Product: Blood Orange Cake Mix with Icing
Specs: A naturally flavored cake mix made with powdered blood orange juice, dried orange peel, and vegetable extracts for color. A separate packet of dry mix is included for making the icing. The product arrived this month to Trader Joe’s, which hasn’t yet determined if it will be permanently available.
Preparation summary: Blend into the cake flour two eggs, a stick of melted butter, and three-quarters cup of water. Add mixture into a loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes. For the icing, mix in 2 tablespoons of melted butter and 1 to 2 tablespoons of hot water. Drizzle over cooled cake.
High points: The flavor of blood orange is bright and prominent as it meshes with the recipe’s call for melted butter. This is where citrus meets fat, resulting in a novel outcome within the pastry world. Unlike a few other Trader Joe’s baking mixes, the final product lifted smoothly out of the pan and cut cleanly.
Low points: Though satisfactorily moist, the texture is funky for cake. It more resembles dense brownies and sits in your stomach as such. The icing turned out thinner than expected, forming a clear, acrylic sheen over the cake rather than a pearly white glaze.
Average retail price: $3.69
Availability: Trader Joe’s
Hmm… it looks unappealing and I think if you want blood orange just eat one. Not all citrus belongs in a boxed cake mix.
The picture on the box looks delicious! No offense but yours does not. I may still Venture and try it though 😆
I want my blood oranges in a juice glass, please.
This does not look like it was baked in a loaf pan.