soda in cake??

[fisherofmengirly]

A friend of mine said she was having "diet cake" this weekend. I had no clue what that was (or how she''d go about making it), so I asked her about it. She said all you do is buy a boxed mix and add one 12 oz. can of diet, caffeine free soda to it. She said for chocolate cake, you add a dark drink (coke, root beer, etc.) and for yellow or white cake, you use something like Sprite), and that''s all you do. Mix it up, bake it. No oil, no eggs. I was thinking, "no flippin way!!"

I told Paul about it and he wanted to try it. We bought a Devils Food cake mix after church today and I made cupcakes (using diet root beer); they are SO good!

I''ve been trying really, really hard to eat right lately, to be healthy for the baby we''d some day like to have. So, maybe it''s just because I''ve not had "real" sweets in a while, but it was fabulous. Moist and rich and great stuff.

Anyone else ever heard of this?

Even Paul liked it, and he hates anything labeled "diet."

 

[ChargerGrrl]

i''ve heard about this, but have yet to try it. i may have to give it a shot!

hungry girl has a lot of recipe-swapping ideas. check it out: http://www.hungry-girl.com/

 

[mimzy]

WEIRD.

and potentially pretty cool. glad your cupcakes turned out!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I am going to try this recipe this week!

 

[Independent Gal]

No way! I have got to try that.

 

[musey]

I have a friend who is on weight watchers, and she SWEARS by this for all special occasions that involve cake or brownies. I''ve tried it, it''s pretty yummy--but I''m not one of those people with super-perceptive tastebuds who could identify ingredients just from a spoonful

 

[AmberGretchen]

I love it - I''ve made a variety of combinations, and for the record, diet coke works with almost any kind of cake mix, in spite of the caffeine. Its really very tasty, the only thing to be careful of is that you are still getting all the sugar and calories in the cake mix, so while its definitely much better than regular cake calorie-wise, you still can''t go crazy with it.

 

[Mara]

i never really quite understood the reference to ''diet'' cake because it''s cake, so it''s not diet!! hahaha. but yeah there are ways to take processed items and make them healthier.

i am personally not a fan of putting diet sodas into cake, as i don''t drink diet sodas anyway...but you can sub oils for applesauces, yogurts, pumpkin.

i have done the hungry girl devil''s food cake mixed with a can of pumpkin for cupcakes many a time and people LOVE them. just sprinkle them with powdered sugar. 180 cals each and they actually have fiber.

but if you want some sort of lower-cal cake or muffin, try no-pudge brownies ...at TJ''s or whole foods..they are 110 cals each and really yummy. you mix the mix with fat free yogurt like a fage. also i take muffin mixes like blueberry muffins and use applesauce and egg whites instead of whatever they call for.

there are so many ways to adapt these processed baking mixes to make them more nutritionally sound. hungry-girl is a great place to start for recipes!

 

[fisherofmengirly]

I have done the apple sauce thing before, too. It works in a lot of things! Even some cookies (if you don''t mind them being a little bit cakey). I''ve never done the pumpkin before, though. That''s a great idea (and maybe could count as a veggie for the day!!).

I''ll try that next.

I don''t drink soda at all, just water and milk for me, mostly. But Paul is an addict, so I thought the "diet cake" was worth a try. I was impressed. Paul liked it better than the applesauce cake because he thinks the applesauce changes the consistency of the cake too much. Don''t get me wrong; he''ll still eat it, though.

Note to self: buy pumpkin next time I''m at the store.

Someone told me that you can buy a box of "Skinny Cow Brownies" that you can make an individual serving of, if you want. I''ve yet to see this in any store, though.

 

[Mara]

fisher the No Pudge Brownies are better than regular boxed brownies to me. but you can also adapt a box of regular ole brownie mix with pumpkin or yogurt as well. Hungry Girl has this great recipe for a boxed brownie with i think yogurt or pumpkin and then you swirl in some better n''peanut butter on top before baking. they are like fudgy PB brownies. and she cuts them into tiny portions but puts them into a too small pan aka a 4x4 rather than an 9x9 or whatever and then they are like small tall portions. super cute for parties.

oh and pumpkin has protein and fiber so it def has some nutritional properties vs diet soda hehe.

 

[LegacyGirl]

The diet coke cake thing is a weight watchers thing and it is REALLY good. You have to wait for them to cool though. They are not as good warm.

 

[neatfreak]

I guess I am the odd person out here...I think they're a bit sickly and gross...they just taste wrong to me.

But then again I am a self admitted cake snob...

 

[marcy]

My mom mixes an angel food cake mix with a can of crushed pineapple - including juice - and bakes it in a 9 x 13 pan and it''s delicious.

 

[LegacyGirl]

Date: 3/7/2008 12:06:49 AM
Author: marcyc
My mom mixes an angel food cake mix with a can of crushed pineapple - including juice - and bakes it in a 9 x 13 pan and it''s delicious.

Yes! This is another WW thing. I love this one with Cool Whip.

 

[xapora]

My mom is on Weight Watchers (and has lost more than 100 pounds!) and she used to make cake with soda. It''s amazing all the little ways you can make healthy food taste good, she has so many little tricks up her sleeve now. Her spice muffins are to die for, and I''ve never been one to like "diet" stuff.

 

[movie zombie]

cake mix?!

admitted cake snob, movie zombie

 

[fisherofmengirly]

Date: 3/7/2008 12:16:02 PM
Author: xapora
My mom is on Weight Watchers (and has lost more than 100 pounds!) and she used to make cake with soda. It''s amazing all the little ways you can make healthy food taste good, she has so many little tricks up her sleeve now. Her spice muffins are to die for, and I''ve never been one to like ''diet'' stuff.

Tell your mom congratulations from a fellow WW to lose over 100 lbs. It''s been over 8 years now and I''ve not gained (much) back.

It''s amazing how you can cut calories, isn''t it?

I''d never heard of the soda thing from WW, but I love their suggestion about apple sauce. That makes things so, so, so moist!!

I love them in home made cookies, too. It just makes them a little more "puffy" and less wrinkly on top.

I''m eager to try Mara''s suggestion of the pumpkin. Nothing like some veggie action when you can get it in there (or is a pumpkin a fruit??).

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Are you talking about coca cola cake? I love it!!

Hmm maybe not since it''s a diet version. Well the coca cola cake is sinful, but yummy. Let me know if you want my recipe.

 

[Deelight]

xapora congrats to your mum thats fantastic

sarah, I am intrigued by all this talk of soda cake I would love it if you posted your recipe

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Ok no problem, I will do it when I get home tomorrow!