One of the things I enjoy most about stocking my pantry is finding simple things I can make myself instead of buying another mix at the grocery store.
I'm not suggesting that we have to make everything from scratch. I certainly don't! But when something is as simple as flour, sugar, baking powder and a few other ingredients I already have in my pantry, it makes sense for me to make a larger batch and have it ready when I need it.
Today I'm sharing three of those mixes: Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix, Homemade Yellow Cake Mix, and Homemade Muffin Mix.
And that muffin mix gave me one of my favorite surprises of the day.
Why Make Homemade Baking Mixes?
I actually pulled a store-bought chocolate cake mix and yellow cake mix out of my extended pantry before filming this video.
I've bought plenty of boxed cake mixes over the years, and there's certainly nothing wrong with using one when that's what works for you.
But looking at those boxes reminded me how easy it is to make my own basic mixes from ingredients I already keep at home.
The biggest advantage for me is convenience with control. I can spend a few minutes preparing the dry mix now, and the next time I want to bake, much of the measuring is already done.
Homemade Chocolate Cake Mix
Ingredients
4½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4½ teaspoons baking powder
Whisk the ingredients together extremely well before transferring the mixture to an airtight container. Because you'll be measuring only part of the prepared mix for each cake, it's important that everything is evenly distributed.
To Make One Chocolate Cake
3¾ cups prepared Chocolate Cake Mix
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
¾ cup melted butter
Beat until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.
Bake at 350°F until the cake tests done. The exact baking time will depend on your pan and oven.
Homemade Yellow Cake Mix
Ingredients
4½ cups all-purpose flour
3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4½ teaspoons baking powder
Whisk thoroughly and store in an airtight container.
To Make One Yellow Cake
3½ cups prepared Yellow Cake Mix
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
¾ cup melted butter
Beat until smooth and bake at 350°F until the cake tests done.
Homemade Muffin Mix
This may be my favorite of the three simply because it's so versatile.
Instead of making one large container, I prepare the muffin mix in wide-mouth quart Mason jars. Each jar contains enough dry mix for one batch of muffins.
For One Quart Jar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon salt
Combine well and store in an airtight quart jar.
To Make One Batch of Muffins
1 quart jar Homemade Muffin Mix
½ cup melted butter
½ cup sour cream
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup mix-ins of your choice
Stir the batter by hand just until combined.
Bake at 350°F for approximately 25 minutes, or until the muffins test done.
Apple Spice Muffins
For today's batch, I wanted something that tasted like fall, so I used:
About 1 cup finely chopped apple + 1 teaspoon Homemade Autumn Pumpkin Spice Mix.
I also used sour cream in the muffin batter.
These turned out even better than I expected. The apple gives you little bites of fruit throughout the muffin, while the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and cloves in the Autumn Pumpkin Spice give them that warm fall flavor.
This is definitely a combination I'll make again.
HOT APPLE CIDER/AUTUMN PUMPKIN SPICE POST
A Pantry Mix Doesn't Have to Be Boring
That's one reason I like having a basic muffin mix ready in the pantry.
Today it became Apple Spice Muffins. Another day I could use blueberries, freeze-dried berries, chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts, or whatever I happen to have available.
I'm starting with the same jar of dry ingredients, but the finished muffins don't have to be the same every time.
And that is exactly what I want from my extended pantry: simple ingredients that give me options.
The Jar Labels I Use
If you're wondering about the labels on my Mason jars, these are the ones I use:
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