Need Recipe for Dr. Oetker's Cake Mix

[S B]

The store where I used to buy Dr. Oetker's Organics Chocolate Cake Mix no longer sells it.

You can combine a box of this mix with a 15 oz. can of plain pumpkin (in place of the eggs, oil, and milk) to make cake-like brownies. (Mary McDougall had this recipe in one of the newsletters a year or two ago.) The grandkids, my husband, and most of the family and friends like these "healthy brownies". Therefore, I want to make some of these pumpkin brownies for Halloween -- BUT I can NOT find this cake mix ANYWHERE, anymore!!!

So, does anyone know "the recipe" for this mix?

Also, would the Wacky Cake Recipe (which is an eggless chocolate cake) work for this if I replaced the oil and water with pumpkin? The problem is, I do NOT KNOW HOW MUCH PUMPKIN to used with the Wacky Cake Recipe, if this recipe should work.

Help!

Thanks!

[BW]

I found the cake mix at the Whole Foods store last week.

[serenity]

Well, I'll be darned. I went to the Dr. Oetker web site and they don't carry it. Amazon carries Dr. Oetker, but the chocolate cake mix is not in stock.

So, here is the ingredients listing from a box in my pantry:
Wheat flour
Organic cane sugar
Organic cocoa
Baking soda
Cream of tartar
Salt
Locust bean gum

If anyone experiments and comes up with the right measurements, please post.

[Laurie Crittenden]

So, tell me, what is Locust Bean Gum? What does it do and where do you get it?

[S B]

Thanks for the help!

Maybe I can figure out the correct measurements by using the Wacky Cake and Depression Cake recipes as guides and by using canned plain pumpkin in place of the water and oil -- probably a VERY SLIGHTLY larger amount of pumpkin as the water used and about half the amount of pumpkin as the oil used. These recipes are in this post -- below the Wiki Encyclopedia definition of locust bean gum -- which is below my comments.

Locust bean gum is mainly used as a thickener and a stabilizer and sometimes as a gelling agent.

For the amount of ingredients in a box of Dr. Oetker's Chocolate Cake Mix, I have a feeling that about 1 teaspoon, or a little more, of guar gum or xanthan gum OR maybe about a Tablespoon of ground flax seeds might work in place of the locust bean gum -- but I am ONLY GUESSING that these would work and ONLY GUESSING at these amounts.
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Locust bean gum DEFINITION:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Locust bean gum (also known as carob gum, carob bean gum, carobin, E410) is a galactomannan vegetable gum extracted from the seeds of the Carob tree. It is used as a thickening agent and gelling agent in food technology. It is soluble in hot water.[1]

Locust Bean Gum occurs as a white to yellow-white powder. It consists chiefly of high molecular weight hydrocolloidal polysaccharide, composed of galactose and mannose units combined through glycosidic linkages, which maybe described chemically as galactomannan. It is dispersible in either hot or cold water, forming a sol having a pH between 5.4 and 7.0, which maybe converted to a gel by the addition of small amounts of sodium borate. Its main function is as a stabilizer and thickener.

References
^ Martin Chaplin: Locus bean gum, London South Bank University, web page.
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Wacky Cake Recipe
From Diana Rattray from About.com

There are no eggs in this chocolate wacky cake, and mixing is easy.
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
*1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
*1 cup sugar
*3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
*1 teaspoon baking soda
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon vanilla
*1 teaspoon vinegar -- (SB's comment: I think this should be 1 TABLESPOON of vinegar and NOT 1 teaspoon of vinegar, as stated in this About.com recipe!!!)
*1 cup cold water
*5 tablespoons vegetable oil -- (SB's comment: OIL is NOT McDougall-Legal. Use a McD-Legal oil replacer instead of the oil.)

SB's Directions
I would mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl and all of the wet ingredients in another bowl and then combine them -- rather than using the original Wacky Cake Recipe mixing directions. Then, I would bake it in an 8x8 pan at 325 degrees F. until done -- probably a little more than a half hour -- OR SOLAR BAKE IT UNTIL IT IS DONE!

Original Wacky Cake Directions
Preparation:
In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, cocoa, soda and salt. Make three wells in the flour mixture. In one put vanilla; in another the vinegar, and in the third the oil. (SB's comment: To make this cake McD-legal, you would not be using the oil.) Pour the cold water over the mixture and stir until moistened. Pour into 8 x 8-inch pan. Bake at 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it springs back when touched lightly.

Budget Chocolate Depression Cake Recipe
From Diana Rattray from About.com

Ingredients:
*3 cups flour
*2 cups sugar
*pinch salt
*2 teaspoons baking soda
*10 level tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
*2 teaspoons vanilla
*3/4 cup salad oil -- (SB's NOTE: NOT McDougall-Legal. Use a McD-Legal oil substitute, instead.)
*2 tablespoons vinegar
*2 cups cold water

Preparation:
Sift dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix with a large spoon until smooth. Spoon into a (prepared) 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Frost with your favorite frosting.

