Homebrand Cake Mix Vanilla packet 340g product reviews

Planning a child's birthday party can quickly become rather costly by the time you've brought all the food, drinks and decorations, so I decided to buy this homebrand vanilla cake mix to turn into cupcakes for the party, usually I would make my own cupcakes from scratch or would buy a competitors cake mix, but due to the price I opted for this mix.

The first thing I noticed was that the cake mix came in a plastic bag rather than a box (which I guess when you think about it makes a lot of sense as boxed varieties have a bag inside them for holding the dry ingredients in). When it comes to cake making from a box I have a few ingredients I like to add in as I feel that these help to make a lighter and fluffier cake, so after following the packet instructions and after adding some oil, a egg and some milk I also added a packet of vanilla instant pudding mix, and a tub of sour cream, this may seem odd but I promise it tastes amazing.

I divided the mixture amongst 20 cupcake cases, of average size and placed them in the oven to cook this took about 15minutes until they were nice and golden, however if baking a cake I suspect you would need a while longer. I waited for these to cool and then whipped up some butter-cream to top them with, this mix doesn't come with icing like the more expensive cake mixes which in my case worked fine as I needed to use butter-cream anyway to create the piped icing effect I needed to build my Disney Princess cupcakes.

Taste wise these cupcakes were lovely and light and were enjoyed by all, I honestly couldn't taste any difference between these and the more expensive brands. The only thing I noticed during the preparation of these was that the mix contained quite a lot of large lumps in the dry ingredients where the mixture had obviously dried together, however this broke up with no problems at all when mixed together.

A great cake mix for a great price, which I'm sure could be used to many different flavoured cakes by adding additional ingredients, such as cocoa for chocolate or fruit salad for a fruit cake. This certainly wont disappoint your taste buds and is well worth buying if your looking for a sweet treat and on a tight budget, best of all its so simple to make.

This is my go to cake mix, regardless of whether I'm poor, got the munchies or if I'm showing off my skills. Being vanilla the world is your oyster on the flavour front. Having a lactose intolerant child, I find this the perfect cake mix to make low lactose cakes. I not only use this for making my cakes but also cupcakes too and I find it the perfect mix every time.

Texture wise I find this sometimes has soft lumps in the bag that easily break down when mixing unlike some cake mixes, it tastes awesome and is light and fluffy which is always a bonus and even better in a cheaper brand. Teamed with a good icing and you have a cake to die for.

If your a person who likes to follow the rules, then by all means do that, however I add the packet of cake mix and a 250ml can of soft drink, mix and cook as per the directions or for the fruit variety add a 425ml (it doesn't matter much if its a little more or a little less) can of any fruit you like with the juice, mix and cook. My children's favourite is the vanilla cake mix with fruit salad.

I love this! For $1.99 you can not go wrong! Add milk and one egg and there you have it, a freshly baked cake! I keep a couple of these handy in the pantry for when I get busy or we run out of other stuff so I need something quick and easy for the kids school lunches.

Its easy to add bananas, cocoa or whatever you have handy for something different as well. I often use this for a muffin mix base just adding fruit or chocolate chips. The kids love them, It is easy enough for Miss 8 to do on her own as well which is a bonus! I tried to use this to make cookies by adding an extra egg, vanilla and vegetable oil along with chocolate chips which worked great and was a big hit for the kids lunch boxes! If you also use less milk and more egg you end up with a delicious pancake mixture.

So this is extremely versatile, fantastic for the price and it goes a long way. The end result is always a delicious treat and I haven't been disappointed yet. I think this is a must have for anyone's pantry and a great staple for the kids lunch boxes.

The homebrand cake and muffin mixes are one of my all time favourite 'lazy baker' mixes. I always buy them every week and have a stash of them in my pantry. I do prefer to bake from scratch but these are super cheap to buy and so convenient, I believe they are a must have for the pantry. I buy both the vanilla and the chocolate varities.

The come in little bags, rather than boxes, which will help to keep the costs down. The instructions are printed on the plastic bag. You just add egg, oil or butter, and a little milk. Mix and just like that its ready to pop in the cake tin, or muffin tin, for baking. Time wise it probably takes about 20-25mins from opening the packet to removing from oven. Unlike the more expensive baking mixes they do not come with frosting already in the box, so its up to you to make the icing, but this is no big deal either.

These are great mixes because they allow for you to add any flavourings, by way of choc chips, essences, fruir and the like and the end result is always perfect. Plus the make heaps. Two bags allows me to make enough (adding flavourings and colours) to freeze and use daily in three school lunches plus a snack for two kids and huby for an entire week. And because I can add what I want to them it does mean that they can be mase to each individuals taste.

