Mixed Review: Cake Chalet Avocado Spice Cake

Posted by Lucy Baker, June 5, 2010 at 1:00 PM

No matter how you bake it, frost it, or slice it, after a while cakes from supermarket mixes can get a little boring. The flavor options are always the same: golden vanilla or Dutch chocolate, with the occasional lemon or carrot thrown in. That's why I was excited—astounded, really—to discover Cake Chalet, a website that prepares cake mixes to order and boasts a roster of 93 flavors ($7.95 each, plus shipping).

These are cakes beyond your wildest dreams: grape soda, fig Danish, tangy taco, and even potato chips and dip. There are 38 frosting mixes to match, too, including chocolate banana, blueberry cream, and spumoni. Inspired and original as the flavors sounded, as I scrolled through the seemingly endless list I found myself wondering how they could possibly taste any good. Buttered popcorn? Bloody mary? Really?

After agonizing over which flavor to try, I finally settled on avocado spice. It sounded luscious and seasonally appropriate. Plus, I adore the subtle fruitiness of olive oil cakes, and I thought perhaps this cake would taste similar. I decided to pair the cake with a simple vanilla frosting. Boring? Perhaps, but I didn't want something that would interfere with the cake, the true star of the show.

The Cake Chalet mix arrived promptly, neatly packaged in a brown paper sack. There were no ingredients listed, and according to the instructions, all I had to add to the mix was two cups of milk. After a quick whir of the electric mixer, I divided the pale green batter between two cake pans and slid them into a 350 degree oven. The instructions said to bake the cakes for 20 to 28 minutes, which seemed a bit long. There wasn't a whole lot of batter, and each of my pans was only about 1/3 full. Sure enough, when I checked on the layers after 18 minutes they were already slightly past done, pulling sharply away from the edges.

I allowed the cake layers to cool while I prepared the frosting. I added two cups of heavy cream to the pouch of frosting mix and beat it for about three minutes in total. The instructions said to beat the mix for at least 8 minutes, which I thought was excessive—my frosting would have been butter by then!

Once the layers were stacked and frosted, the cake looked great—homey and a bit lopsided, with tufts and spikes of frosting begging to be swiped and licked off a finger. I cut a thick slice and dug in. True to its appearance, the frosting was delicious: light, cool, and creamy with a mild sweetness and a delicate vanilla flavor. Unfortunately, I found the cake a bit disappointing. I had been hoping for something understated and lightly spiced with Mexican flavors. Instead, the cake tasted quite salty and slightly bland. There were chunks of dried red pepper in it, but no hints of lime or other typical guacamole ingredients, as the website advertised.

In the end, I think this cake would have been much better if it had been baked for only 15 minutes and topped with a simple lime glaze. It would also make an unusual and innovative accompaniment to your favorite chili, in place of cornbread. I would also encourage you to check out the Cake Chalet website if you're a fan of unusual mixes, or looking for a unique gift for a home baker. At the very least, it's sure to be a conversation starter!

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Tags: baking mixes, Cake Chalet, cakes, desserts, Mixed Review