El Peto’s Chocolate Cake Mix – A Review
I celebrated my birthday a few weeks ago, and wanted to find a decent gluten-free cake that wasn’t…well, disgusting. To be honest, I haven’t had much luck with gluten-free baked goods; they’ve always either been silty or very dense. Either way, not very appetizing. But my friends have been known to show up with cake, and I wanted something tasty that I could eat. Or, if no one brought cake, something that my “normal” friends wouldn’t mind eating.
I thought about buying a cake from a gluten-free bakery, but was afraid of the cost. Thought about making it from scratch, but that seemed like a lot of effort. I decided I needed a cake mix, and had prepped myself for quite a search. I had even decided to start testing cake mixes a couple weeks ahead of time so my friends wouldn’t have to be the guinea pigs! Turns out, it wasn’t that hard to find a decent cake mix.
Enter El Peto’s Chocolate Cake Mix.
I took a trip to my local Bulk Barn, which stocks a few gluten-free prepackaged goods in addition to all the various raw baking supplies. Right there on the shelf were boxes of chocolate and lemon cake mix. And really? That’s a no-brainer. Hello, chocolate.
As with most cake mixes, it was fairly simple to make: add the mix to eggs, water and oil, margarine or butter. Then, bake at 325°F for 40-50 minutes.
The mix made two 8″ round cakes, although I was surprised at how little the batter filled the pans. And then again at how little they rose during baking. I shouldn’t have been surprise though, really. Because the cakes were really as dense as one would expect a gluten-free cake to be.
What was truly surprising was how good the cake tasted. The the density turned out to be a good thing; my friends commented on how it was more brownie-like, which was apparently a good thing. Some even went back for seconds.
I was just as lazy with icing the cake as I was with making it. Strawberry jam filling, and vanilla icing from a can. But there were no complaints.
Overall impression: Having already made this cake twice, I would definitely do it again. Bonus, there’s a recipe inside the box for a chocolate mousse cake. Yum! Maybe I’ll try that one next?
7 Comments
tamara
I just made a birthday cake for a friend with wheat allergies. I layered this with ganache and mousse. It was dreamy.
Hazelnut Torte
4 eggs
3/4c sugar whirl these in blender
add:
2 tbsp – choice of wheat flour sub, I used the Bulk Barns blend
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1c hazelnuts blend on high until nuts are ground
Pour into 2 greased and powdered 8″ pans. Bake at 350* for 20 mins.
You will not get real loft with these, but neither are they leaden. I made two batches for a real high cake for presentation. The wheat flour substitute at the bulk barn calls for xanthan gum, but at only two tbsp I didn’t worry about it. Bonus: batter is super easy and fast to make.
Dawn Wentzell
Wow, I just looked at your post about this – what a gorgeous looking cake! I’m going to have to give that recipe a try!
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vassilub
“I layered this with ganache and mousse. It was dreamy.”
Something I doubt …
Dawn Wentzell
Why is that Vassilub?
Christine K
I substitute organic Coconut Oil in the recipe for the chocolate cake…..instead of using margarine/oil/ or butter as recommended – I substitute the same amount in coconut oil.
It is delicious and creates a wonderful texture and I typically pour the cake mix into large square muffin pan.
Fabulous cake mix!
Dawn Wentzell
That sounds interesting. Does it leave any trace of coconut flavour?