I had tried this company's french bread mix before, and I was not impress. But I saw this on sale at Whole Foods for $3, so I decided to pick up a box.
First, this cake mix is weird. It calls for 5 tbsp butter (why not just round up to 1/3 cup???) and a cup of buttermilk! I was freaked out by the buttermilk at first, but then I remembered that red velvet cake also uses buttermilk. Fine. I'll deal with it.
So, I figured I would make cupcakes so the cake would last longer (someone in my house cuts big slices of cake...), and then add a little kick with some raspberry flavor throughout. I almost went with cherry instead of raspberry, but I feel like raspberry is more classic with chocolate.
Anyways... these cupcakes turned out great! They were super moist, had a nice soft texture, and didn't taste grainy like some gluten free baked goods can. I do wish the cake mix was more chocolate-y though, which is odd because it's a "decadent" chocolate cake mix. Next time I'll add 1/2 cup chocolate chips into the mix, that'll do it.
Ingredients:
1 box cake mix
5 tbsp unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup + 1/3 cup raspberry preserves (seedless if possible*)
1 container gf cake frosting (vanilla or chocolate)
*Note: If you don't have seedless preserves (I couldn't find seedless), just heat jam in microwave until a liquid, then press through a sieve and strain out the seeds.
Directions:
1. Prepare cake mix according to box directions
2. Fill cupcake containers about 1/3 full with cake batter. Spoon in about 1/2 tsp raspberry jam. Top with another scoop of cake batter until about 2/3 full.
3. Bake according to box directions
4. Mix frosting with the remaining 1/3 cup raspberry preserves. Let chill.
5. Frost cupcakes. Top with fresh raspberries!
