Diet Soda + Cake Mix = How does this Work??

[PartyGirl43]

Ok---so my friend who is doing Weight Watchers told me about this recipie to make a 1 point treat. It is simply 1 can diet soda + 1 package cake mix (any kind) mix together, pour into muffin tins bake at 350 for 20 mins or so and voila a 1 point cupcake.

Now I'm not on WW but I was intregued by this, so I got a cheapie box of chocolate cake mix, added 1 can diet Cherry Coke and lo and behold a cupcake....

I'm so wierded out by this? How does this work with no eggs/milk/oil?

[daisysnow]

Its about the acid base reaction that happens when you mix the ingredients with the cake mix. Soda makes the same reaction that eggs/milk etc.

:)

[ReluctantOperaChick]

I just want to reiterate what someone else said - you don't need cake to practice your decorating on. You just need something the right shape and size. You can buy styrofoam dummies at floral supply/craft supply places, for example; that's what bakeries use for the cakes they keep on display. I've given demonstrations where I've turned cake pans upside down and decorated them.

[MissMichelle866]

would this also work with a can of beer instead of soda?

[daniellempls]

That is hilarious MissMichelle! You should give it a try and let us know. Maybe a Guiness with a dark chocolate cake mix? You do realize the purpose of the diet soda is to cut out the calories from the oil and egg additions, but I like where you're going with it.

[MissMichelle866]

Guinness is actually pretty good for you lol, I personally hate the stuff, but it was my bfs birthday. I actually made the chocolate cake with guinness, but i didn't want it to fall apart so instead of substituting it with all of the ingredients i just used it to replace the water. Turned out great! i also used some of the leftover in the can and poured it on top of the cake after it was cooked just to add a little more of that guinness taste.

[GigiSharkRiver]

I had found a Pillsbury sugar free chocolate cake mix in the Super Walmart and I have a cake in the oven now using diet cola. I hope it comes out OK with the sugar free mix, since I am taking it to a lady's luncheon tomorrow. I am doing Weight-Watchers and I want to stick to my program so I thought this recipe sounded simple enough. I will post later and let you know how it turned out.

[kirksey]

What happened with this cake? Was it good? My hubby is a diebetic and has a horrible sweet tooth. This would make him so happy. I have used the sugar free cake mixes a couple of times but I find them to be rather "dry" hopefully the diet soda with make it a little more moist.

[sparkareno]

so what's the bottom line on this? how many cupcakes should it make & how many points are they? also, does it work with those pudding in the mix cakes?
i have some diet root beer at home--I wonder what kind of cake would work with that.

[shortmama]

yes, i believe it works with thos pudding mixes. and i would try that with a golden butter cake or maybe a chocolate cake. even a white cake could work, though the soda would give it a light brown color.

[sarahNC]

Diet root beer + chocolate cake = Yum!!
I think the confusion here about points has to do with size of servings. I made this in a 9x13 pan, and cut into 24 servings (6x4), to get 1 point each.

[ToujoursUneDame]

Eggs are like a binder for the cake, keeping it together. White cakes that are made without yolks are more likely to fall apart than a cake that has yolks.

This is probably why it is suggested to make cupcakes this way. An actual cake might be difficult to handle without breaking apart.

[daniellempls]

Going to have to butt in with my food science knowledge here. Eggs serve multiple functions- the yolk part does emulsify, meaning it will join oil and water into a mixture. And the protein part, largely found in the whites, but also yolk, sets and gives structure.

So you are right in the fact that they would suggest to make cupcake sized cakes with the soda, but it is not the yolk itself holding the cake together. An angel food cake is made with just whites, and it hold together well.

A small comment to the post that said oil and egg was unnecessary and just a feel good item- these items could be mixed in to the cake already- as shortening that is smized into the mix and as dried egg powder that would function when rehydrated, but that would be more costly for the cake mix companies, so they ask you to add them yourself. Similar to the difference in a complete pancake, vs add egg and oil..

[chancesmom]

i just found this thread, tho i see its old- not sure if anyone will get this- but any helpful hints to make this? for one thing, i overfilled the muffin tin lol- but i was also wondering about the points value. if 1/12th of a box ends up being 3 points according to the box (unprepared), how are these 1 pt each?

thanks for any help :)

[lrstl]

I've never baked it in cupcake tins...but it should make about 24 cupcakes not 12. So 1.5 pts each?

Scratch bakers please ignore the rest of this post...

I've made lemon cake w/ diet orange soda- you can frost it w/ ff cool whip... Pretty tasty, very moist.