I must also confess, I use the cake mix to make muffins and the muffin mix to make cakes. I find that the end results are much better than using them for their intended purpose. I do not know why this is though lol

I have used the Homebrand vanilla cake mix several times, since October 2013 after a friend/ work colleague used it and brought some of it in to work. Since then I have loved using it when I have a needed to make a quick and simple snack for school lunches, events, or the time when I just wanted some snacks at the house, or when I felt that my sister and nephew could do with a treat.

Unfortunately I cannot review what this cake mix is like as a cake, as I have never made it into a cake. I have only ever made cupcakes out of it. Whenever I make them they disappear almost instantly so I have never had to worry about them going off or stale or having to be thrown away. The cupcakes have always come out very soft and moist, and take only about 1/2 an hr or so to make.

The best thing about this packet is that you can add your own flavours and colours for different people and/or events. In the past I have made raspberry, and pineapple, and attempted a try at raspberry choc chip. The raspberry and pineapple were as easy as adding 1 cup of whichever fizzy flavour you wanted into the mix and cooking.

Overall I use this cake mix fairly often and in the past have recommended it to different people and will keep recommending it to people as a quick, simple and affordable cake or cupcakes.

When I am working on a budget and don't have all the necessary ingredients for making a cake from scratch at home a packet of this for a couple of bucks is just what I need. I use it both as a cake and as muffins and it is so easy to use all you need to do is add milk and egg and mix and it is all done. When I am making muffins for school lunches on a sunday night it is perfect as it is so quick to do.

My daughter likes muffins made out of these with chocolate chips thrown in and always comments they are the best muffins ever so seen as she likes them so much it is good to have the mix as I know she will eat them. You can add raisins and apple too for a healthier muffin and they work out really well.

Making the cake we like to have it with jam and cream, as it is nice and light and almost spongy like a sponge but it is also good on it;s own or with some butter cream icing. If you add a bit of grated lemon rind to the mix it is a really nice madeira cake aswell which I really like. The cake is nice and moist and tastes great.

Homebrand's Vanilla Cake Mix is an amazing little product. In the past I have been very much a mix baker. I would get all my cookies and cakes out of a box. It was my secret shame really, because I would often be accosted at parties for my "recipe". Well, my recipe was pretty simple. Buy packet mix, add things as directed and bake. Homebrand's Vanilla Cake Mix is one such product, but it can be so much more as well.

To the mix, you add 3/4 cup of milk and 1 egg. What I love about the packet is, it tells you exactly how much in grams you need of the egg too. From there, I have turned this cake mix into pancakes by adding less milk and more egg. I have turned this into an amazing fruit cake, by simply swapping out the milk for mashed up feijoa or stewed apples or brown bananas. Pretty much whatever fruit I have in the house that needs to be used up.

I've made cupcakes and I've made steamed puddings too. The possibilities as far as dessert is concerned are only limited by your imagination. I have even used this when I was making some cookies and had run out of flour. It was a nice addition to the mix. Of course the other star quality here is the price. You can not go past a product that costs you less than $2. I always have a packet or three in the cupboard for last minute baking that needs to happen.

I have always preferred making mu baking from scratch - that way I know EXACTLY what has gone into it, in what amounts, and what 'tweaks' I can do along the way, but on the advice of one of our reviewers, I bought a couple of these and gave them a try while testing out some fruit syrups - I was assured that this was a quick, painless, and most-likely-to-work way to test the syrups in a baking experiment, without having to go out and restock the pantry on short notice.

She was right, so very, very right.

Everything you need is in the packet, with the exception of a couple of 'wet' ingredients - milk and egg. Throw those in, adjust to suit your needs, and you have a pretty foolproof way to make anything you want. Replacing the milk with an equal amount of fruit drink syrup makes an easy fruit cake. Adding in some pre-soaked dried fruits, or some 'cake mix' fruit that has been soaked in a pot full of orange juice, over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, is a great way to have an easy fruitcake mix suitable to make muffins for a party too.

Where this really came into it's own for me through, was helping ease the learning curve for my son teaching him to bake. Being the science-head that he is, he had a lot of fun watching the cake progress through the stages, working out what chemical processes were going on, without having his head full of recipe information. NOT knowing what was in there ahead of time gave him a bigger challenge and he loved being able to work it all out for himself.

Overall, for this price, there are few contenders for the title of 'best value cake mix' as far as I can tell, and you get such a versatile mix for such a low price! Hunt them down at your nearest Countdown supermarket, or buy them online if you have to. I wouldn't want to bank on it without further research, but if these aren't cheaper than buying the raw materials individually, they must be close, and are certainly far easier to work with!