Tina's Tuesday Tip: Think Outside the Box

...the cake mix box that is. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Betty Crocker (who actually isn't a real person, but a marketing "idea") just not in the way it says on the back of the box. I love using cake mixes to make cookies, as a base for coconut cakes, or even as a chEAT crust for cobbler. All I mean, is don't be afraid to make a cake from scratch. It's not as hard as you might think! I know there are rules out there about temperature, quality of products and adding rotating liquid and dry mixtures and blah blah blah, but just try it, you'll be glad you did. Even if it doesn't turn out perfect, at least you can say you've made a cake from scratch! Here's a great recipe for crumb cake from scratch. I like to make it the night or day before, it ages well on the countertop.

Crumb Cake

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

-preheat oven to 350°

-grease a 9x9 pan, set aside

-cream together butter and sugar

-add egg 1 at a time

-mix in sour cream and vanilla

-in separate bowl combine flour, baking soda & salt

-add dry ingredients (flour/baking soda/salt) to mixture

-pour 1/2 of the batter into the pan, set aside other 1/2

topping

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon

-mix together to the consistency of wet sand

-sprinkle 1/2 the mixture in pan with 1/2 the batter

-pour remaining batter into pan

-sprinkle remaining topping over batter

-bake for 35-40 min (or until a toothpick comes out clean)

*try adding crushed nuts to the crust if you're feeling nutty!