Bob’s Red Mill has impressed me in the past with their homemade tasting brownies and the care they put into using real ingredients in their box mixes rather than filling it with preservatives. Last year they announced a new mix, this coffee cake. I’ve been on the look out since, hoping it would end up in stores near me so I could avoid purchasing online for a steeper price and luckily I finally found it at my local Smith’s grocery store. Unfortunately, Smith’s is still higher in price so I paid $7.49 for this mix which is higher than I’d like. I think $5 and under is the sweet spot for box mixes, even in this economy. Let’s see if this box mix is worth the price and convenience.
This mix recipe starts by combining melted butter, milk, 2 eggs, and the powdered mix inside the package. It comes together in a smooth batter that is definitely thinner than I expected for cake batter. It tastes very sweet and buttery and reminds me of cornbread batter.
Next you pour half the batter into a greased 8×8 square pan. Then, using the packet provided in the box, you pour half of the cinnamon sugar mixture over the batter inside the pan until it is fully covered. Then spoon the rest of the batter on top of that layer and finish it off by using the rest of the cinnamon sugar on top. Finally, using a butter knife, swirl the batter around in tight swirls.
The recipe calls for putting the coffee cake in the oven for 35-45 minutes in a metal pan at 350°. At exactly 35 minutes I find the coffee cake perfectly cooked. Bob’s Red Mill has done the impossible by providing us with an accurate bake time.
The coffee cake came out of the oven looking a little rough. The entire cinnamon layer had squeezed into the middle, leaving the outer edge of cake bare on top. After cooling slightly, I cut the pan into 16 pieces. The cross section wasn’t quite as clear and pretty like the box image shows.
This cake is soft, sweet, and has good flavor. Where I feel they could have done better was the texture. It was very one note with the texture and I prefer my coffee cake to have a more crisp top or even a streusel top. Some of the center pieces with the cinnamon sugar top achieved this but mostly it was missing and the difference was very clear. The middle pieces were the best and I could take or leave the outer pieces. I’d make this mix again, it was a good coffee cake, but I do think that with the extra addition of a streusel topping this box mix could be next level. Have you tried this new-ish mix yet? What did you think?
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