Delightful Mini Cakes (Copycat of Betty Crocker Warm Delights)

Have you ever tried those Betty Crocker Warm Delights cakes or Warm Delights Minis? All you do is add a little bit of water to a small amount of mix and pop it in the microwave for a single serving of cake. They are warm, gooey and hit the spot when you just want a little bite of something sweet. But one package costs as much or more than a full-size cake mix.

Well, I just knew I could come up with a copycat recipe for those costly little cakes. With only four ingredients and a little water, I had a very close replica.

The recipe does require the purchase of some powdered egg whites. I used some Wilton Meringue Powder that I had bought for an earlier recipe. Meringue powder can be found in most of the craft stores (Michael's, Hobby Lobby, Joann etc.) and in some Wal-Mart stores. There are probably other brands as well. The good thing about meringue powder is that, while it's a little expensive up front, it's shelf-stable and will last a long time. One 4 oz. can will make about 60 (yes, 60!) of these little cakes.

You'll also need a regular cake mix, a small amount of oil, some water, and in this case, some caramel ice cream topping (which I already had in the fridge).

The recipe makes 15 of the "mini" size cakes that, if you were to buy them, come two to a package. Based on the prices of cake mix and meringue powder I found online, two of the copycat cakes would cost no more than 60¢ and as little as 45¢ if the ingredients were bought on sale. Compared to approximately $1.70 for the Betty Crocker brand, that's quite a savings. What's more, with the copycat recipe, they can be made with any flavor of cake mix and any topping or frosting you choose.


Delightful Mini Cakes

1 regular cake mix (I used German Chocolate)
8 teaspoons Wilton Meringue powder*

In a large bowl, stir cake mix and meringue powder until very well combined. When you think it's combined well, stir it some more. The meringue powder needs to very evenly distributed throughout the cake mix.

Store in an airtight container or distribute 1/4 cup portions into snack-sized Ziploc bags, then store those in an air tight container.

Makes 15 1/4-cup portions.


To prepare cake:

Combine 1/4 cup of the cake/meringue mix, 1 teaspoon oil and 2 tablespoons water in a small microwave safe bowl (a ramekin is a good size). Stir until mix is moistened and fairly smooth.

Microwave on high for approximately 1 minute, checking cake after the first 30 seconds, then every 15 seconds until done. Cake is done when surface appears dry and has cracked slightly.

Leave cake in bowl or invert it onto a small plate. Drizzle cake with 1 tablespoon caramel ice cream topping, or topping/frosting of your choice.

Makes 1 single-serving cake.



*After I made these, I decided to search online to see if anyone else had come up with copycat recipes. I found a few that used cake mix without the meringue powder, with mixed results. Some say it works, others say they didn't have much luck. Another cook was adding an egg white to the dry mix, which would work, but definitely limits the ability to make these away from your kitchen (at work, for example). I can't imagine the cake would be very light without addition of egg of some sort, but if you try it without, let me know how it turns out. :)