Coles Smart Buy cake mix is not as smart as it seems...

So, this is just a little batch of cupcakes. A mummy friend of mine and I haven't seen each other in ages, so we're catching up for afternoon tea today. I said I'd bring cake...so cake it is!

Last week at the shops, I didn't quite make it to Aldi (read: couldn't be bothered as I had Destructor with me), however, I still needed vanilla cake mix. So, I thought I'd give the "Coles Smart Buy" brand a go. It's the same price as Aldi (.79c a pack), so really, I had nothing to lose.

This looks okay...

One look at the back of the pack and I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised. All I need to add are two eggs and 3/4 cup of milk. No butter! So, I mix it up and it looks (and tastes) fine. I pop half the mix into patty pans, then add a little cocoa to the remaining mixture to make it chocolate flavoured. No point in taking just one flavour of cupcake! The rest of the mix goes into patty pans and then into the oven.

My chocolate batter

15 minutes later, I pull them out and I'm greeted by some very, very odd shapes and sizes:

They're inconsistent (despite the fact that I filled them all 2/3rds full) and some of the chocolate ones are still a bit raw on the inside. So, the vanilla ones hit the cooling racks, and the chocky ones go back in for another 5 minutes.

There's one rogue cupcake that was so badly mutated that I had to eat it....for scientific purposes of course! It looked lovely on the inside, but to be honest, the flavour was very meh and the texture was doughy and sticky. I can't say that I was impressed.

How the HELL did it end up like that?

Looks nice...

I kinda hoped that the texture was down to the fact that I'd added cocoa, but I'd have to wait til afternoon tea to find out.

Anyway, I found some spare buttercream in the fridge, so the vanilla ones were topped with purple strawberry (left over from the engagement cupcakes) and the choc ones got mint buttercream (cos there was a small bag that was just the right amount).

The result:

Choc mint

Vanilla strawberry

Verdict: All easily completed while Destructor had his daily nap. Baking only took about 20 minutes all up, and then the cooling was about another 20. Frosting took 10 minutes at best.

Post Script: I had one of the vanilla strawberry ones at afternoon tea, and I can't say that I was terribly impressed. The same doughy, sticky texture and lacklustre flavour. I won't buy this packed mix again (unless I'm really, really desperate). On the up side, my mummy friend and her mummy thought they were fabulous, as did Destructor (who got the cake...no frosting!). Clearly, I'm becoming a cake snob!