# Whatever happened to those microwave cakes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 31, 2006, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891 "2006-08-31T07:40:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/1 "2006-08-31T07:40:11Z")
Seriously. Do y’all remember those “mix and microwave in the same box” cake, brownie, and fudge mixes? My apartment has no regular oven (apparently not a popular item for Korean kitchens); however, I shall soon have a microwave oven. I dearly like to eat cakes, brownies, and fudge and kind of like making the stuff myself. Back in the 1980s, I was making them with the microwave mixes. Now, I’m about to buy one of those kid’s easy bake ovens. Save me from that terrible fate! Where can I get the stuff I remember from the 80s? ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Don\_t\_Call\_Me\_Shirley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Call_Me_Shirley)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/2 "2006-08-31T11:34:46Z")
Ebay? Seriously, those cakes tasted like ass. Don’t grocery stores there have a bakery where they sell those types of things pre-made? ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/3 "2006-08-31T11:57:28Z")
Have you considered a toaster oven? If you got an assortment of pans that would fit in you could use it for all sorts of baking. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/4 "2006-08-31T14:22:04Z")
Actually, I thought some of them tasted pretty good. Hadn’t considered a toaster oven. Might try that tack. Grocery stores here are quite different than anywhere else I’ve been (and I’ve traveled quite a bit). Bakeries sell all kinds of stuff but here in Korea, the bakers seem to think that it’s not a baked good unless it has coffee in it. Some of the stuff they sell, though, doesn’t have coffee, tastes pretty good, and is expensive. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/5 "2006-08-31T14:36:50Z")
Have you considered no-bake stuff like the [Jello line](http://www.kraftfoods.com/jello/main.aspx?s=&m=jlo_family_nobakes) of products, or making your own batch of [microwave fudge](http://search.allrecipes.com/recipe/quick.aspx?q1=microwave+fudge&lnkid=65)? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/6 "2006-08-31T14:49:54Z")
They’re not gone. Hubby bought one about a week ago. I don’t eat cake, so I didn’t pay all that much attention to it, but it was a dark chocolate cake of some kind which cooked in the microwave. It came in a black platic bowl, a one-serving size. He said it was good. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/7 "2006-08-31T14:58:20Z")
**ZipperJJ** : Thanks for the recipes! I’ll have to forgo the Jello and the marshmallows, though (ovo-lacto-vegetarian). **Lissa** : Where did he get the thing? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/8 "2006-08-31T15:13:56Z")
[Make your own!](http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?q=microwave+cake) ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/9 "2006-08-31T15:25:23Z")
If you can get them: [Betty Crocker](http://www.bettycrocker.com/products/prod_warmdelights.aspx) makes microwave cakes called “warm delights”. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/10 "2006-08-31T15:27:56Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] **Lissa** : Where did he get the thing? [/QUOTE] At the grocery, dear. 😉 It was one of those that Betty Crooker things that **FilmGeek** linked to. I recognized it when I opened it. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/11 "2006-08-31T16:58:00Z")
OK, as it has been asked and answered, I have heard that the cake mixes that currently have you add egg and oil originally were just add water. The reason that the ingredients were changed to require additions was not because of any difference in quality, but because people didn’t feel like the just add water cakes were cooking, and it was purely a marketing decision. Is there any truth to this, or just an legend? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/12 "2006-08-31T17:36:02Z")
[QUOTE=Bill Door] OK, as it has been asked and answered, I have heard that the cake mixes that currently have you add egg and oil originally were just add water. The reason that the ingredients were changed to require additions was not because of any difference in quality, but because people didn’t feel like the just add water cakes were cooking, and it was purely a marketing decision. Is there any truth to this, or just an legend? [/QUOTE] I don’t know if it’s truth or legend, but I have also heard this. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/13 "2006-08-31T17:55:18Z")
Yes, I remember the microwave mixes from the 80’s-early 90’s. They were convenient for single servings and were pretty good if you took them on their own terms and didn’t compare them to actual baked goods. Then they disappeared for a long time. Now, just recently, I’ve started seeing the Betty Crocker things that people are mentioning, but they look a bit expensive for what you get. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2006, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/14 "2006-08-31T18:12:55Z")
I just make regular cake mixes and cook them in the microwave in some Tupperware someone gave me. I think it’s called the Heat’n’Serve and it makes a really good full-sized, almost bundt-style cake. I usually pour hot fudge over it. _digs around on the Interweb_ Ah. The Tupperware Web site sucks for linking to, so I’ll put up a mirror on my site: [http://www.gun-slinger.net/tupperware.html](http://www.gun-slinger.net/tupperware.html) The cakes are really yummy. I dunno if everyone wants to buy Tupperware, cuz it’s expensive. My mom sells the stuff so I get a quarter off discount. ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/15 "2006-09-01T00:04:36Z")
Down in Georgia, mya parents buy a pretty good competitor to Tupperware. The stuff is called Tuckerware. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/16 "2006-09-01T00:06:41Z")
“my parents” not “mya parents” & the Tuckerware is cheaper than Tupperware. Especially for me. Mom & Dad bought it and gave it to me for free! ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/17 "2006-09-01T00:31:49Z")
The Paris Baguette franchise (in Korea) seemed to make pretty decent baked goods from what I remember. There seemed to be a lot of similar typed bakeries around. I don’t remember buying anything with coffee in it, and I tended to choose things pretty much at random. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2006, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/18 "2006-09-01T04:54:28Z")
It’s a fairly recent trend that started perhaps two years ago. Oddly enough, it’s all about “Wel-Bing” (Koreanized English for “Well Being”), or so say the advertisements. Of course, it’s really all about conning people into buying the stuff you label, such as the triple size everything on it pizza from my neighborhood pizza joint, as being a “Wel-Bing” product. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2006, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/19 "2006-09-02T14:27:33Z")
Just got back from the commissary at Camp Walker. I was there just two weeks ago and they didn’t have those Betty Crocker microwave mixes. This time they did and I bought four of them. Looking forward to trying them out on Monday! ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2006, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whatever-happened-to-those-microwave-cakes/370891/20 "2006-09-02T20:28:18Z")
If you do get a toaster oven, check out this [small-batch baking](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0761130357?v=glance) recipe book t6o save yourself from math.