Poppy Seed Cake

(16.3 oz) of Box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix (DO NOT follow box directions)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs
1 carton (8 oz) sour cream
Poppy Seeds (about 1/8 to 1/4 cup)

Icing (not for use on jar cakes):
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp oil
1 tsp milk
1/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients. Grease bundt pan and dust with sugar. Pour in batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes (test for doneness). When done let cool 5 minutes then turn out of pan onto a plate. Glaze with icing while warm.

***COMMENT: Another option for this low-fat bread (NOT!) is jar cakes. I have made these often around the holidays as gifts. Very cute and very well received.

Let me explain. You get a fairly small WIDE-MOUTH jar (you got to be able to get the cake OUT). You butter the inside and sugar it like you would on the regular sized cake. Then you fill the jar 2/3 full. Don't overfill or you will have a mess so big that you will probably just throw the jars away rather than try and start again. :) I've done that, so trust me on this one. Also trust me when I say that you definitely want to bake these on top of a cookie sheet instead of trying to balance them on the rack...I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT HERE.

Make sure that the top surface of the jar is clean before putting in the oven. Bake until you can stick a toothpick in it and tell it's done. Now, heres the tricky part...take the lid and put it on the hot jar...top should still be clean! Then screw the other part on top. This is a hot job so be careful. As the jars begin to cool...one by one you will hear them pop. They are sealing themselves.

Now you have jar cakes. They are supposed to be able to keep on the shelf for a couple months...but I've never had one last that long...so I cant guarentee. I've also never used larger jars...so I'm not sure how well that would work either.

I just know that people LOVE 'em. ENJOY!

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Note 09 JAN 2024 - I noticed over the years that this recipe was no longer working correctly.  I was very sad. I thought it might be because I was living up in the mountains.  Then I found an article that talked about how Duncan Hines has changed the amount of ingredients in their box.  The original recipe in one box was 16.25 oz of powder.  To reduce cost of the years, it's gone as low as 14.25 oz.  I think when I weighed my most recent one it was even lower than that.  To get the recipe to work as designed, you will have to purchase 2 boxes and measure out 16.25 oz.  Most scales only round to the nearest 10th...so measure 16.3 oz.  Then IT WORKS!!!
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Source: Patty L (my boss at Theurgy, Inc., way back in 1997...can you believe it!?!?!)