• July 2010: Second Slice
• February 2010: First Slice
• December 2009: Fifth Slice
• November 2009: Fourth Slice
• August 2009: Third Slice
• June 2009: Second Slice
• March 2009: First Slice
• December 2008: Fourth Slice
• September 2008: Third Slice
• May 2008: Second Slice

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"Batter Up!"

Baseball batters might be stepping into the box to start the new season, but "The Cake Mix Doctor" has been home, keeping boxes from becoming batters for a few weeks. From balmy Phoenix to snow-covered Minneapolis, I started 2000 by crossing the country and baking cakes in Lexington, Louisville, Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Chicago, Birmingham... with Tampa, Atlanta, Raleigh and Cincinnati/Dayton to come in April and May.

And if you think the airlines are tough on baggage, try traveling with cake!

When my still-warm banana cake layers shuffled down the security conveyor belt at Nashville's airport recently, I solemnly bid them last rites. Though encased in sturdy plastic, they were not protected from the rigors of that bumpy ride. They smashed head-on into a hard black briefcase at the end of the belt, and, as I had expected, split in half, leaving a heap of fragile, fragrant cake.

I have since gotten better at packing a cake for traveling (freeze cakes first, don't frost, Bundts are good travelers). I have learned that it helps to point at the cake as you file through security or squeeze down a crowded aisle of the airplane and say, "Home-baked cake coming through. Clear a path!" I have also learned that the cake comes first, which is why in January I set the air conditioner at 50 degrees in my Louisville hotel room and slept in my winter coat. I had a sore throat the next morning, but that coconut cake was firm and beautiful for television!

Traveling with cake isn't glamorous - even though you make lots of hungry "friends" - but it is rewarding when you return from your travels to find great reader questions, loads of people signed up for your newsletter and news that The Cake Mix Doctor is going into another printing. To date, cakemixdoctor.com has received more than 100,000 unique visitors (and records 5,000 hits on some busy days). The subscriber list to this e-newsletter has more than quadrupled since the first issue. As a result, we've changed servers so it can grow and be more regularly updated for your viewing. (Please forgive any glitches these past few weeks.)

To our new friends, welcome aboard! This second issue is jammed with questions and answers, a delicious poppy seed cake recipe from a Houston cook, new tips, the low down on cake pans, a reader poll, and… enough chatter. The spring flowers have been coerced into glorious bloom by unseasonably warm weather. It not only feels like spring, it looks like spring here in Tennessee. May makes me think of Mother's Day around the corner and cakes made just for Mom. So let's bake!

Workman's feeling about The Cake Mix Doctor begins like a true Love Story: What can you say about a book about doctoring cake mixes? That everyone loves the book, the cakes, and Anne. And that we cannot print them fast enough. Workman has now printed 212,000 copies to meet your demand and just went back for a sixth order of 50,000 (six printings in five months!). The book has reached #2 on he LA Times National Cookbook Hotlist and Amazon's Cooking Bestseller list, and disappears everywhere from Barnes & Noble to our favorite independents faster than you can say "Bundt." Anne also revisited QVC on February 20 and April 2, selling more than 24,000 books in less than 10 minutes of air time. (They keep having to cut her off they order so fast.) Anne has been on the cover of food sections in more than 30 newspapers. She even made her national network TV debut on NBC's "Later Today" in February. The hit of the tour in February? Why the Love Cake, of course, especially the one with aphrodisiac qualities. - Jim Eber

I am a little confused about the Duncan Hines cake mix label. It says "moist deluxe." Does this mean it contains pudding in the mix?
—Lauren Van Hemert, Pembroke Pines, FL

Duncan Hines cake mixes do NOT contain pudding, even though the label says "moist." That is simply an adjective cake mix manufacturers like to describe their products. Both Betty Crocker and Pillsbury mixes, on the other hand, do contain pudding.

How can I store cakes frosted with buttercream frosting? Do they need to be refrigerated or are they safe to eat at room temperature?
—Terry Clift, Maryville, TN

Buttercream frosting made with butter, confectioners' sugar, flavorings and liquid are safe to eat if stored in a cool place outside of the refrigerator for two or three days. After that, you will want to wrap and refrigerate the cakes. Cakes frosted with a French buttercream frosting containing eggs, however, must be refrigerated. Use your head when making food safety decisions. If it's summertime and the kitchen as well as the rest of the house is hot, go ahead and refrigerate leftover cake with buttercream frosting.

You mentioned spreading a lemony buttercream on the pineapple angel food cake in the last newsletter. How would I make this frosting?
Merry Thornburg, Franklin, OH

Combine 1/2 cup (1 stick) of soft butter and 3 3/4 cups confectioners' sugar, that has been sifted after you measure it. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until just combined. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons more lemon juice as needed to make frosting spreadable.

I am watching the amount of sugar in recipes. I notice that you add sugar to the Chocolate Pistachio Cake (page 40) as well as sugar to other recipes. Can I omit this sugar since cake mix already contains sugar?
—Janice B., Media, PA

Absolutely, you can omit the sugar in most recipes. Cake mixes do contain sugar on their own, and whereas added sugar does help to make the cake more tender in texture, it is not mandatory.

Do you have a recipe for cornbread using yellow cake mix and cornbread mix? We saw one somewhere but can't seem to find it.
—Diana and Bill Johnson, Meadville, PA

No, I don't have such a recipe, but I'll wager that someone out there does. And perhaps he or she will be kind enough to e-mail it to anne@cakemixdoctor.com.

