Secrets from the Cake (Mix) Doctor

Southern Living, Mar 2004 by Florio, Donna

These traditional Southern cakes are so good, no one will guess theyre not made from scratch.

Wish you had the time and talent to make great cakes like your mother or aunt? Then take some advice from Nashville food writer Anne Byrn, a.k.a. The Cake Mix Doctor. Her books offer great ways to enhance mixes to make them as good-or better-than cakes made from scratch.

Her books, The Cake Mix Doctor and Chocolate From the Cake Mix Doctor, offer updated versions of a number of favorite Southern cakes that have graced family dinners and covered-dish suppers for a generation.

"I wrote a story for The Tennessean in Nashville in june 1998, sharing cake mix recipes my family had doctored," Anne explains. "The reaction was so strong, I asked readers to send in their own favorites. I got 500 recipes within one week. I quickly realized this should be a book."

The Cake Mix Doctor (Workman Publishing Company, Inc., $14.95) was a runaway success. Anne soon had a Web site, www.cakemixdoctor. com, and a second book. She most recently turned her surgical skills to savory foods with The Dinner Doctor (Workman Publishing Company, Inc., $14.95). Of course, the book includes her signature cakes as well.

Her efforts have helped other time-pressed cooks produce delicious desserts. Anne says, "The Cake Mix Doctor has made baking accessible to an awful lot of people who hadn't had any luck with it before." Whip up your own excellent confection with one of these favorites adapted from The Cake Mix Doctor.

TRIPLE-LAYER TENNESSEE JAM CAKE

MAKES 16 SERVINGS

PREP: 25 MIN., BAKE: 23 MIN., STAND: 10 MIN.

We especially love this luscious caramel frosting, which is easier and quicker than others we've tried.

1 (18.25-ounce) package spice cake mix

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup sweetened applesauce

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 large eggs

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup blackberry jam

Quick Caramel Frosting

BEAT the first 6 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Scrape down sides, and beat at medium speed 2 more minutes until well blended, stopping to scrape down sides, if needed. Pour batter evenly into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cakepans.

BAKE at 350° for 20 to 23 minutes or until cakes are light brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger.

COOL in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

PLACE one layer on a serving platter. Spread with ½ cup blackberry jam, leaving a ½-inch border. Spread a smooth, thin layer of warm Quick Caramel Frosting over jam. Repeat layers. Top with third cake layer. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining Quick Caramel Frosting, working quickly before the frosting hardens. (If frosting becomes too hard to spread, place it over low heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.) Let cake stand 10 minutes.

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Knott's Berry Farm Blackberry Jam.

Quick Caramel Frosting:

MAKES 3 CUPS

PREP: 10 MIN, COOK: 12 MIN.

½ cup butter or margarine

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

½ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

¼ cup milk

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

BRING first 3 ingredients to boil in a 3 ½-quart saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly, about 2 minutes.

STIR in milk, and bring to a boil; remove from heat. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, stirring with a wooden spoon until smooth. Use immediately.

TENNESSEE JAM CAKE: Pour batter evenly into 2 (9-inch) round cakepans. Bake at 350° for 26 to 28 minutes or until cakes are light brown and spring back when pressed with your finger. Place one layer on a serving platter, and spread ½ cup of jam on top of layer. Spread warm Quick Caramel Frosting smoothly over jam. Top with remaining layer; proceed as directed.

TRIPLE-DECKER STRAWBERRY CAKE

MAKES 16 SERVINGS

PREP: 25 MIN., BAKE: 23 MIN.

We doubled the frosting called for in Anne's original recipe to add extra richness to this cake. It keeps best in the refrigerator.

1 (18.25-ounce) package white cake mix

1 (3-ounce) package strawberry gelatin

4 large eggs

½ cup sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup finely chopped fresh strawberries

1 cup vegetable oil

½ cup milk

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting

Garnish: whole strawberries

BEAT cake mix and next 7 ingredients at low speed with an electric mixer 1 minute. Scrape down sides, and beat at medium speed 2 more minutes, stopping to scrape down sides, if needed. (Strawberries should be well blended into batter.)

POUR batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch cakepans.

BAKE at 350° for 23 minutes or until cakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger.

COOL in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.

SPREAD Strawberry Buttercream Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired.

NOTE: For testing purposes only, we used Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Classic White Cake Mix without pudding.

TO MAKE AHEAD: Place finished cake in the refrigerator, uncovered, and chill for 20 minutes or until the frosting sets. Cover well with wax paper, and store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To freeze, wrap chilled cake with aluminum foil, and freeze up to 6 months. Thaw cake overnight in the refrigerator.