Cake Mix Donuts and a Book Review

Take your favorite cake mix, add an egg, some butter and some milk to make these delicious donuts that are sure to bring a smile to those who are the lucky recipients.  I went with a Spice Cake this time and some fall colored sprinkles for a seasonal treat. 

I think I will use a chocolate cake mix and peppermint candy cane bits for the upcoming Christmas Season.

I was inspired to make donuts after listening to Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg.  This book, the first in a series starring Detective Eve Ronin was recommended to me by my friend Cam of Culinary Adventures with Camilla.  

Cam and I have simiilar tastes in books so I was looking forward to delving into this novel that I got for free as a Kindle Unlimited member.  I like to order up audible books on Kindle that I can listen to while going for my daily walk.  Of course, since the weather turned to freezing overnight here in Michigan, my daily walks have been on the treadmill in my garage.

This makes me even more grateful for audio books because I find treadmill walks very tedious. Listening to a good book passes the time and makes the treadmill tolerable.  Det. Eve Ronin, youngest detective in Los Angeles Sherrif's Department, gets her exercise by biking.

That is where this first novel starts off.  As Eve, who was an off duty patrol officer at the time, is out on a bike ride, she sees an assault in progress.  Eve stops and finds a big name movie star berating his girlfriend for being sick in his car.  As Eve gets off her bike and is approaching them the star backhands his girlfriend and attempts to hit Eve as she confronts him.  Eve takes him down to the ground and arrests him.  

Unbeknownst to Eve, the actor stars as Death Fist in a series of movie where he portrays a bad ass.  Bystanders who witnessed and filmed the takedown on their phones put it up on social media and it instantly becomes viral, earning Eve the nickname Death Fist and an immediate promotion to Detective in the Robbery/Homicide division.

This does not make the other members of the department, who had to wait, work and climb their way up the ladder, very happy.  Eve is assigned for training to Detective Duncan Pavone who is soon to be retired, overweight, cynical and nicknamed "Donuts" both because of his first name and his love of donuts.

The books are like reading an action movie and I'm already on the 4th of the series as they are quick and easy stories.  In this first novel Eve solves a homicide, saves a young girl, uncovers corruption within the department, convicts several corrupt cops of rape and murder and watches one of the corrupt officers kill himself in her house.  All in a days work, I guess LOL......

If you are looking for a quick read during the holiday season then you would do well to bake up some of these Cake Mix Donuts, pour yourself a cup of coffee and snuggle up on the couch with this first novel of the series.  

Tomorrow, I will be sharing my thoughts on the second in the series and sharing the recipe it inspired.  See you then.  For more great reading ideas stop by Foodies Read and see what books the others are sharing this month.

Cake Mix Donuts

Yield: 12 donuts

Author: Wendy Klik

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Take your favorite cake mix, add an egg, some butter and some milk to make these delicious donuts that are sure to bring a smile to those who are the lucky recipients. I went with a Spice Cake this time and some fall colored sprinkles for a seasonal treat.

Ingredients

• 1 cake mix of your choice
• 1 egg
• 1/3 c. butter, melted
• 3/4 c. milk
• 1/2 container prepared frosting
• sprinkles, if desired

Instructions

1. Combine the cake mix, egg, and milk in a bowl. Stir in the butter until incorporated.
2. Fill donut baking pans, that have been treated with baking spray, with the batter. I find using a disposable pastry bag the easiest way to do this.
3. Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes until puffed and a skewer inserted removes cleanly.
4. Let cool in pans for about 15 minutes before turning onto a rack to cool completely.
5. When donuts are cooled, place the frosting into a shallow bowl and microwave for 45-60 seconds, until melted. Stir until smooth.
6. Dip each donut into the frosting and cover with sprinkles, if desired.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

303.86

Fat (grams)

10.7

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.08

Carbs (grams)

49.63

Fiber (grams)

0.47

Net carbs

49.16

Sugar (grams)

31.78

Protein (grams)

2.79

Sodium (milligrams)

385.54

Cholesterol (grams)

29.03

Similar Recipes

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Pumpkin Spice Donuts

Beignets

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