PANNING FOR ANSWERS

Cake pans seem to be on your mind, and most of all you're wondering how to substitute different size pans. Of all the baking pans in my pantry, the one that looks the most used is the 13-by 9-inch pan. It's not that I should have purchased a better quality pan, it's just that the 13- by 9 is used so often. And I am not alone as a cake mix sales manager shared. Most cakes baked in this country are baked in the 13- by 9-inch pan.

B.K. Ellinger of Corpus Christi, TX, wants tips for turning Bundt recipes into 13- by 9s. She will, of course, need to adjust the baking time, which will be shorter than for Bundts. And she should avoid the really heavy recipes loaded with chocolate chips and heavy cream, that might cause the 13- by 9-inch cakes to sink. Look for recipes that contain three eggs instead of four.

And here's a tip just passed along to me: After the cake cools in the 13- by 9-inch pan for 15 minutes, unmold it onto a rack, then flip it over again onto a serving tray so the cake is right-side up. Frost or glaze as desired. Removing the cake not only makes a nicer presentation, but it prevents the cake from sinking in the center.

Now for those of you who prefer 8-inch instead of 9-inch cake layers: Cindy of Thorndale, PA, wonders if she will need two or three of the smaller pans to hold the batter in most recipes. Two 8-inch pans should be enough as long as they are deep. You will need to increase the baking time a bit. If you're concerned that the batter will overflow, bake in three pans and decrease the baking time.

Finally, Cindy Mueller of Lomita, CA, wants to bake the layer cake recipes in cupcakes. I told her to do just that, filling the cupcake liners two-thirds full and baking at 350 degrees. And Marion Duffy of Palm City, FL, wants to bake exclusively in Bundts. Can she bake the layer recipes in one pan? Sure, but the baking time will be longer, and she will need to reduce the baking temperature if the top gets too brown at 350 degrees.

COCONUT QUEST

The big question on the tour was "Where can I find frozen unsweetened coconut?" We talked about this last issue and I know it will come up again! If you can't find frozen coconut in your supermarket, try an Asian market.

THAT INCREDIBLE MELTED ICE CREAM CAKE

We're having fun melting new flavors of ice cream and turning them into this beautiful cake (page 163). The recipe in the book calls for Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia, but Zita Cavano of Douglaston, NY, says she wants more cherry flavor. I suggested adding cherry liqueur in the glaze or decorating the top with maraschino cherries (as we have done on QVC). But what many people like about this cake is its beauty and its subtlety. Just a faint cherry taste. Jim Eber, my publicist, has been making it with coffee ice cream. I have just tried it with Lemon Ice Cream. And Ann Burger, food editor of Charleston, S.C.'s Post and Courier newspaper, has made it with a fabulous regional ice cream called Moosetracks from the Mayfield Dairy in Athens, TN. Any other ideas? Send them to anne@cakemixdoctor.com.

DOROTHY'S POPPY SEED CAKE

Serves: 16
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 48 to 52 minutes

Dorothy Kollmorgen of Houston, TX, passes along this exceptional poppy seed cake recipe, which begins with a plain yellow cake mix. My children loved this cake, and they wanted slices after school as a snack and after dinner for dessert. I used reduced-fat sour cream, but Dorothy called for plain. The cake would marry nicely with maple walnut ice cream, lemon ice cream or sweetened strawberries. Thank you, Dorothy!

Vegetable oil spray for misting the pan
Flour or sugar for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain yellow cake mix
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream (plain or reduced fat)
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 10-inch tube pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour or sugar. Shake out the excess flour or sugar. Set the pan aside.

2. Place the cake mix, sugar, oil, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add poppy seeds. Increase the mixer speed to medium and heat 1 to 2 minutes more. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with a rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3. Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 48 to 52 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a rack, then invert it onto another rack so that the cake is right side up. Slice and serve still warm or allow the cake to cool completely, 30 minutes more. Store, covered, at room temperature for up to a week.

"I mash a ripe banana in the bowl before I start mixing a cake. This is especially good with chocolate mixes but I have tried it with other flavors. Then I add chocolate chips and ground walnuts. I get rave reviews. People can't believe I use mixes." —Lois Takach, Cottonwood, AZ

Try These Spring Cakes

Carrot Cake (page 109)
Triple Decker Strawberry Cake (page 67)
Bride's Cake (page 192)
Lemon Buttermilk Poppy Seed Cake (page 127)
For birthday parties: Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes (page 60)
Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake (page 129) with fresh strawberries on top

In this new feature, you get the chance to doctor my recipes. I want to know how you make my recipes taste even better!

Dolores Hetterick of Baltimore, MD, e-mails this tip for lightening up the Chocolate-Covered Cherry Cake (page 50). Dolores uses light cherry pie filling in the cake batter. And Jerrie Chilcote of Nashville, TN, substitutes chunky applesauce for smooth in the Applesauce Spice Cake (page 89). Great ideas!

I'm planning a special issue just on baking for birthdays and would love to share your favorite recipes and memories.

Next issue, Summer 2000: For late spring and early summer, all you need to know about eggs, baking in coffee cans and flower pots, lots more reader questions, plus another angel food cake - this one marbled with chocolate.