Oh Delicious Alchemy... You have never let me down and this product is no exception. I tweeted a few days ago about fancying making the vanilla cake mix but I couldn't decide to leave it plain, add chocolate chips, or mini fudge pieces. Delicious Alchemy tweeted back with why not both, so that is exactly what I did!

I didn't add many mind, so it was more of a hunt the chips, as I didn't want to ruin the texture, seeing as this is the first time I have tried this mix and I didn't want to affect the review. To create the cake, all you need is 180g of butter and three large eggs. If you buy a 250g block of butter I found the left overs was the perfect amount for the butter icing I made!

I opened the mix and added it to the mixer, the consistency was almost as finely milled as icing sugar and was very white too, which I found interesting and different to most mixes I have seen. To this I added the butter and creamed together. Once that was done I beat in the eggs, choc chips and fudge. I had the mixture run for a few minutes, I have found the key to gluten free cooking is to fill the mixture with as much air as you can. This way you don't end up with a pancake!

These were then popped in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 180. The timing on this was perfect. I tend to have to add a couple of minutes to my gas cooker but using the electric one I did seemed to be more on time. I guess it just depends on where you live and the type of oven you have!

Straight out of the oven, the sponges looked just like the gluten filled Victoria sponge my gran makes, so this was a good sign, evenly domed and golden! Once cooled I sandwiched the cake with some basic butter icing.


Cutting into the cake the texture looked perfect, great aeration and soft to the touch. Nothing crumbled away and I have since found it travels well too, as I have been bringing bits to my office! The flavour is second to none, I gave a piece to my mum and she had to ask me three times if it was a gluten free cake and she thought it tastes just like any cake she would normally eat! In her words 'there is no dry bicarbonate powderiness you get with a lot, I honestly don't believe it! It tastes like your Grans'. If you have ever been lucky enough to try my Gran's Victoria spoke, you know this is high praise! The moisture, texture, flavour and presentation of this cake was perfect.

The mix retails at £2.99 on their website and £3.50 at most retailers. I added around £1.80 of butter and eggs. So for one cake, depending on the supermarkets you use for your eggs and butter you can make a cake for under £5. This cake is a similar size to the M&S birthday cake I reviewed earlier in the week and is half the price, of course that was decorated but you could decorate this cake too, more than likely for less than £5, which makes this a good budget option when considering birthdays and celebrations, as you can also personalise it too.

I would certainly be buying this mix again. I think I would love to try to create a 'cream tea' style cake with clotted cream and jam in the centre!

I would love to see if you have used this mix as a base for any baking creations or even just as a Victoria sponge!

Hannah x

*This product was sent to me to try, all opinions are my own.