There is so much to love about boxed cake mix. They are easy to bake, guaranteed to be delicious, and for many of us, full of nostalgia. Even as a professionally trained pastry chef, my pantry is always stocked with a few boxes for special after school treats and everyday celebrations.They are so convenient, but never quite as tasty as homemade cakes. But don’t worry! With ingredients you already have on hand in your kitchen, you can make a cake from a box that tastes more flavorful, moist, and like it was made from scratch. Here are seven easy ways to upgrade a basic cake mix.
If you only use one tip from this story, this one should be it. Most cake mixes call for two to three eggs. Just one more egg will add extra moisture, fat, and a little protein, which means the cake will be softer and less likely to overbake and dry out in the oven.
2. Add Milk, Coffee, or Soda
Boxed cakes often call for water, but swapping it out for equal amounts of milk, coffee, or even soda will give you a moister, more tender, and flavorful cake. For white cake mix, you can use whole milk or your favorite non-dairy milk. Take things one step further and pair your cake mix with a flavored liquid. For example, buttermilk sings in a yellow and red velvet cake and brewed coffee makes chocolate cake taste bolder. Also, pop open a can of soda—Sprite, 7 Up, or ginger beer—for lemon and strawberry cake mixes.
3. Use Butter Instead of Oil
My favorite swap and also the easiest: add melted butter instead of canola or vegetable oil, which most boxed cake mixes call for. Butter adds moisture and fat just like any oil, but it also has that unmistakable butter flavor that we all know and love.
4. Add Instant Pudding
Whisk one small (3.4-ounce) package of instant pudding into the dry cake mix. You’ll want a similar pudding flavor. For example, use chocolate pudding for a chocolate cake mix.Then, add the wet ingredients and bake the cake as directed. It’ll be so moist and the pudding will give it a big flavor boost.
5. Top the Cake with Homemade Frosting
May I suggest a simple homemade frosting to decorate your boxed cake? Your friends and family don’t have to know your pastry chef-approved secret—that the cake underneath the frosting comes from a box.
Boxed cake mixes can take on a lot of extra flavor and a little more liquid, so don’t be afraid to add a splash of vanilla or almond extract to a white cake or a little coffee extract to a chocolate cake. Fresh lemon or orange zest is wonderful in a lemon cake and also divine in a yellow or white cake.
7. Add Ricotta Cheese
For a super tender, moist, fresh-from-the-oven for days cake, take a page from Molly Adams' book and add some full-fat ricotta to your boxed cake mix.
Bump up the flavor by adding ½ to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Making a spice cake? Add a little rum, almond, or orange extract as well. If you're making a white or yellow cake, add a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or lime zest, or a bit of juice.
Bump up the flavor by adding ½ to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Making a spice cake? Add a little rum, almond, or orange extract as well. If you're making a white or yellow cake, add a teaspoon or two of fresh lemon or lime zest, or a bit of juice.
Use an extra egg: Most boxed mixes will call for three eggs. Use four for a cake that's richer-tasting and moister. This tip is one I use practically every time I make a boxed cake mix. Substitute dairy: Replace the water called for on the package with dairy.
Most box cake recipes will tell you to add water to the mix. Instead, try adding milk using the same proportions. This will make the cake richer and creamier because it ups the fat content. You can even use buttermilk here for a pleasant tang.
Buttermilk: Instead of water, use the same amount of buttermilk. The acid in the buttermilk interacts with the leavening agents in the mix for a better rise. "Swapping out the water for buttermilk creates a fluffier cake and a moister one, too," says Waterson.
Boxed cake mixes tend to be lighter in consistency, but if you're craving that thicker, moister, denser cake, then all you have to do is add an extra egg to your mix. The additional fat in the egg yolk helps create a more tender and moist cake that is full of flavor.
The added ingredients give the cake a better texture, more flavor, and more stability for stacking. Doctoring a box mix is a great way to make your cake taste better if you're not a confident baker yet or you just need a shortcut.
Most cake mixes call for oil, but butter will bring in amazing flavor. To substitute butter for oil in baking just melt the butter, measure it, let it cool, and add it as you would the oil. Compared to oil, butter will create a cake with a firmer, cakeier texture.
How Is Sour Cream Used in Baking? Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products; the extra fat content (for example, adding sour cream to a cake instead of milk) will make the cake moister and richer, says Wilk. "Fat, in any form (butter, lard, cream, etc.)
For chemically-leavened cakes — that is, cakes calling for baking powder or baking soda — it's OK if you don't remember to add the eggs until the end. Martina says, “Late in the mixing stage, eggs will incorporate better if you lightly beat them before adding to the batter.
However, if you add too many eggs to your cake batter, then your end result could be spongy, rubbery, or dense. Like flour, eggs build structure in a cake, so they make a cake batter more bonded and dense.
How to use sour cream with boxed cake mix. The best way to use sour cream with a boxed cake mix is to use it to replace the other liquids in the recipe, like milk or water. You can add up to a cup, or essentially the same amount of liquid you were originally meant to add, per the manufacturer's instructions.
Add a leavening agent to the flour. Most cakes will call for a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. These create the bubbles you need for the cake to rise.
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:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Simply-Recipes-BirthdayCakeSpotlight_UpgradeCakeMix_3x2_Final-c9b61d8662d6493697fdf5c27e6a075c.jpg "7 Easy Ways To Upgrade Your Boxed Cake Mix, According to a Pro Baker (1)")
