. If you use cake flour, use 5 cups and omit the cornstarch. It is only necessary with all purpose flour to lower the protein content and make it more conducive to tender cake production. However that being said, the cornstarch adds a little more moisture retention to the mix and I love it for that.

My Chef Tess Cake mix dry ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all purpose white flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 1/2 cup sugar
2T baking powder
1T salt
1 cup shortening (or butter )
1T double strength vanilla
Sift flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt through a flour sifter at least once to remove extra lumps. Combine shortening (or butter) with dry ingredients and vanilla in a Kitchen Aid type mixer with paddle attachment. Mix until well combined. If you don't have a mixer, it also works to cut the shortening into the flour as you would for pie crust and then run the mix through a hand held flour sifter (did you see the picture?) to make the mixture more smooth. The metal flour sifters are available to purchase at most grocery stores and baking sections of Wal-mart or Target.

Yields 9 cups cake mix. If you use butter, please keep your mix in the fridge!

4 1/2 cups mix equal to one boxed cake mix:

Combine with 3 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 1/3 cup water
200 strokes by hand or 3 minutes medium speed.

Bake time 350 degrees:
Pan size: 2 8 inch 33-35 minutes
2 9 inch 28-31 minutes
13 by 9 inch 32-35 minutes
bundt 38-43 minutes
24 cupcakes 18-21 minutes
High altitude: stir 1/4 cup all purpose flour into mix. Mix as directed.

More cake mixes to follow as experimentation continues.

There you go. Smooooches!! I have several bakers on my friend's list from Face Book who are testing this recipe but I would love other feedback as well. Please feel free to email me with your results and any questions you may have.