Best box mix for brownies/cakes

[DrMickhead]

I wouldn’t say Im much of a baker but I enjoy once a week making some brownies or cheesecake/sponge cake from scratch for some puddings for the kids.
Last night I costed it up for my brownies and it was so expensive, the butter and chocolate/eggs. It would have been cheaper to have bought my dc some ready made brownies from Lidl.

I was wondering if anyone has advice on some box mixes as most seem to require water and egg or oil. I was trying to keep away from shite filled with emulsifiers and whatnot for the kids but I genuinely can’t justify the cost of baking from scratch, they have lots of fruit and vegetables offered to them and they will eat them but I will have to make sacrifices in our food shop just to make some cakes which I'm not happy to do. So any suggestions of packets for sponge/brownies etc or if you’ve found a good chocolate for baking with? I use the cheapest store brand chocolates (usually Aldi or Lidl) for baking and it’s always been fine.

God no, Stork is expensive too
I use own brand baking spread; usually says perfect for cakes or best for baking or similar. Have used aldi, lidl, Tesco, Asda, etc own brand

Also a suggestion to freeze half the tray of homemade brownies for another week, everyone still gets a couple pieces and some left for another time

You can also make cookie dough and freeze balls of it for baking later. Just cook the balls of dough from frozen and you get fresh cookies whenever you want

I made Easter themed brownies at the weekend from a recipe I took a photo of from an asda magazine last Easter! It was a faff as it involved biscoff and cheesecake swirls as well as mini eggs but was very tasty

In case anyone wants the recipe.
P.s. I used own brand mini eggs as Cadbury ones are expensive. Lidl and Asda ones I think

Use Lidl or Aldi own brand chocolate, even the white packet (cheapest) dark chocolate works well for brownies, use baking margarine or sunflower oil rather than real butter. First time it will cost more a packet mix but you’ll have lots of leftover ingredients

I dont know if the offer is still on but farmfoods was selling 10 proper butters for £10 (or 3 for £5) and homepride flour for 49p last week

Yet another recommendation for the Ghiradelli mix.

I hate mixes; this is literally the only one I use. I am quite a decent cook and this makes better brownies than I do.

Another vote for own brand baking spread! So so cheap. Never noticed a difference in baking. So much easier to beat as well! (Obviously only for things that are to be baked - never for icing, blergh. But it’s the butter that is costing you!)

They look beautiful! I will definitely use that recipe, for Easter i like to bake for friends and neighbours so that will definitely the one I do!

You put me in the mood to make something so just whipped up a batch of cheese scones ready for breakfast tomorrow, will warm them up and butter them and serve with bacon.225g SR flour
50g (and some extra because it didn’t look enough) grated cheese, 55g baking spread, 150ml milk. Rub the spread and flour in to crumbly texture then add cheese, milk and a pinch of salts make into dough ball, cut into preferred shape, brush with milk and 15-20 mins in gas 7 oven. All stuff we had in the house and it will be a real treat to eat.

Do muffins they use veg oil rather than butter which reduces the cost
You can add whatever flavours you like blueberry and lemon zest is good.
Easy recipe

Dry ingredients
200g self raising flour
100g sugar
1teaspoon baking powder
100g extras (choc chips/fruit etc)

Wet ingredients
200ml milk (any)
75ml veg oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix dry ingredients in bowl, whisky wet ingredients together.
Add wet ingredients to dry and fold in until just mixed.
Put in 12 muffin cases and cook for 20-30 mins 180C

You beat me to it, Farmfoods butter is almost always on offer at 3 for £5. I use it all the time for baking and it's decent spread on toast too.

Brownies are expensive to make at the best of times, but currently chocolate is particularly dear due to bad harvests.

Why not save chocolate for special occasions and do plainer cakes at the weekend? When I was a kid we made things like jam tarts, flapjacks, rock buns, custard pie, or blackberry pie in the autumn.

If you mean the Costco Ghirardelli brownie mix it’s about £14.00 for 4 boxes (£3.50/box) arguably great value as they are great tasting

Ready made brownies are cheaper because they're shite. I once costed up a ginger cake I'd made, after being shocked at the price of one in a well known supermarket, mine was more expensive but was almost double the weight of the commercial one and didn't need any emulsifiers,citric acid and acidity regulator- sodium hydroxide, presumably needed to nullify the citric acid. I do have sodium hydroxide at home stored in the garage, labelled with its more usual domestic name - caustic soda, I use to clean the drains not when I'm baking.