Bob’s Red Mill boxed chocolate cake mix delivers a ‘Wow’

Just before Valentine’s Day, I stopped by seriouseats.com and saw the following headline: “We Tested 8 Boxed Chocolate Cake Mixes — Here Are the Ones We’d Bake for Valentine’s Day.”

Lee Musho wrote: “We taste-tested eight boxed chocolate cake mixes you're likely to find at your local supermarket or online. To find the very best ones, we mixed, baked, and cooled each cake, then sampled each without knowing which was which. Our winners are Bob’s Red Mill Decadent Chocolate Cake Mix and King Arthur Chocolate Indulgence Cake Mix.”

Since I recently shared that King Arthur’s Gluten Free Ultimate Fudge Brownie Mix produced the best brownies, gluten-free or not, I decided to give Bob’s Red Mill ($4.99) a try. If my test turned out well, I could serve it for dessert on Valentine’s Day.

The Bob’s Red Mill mix requires just 3 eggs, water and oil. I had some terrific local eggs, and since I don’t ever use seed oils (like soybean or canola), I went with extra-virgin olive oil.

For those who question the use of olive oil, know that my experience with olive oil doesn’t produce an “olive” flavor. In fact, I pop corn in olive oil, and it produces a very definite “buttery” flavor.

Bob’s mix suggests using a 9-by-13-inch pan. Since I wasn’t going to frost this cake, I used my heavy-duty, non-stick Nordic Ware Platinum Collection Anniversary Bundt Pan ($40). This pan has worked perfectly ever since I bought it more than 10 years ago.

At one time, I owned an inexpensive, light aluminum Teflon-coated Bundt pan that stubbornly refused to release every cake I baked in it. It did not matter how I prepared that pan, either.

Bob’s mix does not need to be made with a stand mixer or an electric hand mixer. Nope. It’s a stir-together, making cleanup quicker.

In order to make certain my cake releases easily, I used some soft butter to coat the Bundt pan’s interior.

Then, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, I added the eggs, water and oil and whisked with a wire whisk until combined. I dumped the cake mix in and whisked and stirred until combined. I transferred the batter to the prepared Bundt pan and into the oven it went. Shortly, a delightful chocolate aroma filled my kitchen.

When the timer went off at 30 minutes, a toothpick inserted into the cake’s center came out almost clean. I know that a cake, once it comes out of a hot oven, keeps baking for a while as it cools down. I wanted my cake to be moist and that could guarantee it. A clean toothpick may have produced an over-baked, dry cake.

After 5 minutes of cooling, I flipped my Bundt pan over on a wire rack and my cake easily slid out. Once cooled completely, I served it with a scoop of high-quality vanilla ice cream. (It was Valentine’s Day, after all.)

Wow, the cake had a deep chocolate flavor; sweet, but not too sweet. And, most importantly, it was beautifully moist and tender.

Thanks, Bob.

Nutritional values for 1/12 serving: Bob’s Red Mill Chocolate Cake: 204 calories (33.7% from fat), 7.7 g fat (1.2 g saturated fat), 31 g carbohydrates (29.3 net carbs), 18.4 g sugars, 1.7 g fiber, 4.1 g protein, 53 mg cholesterol, 250 mg sodium.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.