[vgnwitch]

I used to make chocolate wacky cake all the time when my kids were younger. Regarding the posted recipe ... I'd increase the cocoa to 6 tablespoons and cut the sugar in half. I never bothered using a replacement for the oil. The batter is thin enough that the baked cake is moist and it isn't necessary.

[S B]

Thanks!

Vgnwitch, if you were to make the pumpkin brownies using the Wacky Cake Recipe (with half the sugar, double the cocoa, and NO oil), instead of Dr. Oetker's Chocolate Cake Mix, how much pumpkin would you use? Would you use any water with the pumpkin or ALL pumpkin? AND, I think About.com had a typo on the vinegar measurement. I think it should be 1 TABLESPOON and NOT 1 TEASPOON. Am I correct?

Also, if you noticed, the Depression Cake recipe is the same as the Wacky Cake recipe -- except that it is doubled but with MORE than double the amount of oil and more than double the amount of cocoa -- and it seemed to have the vinegar measurement correct for the amount of baking soda used.

[vgnwitch]

If I were experimenting, I might try 1 cup pumpkin [instead of water] and 5 tablespoons water [instead of oil] and see what happens. See what the batter is like when everything is mixed together and then maybe add a bit more water if you think it's necessary. You might also want to give it a taste for sweetness. I don't like my baked goods very sweet, which is why I cut the sugar back.

Bryanna Grogan uses 1 tablespoon of vinegar in her wacky cake recipe and the ingredient proportions are pretty much the same, so you can increase the vinegar, if you like.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

[S B]

I HOPE there will be time to experiment with this before Halloween! I have been and will be extremely busy this fall. I have not had any time to experiment in the kitchen for a LONG TIME. This is why I was SO DISAPPOINTED when I could no longer find the cake mix. It is so quick and easy -- with DEPENDABLE results!

IF I can find time to experiment, I will post the results. Thanks, vgnwitch and EVERYONE, for all of the help!

[Nettie]

Well, I'll be darned. I went to the Dr. Oetker web site and they don't carry it. Amazon carries Dr. Oetker, but the chocolate cake mix is not in stock.

Yikes! I got it at my local HFS but haven't tried the recipe yet. If the manufacturer doesn't even have it, I'm thinking I better rush out and buy more at my local store while it's still available!

Nettie

[Laurie Crittenden]

OK, so the chocolate and the pumpkin thing got me surfin' the net. I found this recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Brownie and it was really, really good.

http://havecakewilltravel.com/2007/08/

I used all white whole wheat flour, raw sugar, rice milk, as I did not have any soy milk on hand, and I did add the oil but I am sure it could be left out with no problem and I will try that next time. I get dark chocolate vegan chocolate chips at Whole Foods and a few go a long way which is good because they are expensive. You could probably leave them out if you wish.

[S B]

Thank you for posting this!

If I do not have time to make these (with the few changes that you suggested to make them McD-legal), I do have a FEW solar-baked pumpkin brownies made from Dr. Oetker's CAKE mix STASHED in the freezer -- left over from when my husband had to go on a trip a few months ago -- that I can use. I put half of the batch in a cooler for him and half in the freezer for "emergencies".

I might use the recipe you posted the link to (or ideas taken from it), for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

Again, thanks!

[S B]

I have not had time to try this recipe, yet -- so, I don't know how it will turn out. BUT it sounds very close to what I have been looking for!!!

Perhaps all that is needed to make pumpkin brownies out of this recipe is to SUBSTITUTE about 1 & 1/3 cups canned plain pumpkin and about 2 Tbs. lemon juice FOR the 1 & 1/2 cups of applesauce! (I figure the baking soda will need some acid to work with -- since pumpkin is not as acidic as applesauce.) I might reduce the sugar a little bit, too.

Chocolate Applesauce Cake
By Jolinda Hackett, About.com

This low-fat and vegan cake recipe uses applesauce instead of eggs or oil, making it nearly fat-free and guilt-free! Though its a little bit heavier than other cakes, the generous amount of cocoa makes this vegan cake absolutely heavenly.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/2 cups applesauce

Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.
Note: You can use other cake pans, but because this cake is a bit heavy, layered cake pans are not recommended.
(SB's Note: Of course, instead of "greasing and flouring" a pan you should use a non-stick or a slicon pan.)

Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add applesauce and mix well until batter is smooth. Bake for 50-55 minutes, until done. You can always tell that a cake is finished baking by sticking a toothpick in the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, that is, not covered in batter, then your cakes is done baking.

Frost, if desired, and enjoy!

Nutritional Information:
Makes 8 fat-free cake slices.
Calories per slice: 242, Calories from Fat: 7
Total Fat: 0.8g, 1% RDA
Cholesterol: 0mg, 0% RDA
Sodium 390mg, 16%
Total Carbohydrates: 56.9g, 19%
Dietary Fiber: 2.5g, 10%
Protein: 4.0g
Vitamin A 0%, Vitamin C 1%, Calcium 1%, Iron 11%