[CalgaryCalorieCounter]

They spoke of this issue at a WW meeting earlier this year....recipe ideas circulating with the incorrect points. You have done exactly the right thing in checking your cake mix information to be sure of the points value. If you can substitute eggs and oil for a can of diet soda then you are saving a lot of points but if your original mix is already high in points, the soda does not cancel those out.
I recently found a mix that calls for egg whites only which created a light fluffy cake/cupcake. I substitute oil for applesauce 1:1 which greatly reduces the points. This morning I made a white mix, added 1 cup of frozen blueberries and made 21 good sized cupcakes at exactly 2 points each. Delicious!

[dtremit]

For anyone who's tried this -- how's the texture of the resulting cake? I was just wondering the other day about ways to bake off cheap cakes to practice my frosting technique, and with cake mix available on sale for $1, this sounds like a good way to go. (I'm expecting a bunch of terrible results at first, so want to have no qualms about pitching the cakes!)

lexpatti, angel food cake is made entirely with egg whites, so it's naturally lower-cal. The mixes only call for water. In my experience, the mixes are also pretty terrible, so you may want to give it a try from scratch.

[lexpatti]

good to know, I hadn't even read what you normally add to angel food cake. Might make it too sweet too, as angel food is pretty.

I did find (for your frosting experiments) that it was soo light and fluffy that my knife pulled up some cake when I tried to cut it - so just be careful as your frost.

[othervoice]

Hi there,

My Mom decorated cakes for many years. She practiced on anything flat...cardboard, the kitchen counter. She never used a cake, unless someone was going to eat it.

[shortmama]

Oh my gosh, this is delicious!! If youve never tried it, u must!! The resulting texture is extremely moist and dense, oh so good for being relatively fat-free! May i suggest using chocolate cake mix with diet cream soda?

[sunflwrsdh]

I made cupcakes using a chocolate cake mix and diet cream soda, and they came out really well. I did them around the holidays, and made a cream cheese frosting, using fat free cream cheese and lite butter, and sprinkled crushed candy canes on top. They were pretty and tasted good.

[luvapei]

When you DO frost a cake, try putting it in the freezer first. When my sister decorated cakes, she ALWAYS left them in the freezer for a week before she would touch them. She double-wrapped them in plastic wrap and almost always had one in the freezer.

[lexpatti]

I just learned this in WW too, made a wonderful butterscotch cake with diet 7-up. Shockingly Delish!!! I want to do angel food cake mix with diet orange - does Angel Food work as well? I love the pumpkin idea too, lots of fiber. Hungry Girl has a nice pie and brownie recipe using this method of lowering cals and fat (on her website).

[cyndamarie]

I just found this site so someone may have already suggested this to you'......... You can add 1 full size can of crushed pineapple to an Angel Food cake mix and cook as stated on the package in an angel food cake pan . It will rise like it should and taste like pineapple. It's really good and moist.

[yayadave]

Sorry, I'm a little slo, but I want to get this right. Are you saying just mix angel food cake mix and crushed pineapple or are you saying to mix an angel food cake mix per instructions and then add a can of crushed pineapples? Sounds good, whatever. Wonder if adding some toasted, chopped walnuts and chopped cherries would be good.

[cyndamarie]

Yes, all you do is add a can of crushed pineapple including the juice, the
bigger size can, to a box of Angel Food cake mix. Put it in an Angel Food cake
pan, the one with the tube in the middle, and bake as you usually would. Add nothing more than the can of crushed pineapple and it's juice.
It's so good.....

[pine time]

Be careful of the angel food mix you buy: it must be one (I THINK B. Crocker) that calls for only water. Instead of water, do the pineapple. You can also do it with cherry pie fillings, and lots of other flavors. It's a WW staple, may take some getting used to the flavor/texture.

[yayadave]

I wonder if you could mix a little soda with powdered sugar for icing.

[16crab]

Another variation on this is one box of cake mix (white, yellow or spice) with a 15 oz can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix) to make pumpkin muffins. Don't need to add anything else. The dough comes out pretty sticky but I used an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins. Calories and fat are low and the pumpkin is good for you. Delicious.

[GenieinTX]

Warm Delights (the little microwave cakes) only call for water, so I would say that theory isn't far off.

I heard a morning radio show test this out with orange soda and white cake mix. They said it was good, just a little sweet.

[debby]

I believe that when boxed cake mixes were first sold, they only called for water, but people didn't trust them or felt they weren't doing enough and they didn't sell well. Once they called for eggs/milk/oil they sold better. These were not needed, but didn't hurt. I'm not positive this is still the case, but think it probably is.