6 Ways to Make Boxed Cake a Whole Lot Better (2024)

FAQs

How do you make a box cake taste like it came from the bakery? ›

Adding a liquid with a higher fat content though will make your mix taste just like it was made from scratch. Use the same amount of milk in place for water, or try buttermilk to add a touch of tang and create a fluffy crumb.

Generally, one cake recipe will make two, 8″ round cake layers, or a 13×9 inch cake layer. Sometimes it can make three, 6″ round cake layers, although those layers might be a little thinner.

To make a box cake mix rise higher, try using a smaller pan, adding an extra egg, using milk instead of water, adding baking powder, mixing for longer, using room temperature ingredients, baking at a higher temperature, or using cake strips.

The directions on the back of the box will tell you to add vegetable oil; for a denser crumb and bigger flavor, swap in unsalted butter. Melted butter can be used in the same quantity and manner as the fat called for in any boxed cake recipe.

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.

A standard box of cake mix is usually sufficient to make two layers, which you can stack on top of one another for a single cake. If you frosted them both separately, you'd have two cakes. If you used smaller pans (or cut the layers into pieces), you could get many more.

Usually, there are about four to six cups of cake batter in a boxed cake mix. In addition to that, there are typically four cups of batter in a package of Betty Crocker cake mix. Cake mixes are indeed convenient. Talk about making flavorful and moist desserts with ease.

BATTER: Generally, a box of cake mix will make 5 cups of batter, which equates to 24 standard cupcakes, 48 mini cupcakes and 12 jumbo cupcakes. FILLING THE CAVITIES: Use a scoop for even proportions. Fill the cavities 2/3 full. Sometimes, your batter will not fill every cavity such as when using a larger muffin pan.

In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in.

Add an extra egg. Beat all eggs before adding any other ingredients. If vanilla or yellow cake, replace water with milk or any version of silk, decreasing the amount by the extra amount of oil you will use (end of this paragraph). Add an extra teaspoon or two of vanilla.

How do you make a cake rise a lot? ›

Take whatever flavoring is in your boxed mix, and add more of it: If you're making a vanilla cake mix, add another teaspoon or two of vanilla extract, or a teaspoon of vanilla bean paste. For a chocolate cake mix, add a pinch of espresso powder (this will boost the chocolate flavor without adding any coffee taste).

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.

Add More Eggs

To get an extra rich and moist cake, stir in two extra egg yolks along with the eggs the recipe calls for (save the egg whites to make these delicious meringues). For a lighter and more airy cake, use only egg whites (and save the egg yolks for crème brûlée).

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.