For those starting their baking journey, it’s important to find recipes that are easy. Fortunately, there are a lot of recipes out there that serve as a great jumping off point for those with little baking expertise. Desserts like dump cakes are perfectly beginner friendly thanks to the minimal amount of ingredients required, while using helpful tools such as boxed baking mixes combined with swaps and hacks can help achieve the taste and texture of fully homemade goods more easily.
There’s one such recipe that’s perfect for inexperienced bakers, and it crafts a stellar dessert out of just two ingredients: some angel food cake mix and lemon pie filling. All you need to do is combine the two ingredients, add the mixture to a pan, and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the cake cools, the dessert deflates into what’s essentially a soft lemon bar, but a hacked version that’s much easier to make.
Many people turn up their nose at the idea of using boxed mixes but they are handy in a pinch, especially for anyone who struggles to make bakes from scratch. This two-ingredient dessert is the perfect hack for someone looking to make a delicious, tangy dessert with minimal effort and few ingredients. Plus, you can put several different spins on it by swapping out ingredients, so you can really make this hack your own.
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Different fillings, mixes, and more
homemade lemon bars on cooling rack – Gingagi/Getty Images
The original hack calls for lemon pie filling, but you don’t necessarily have to stick to that if you don’t want to. Other fruit pie fillings can easily be subbed in for a change of flavor. Popular choices include cherry or strawberry pie filling, but you could use blueberry, blackberry, or key lime pie filling too. You could also develop a recipe variation using crushed pineapple with juice.
As for the cake mix, there are several brands of angel food cake mix that can work here. Some of the most commonly available brands include Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Baker’s Corner, and Duncan Hines. Most of these brands only make a plain, vanilla-flavored angel food cake; however, it’s worth noting Betty Crocker does have a confetti version too if you want to experiment with a different flavored premade cake mix. Alternatively, you can sub out angel food cake for just about any other boxed mix you can find, which will further open up opportunities to experiment with different cake flavors.
Once you get this recipe dialed in, you can start to expand the list of ingredients that go into it. A common variation on this recipe includes adding finely shredded coconut, which adds a touch of tropical flavor and some more complexity to the texture. Alternatively, if you want to add a topping instead, you can easily make some homemade whipped cream, whip up some frosting, or dust the bars with powdered sugar.
Read the original article on Chowhound.
