Quick Answer: What Are The Popular Ways To Improve Boxed Cake Mix?
Boxed cake mix is a convenient and easy way to bake a cake. The boxed cake mix is a pre-measured and easy-to-follow recipe that produces a light and fluffy cake. When baking, many people use an assortment of items to change the flavor of the cake like using eggs, lemon zest, extra egg, nuts etc.
Boxed cake mix is an amazing invention. It takes away the stress of having to measure out all the dry ingredients, and can make baking a lot easier.
Not to mention, it prevents you from buying loads of ingredients that will just sit around for months.
All around, it’s just a lot easier than the alternative.
However, if you’ve ever used boxed cake mix, you might have noticed that there could be a few things you would change.
Sure, these cakes are delicious, but could they be better? Well, yes they could!
In fact, improving these cakes is super easy and simple. There are also lots of options that you could try.
So, if you want to turn your boxed cake mix into something that belongs in a bakery, bear with us!
Here, we’re going to go over everything you could possibly want to know about transforming your cakes.
By the end, you will be fully equipped to create top quality cakes the whole neighborhood will want to get their hands on.
10 Hacks For Improving Boxed Cake Mix
You can transform your boxed cake mix cakes by doing any (or all) of the following:
- Use milk instead of water
- Add coffee
- Use an extra egg
- Add lemon zest
- Create cake waffles
- Use a slow cooker
- Use butter instead of oil
- Add some spices
- Use extract
- Add fruit, nuts, or anything else you like!
Don’t Use Water
If you want a cake that’s deliciously rich, skip the water! Instead, you should use the same amount of milk.
Adding milk will add that extra flavor and richness that every cake needs.
Be sure you use whole milk, as this will give the cake the much-needed fat, which in turn makes the cake smoother.
However, if you’re concerned about the fat content of whole milk, even 2% or even skim milk will do.
You won’t get the same incredible results, but it’s better than using water anyway.
No matter how rich and creamy you want your cake, you should never use half-and-half or heavy cream.
You might think these would be great, but they would affect the recipe negatively.
If this happens, you might not even end up with a cake that you can enjoy.
If you are using a boxed cake mix that asks for 1 cup of water, simply replace it with 1 cup of milk.
Just this one ingredient change will have a huge impact on your cake’s flavor and richness.
Add Coffee
This is one of the best things you can do if you’re making a chocolate cake.
Adding coffee to it instead of water will enhance the flavor of the chocolate, making it to die for.
When coffee is added to cake instead of water (or milk), you won’t actually taste the coffee.
Instead, the flavor of the chocolate will only become stronger and richer.
Not only does this hack make chocolate cake taste better than ever, but it’s a smart way to use leftover coffee, too.
If you still want a super rich and creamy cake, you can add half coffee and half milk! Just try them out and see if you like the combination.
An Extra Egg
While baking is a science, there are a few rules that can be broken.
When it comes to boxed cake mix, adding an extra egg is perfectly acceptable – recommended, even!
This extra egg will add some density to the cake, and also some more moisture.
So, if your boxed cake mix calls for two eggs, why not try adding in a third?
The results will be a cake that is a little denser than the fluffy boxed cake you would usually get.
This will make it feel like everything was made from scratch.
If you don’t like using eggs in your cake, this hack can still apply to you! Just add a little extra something, and you can get the same result.
Whatever you use to replace the eggs, add some extra. You won’t regret the results.
Lemon Zest Is Your Friend
This is the greatest hack for vanilla cakes. Sure, vanilla is delicious on its own, but why not up the ante a little?
Simply zest some lemons (you could use orange zest, too), and add them to the mixture!
You can either leave them in thin strips, or chop it up super fine to blend into the cake – it all depends on preferences!
If you want to try this out, consider adding a teaspoon of lemon zest to your favorite boxed vanilla cake mix.
For orange zest, why not try it with a chocolate cake? Both of these options add something incredible to these recipes.
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Forge Waffles Instead
Okay, cake is great and all, but it takes so long to bake!
If you want to have a super delicious cake in under 15 minutes, why not turn it into waffles?
Waffles with cake mix is something that everyone should try at least once in their lives.
You get all the great flavors from a cake, but you can add ice cream on top, and all your other favorite toppings, too!
Waffle makers are also super affordable, so it’s a great option for anyone who is impatient and money savvy.
Instead of waiting an hour or more for your cake, you can have a cake waffle ready to eat steaming hot in less than 15 minutes.
Who wouldn’t want that?
Get Your Slow Cooker Going
Got a slow cooker that you definitely don’t use enough? Use it to bake your cake!
This will take a little longer than an oven (around 4 hours), but the results are sublime.
All you need to do is mix together your cake mix, add it to a slow cooker, and leave it to cook. You don’t have to stress about it burning or drying out!
Since the moisture gets sealed inside slow cookers, you will have the most moist cake of your life waiting for you.
Sure, you will need to wait longer until you can enjoy it, but it’s worth it, especially if you’re adding fruit into the mix!
Better Use Butter
If you’ve ever used a boxed cake mix, you will know that they usually call for oil to be added.
However, any kind of fat will do! Instead of splashing in some tasteless oil, why not replace it with butter?
Butter is flavorful and delicious, and will really level up your cake.
A more complex flavor will be added to the cake, as well as a richness that oil just can’t provide.
If you want to try this hack out, be sure to melt the butter before you add it to the batter.
When measuring our oil to butter, you should use twice as much butter as oil.
For example, if your boxed cake mix calls for ½ cup of oil, you’re going to add 1 whole cup of melted butter.
The results will be so good, they will be shocking. Don’t believe us? Try it!
Spice It Up A Little
There’s nothing wrong with a simple boxed mix cake. The flavors are good, but they aren’t great.
If you want to add a little extra something to your cakes, then you definitely need to consider adding some spices.
Things like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice are incredible ingredients for changing cakes.
If you’re really looking for something exciting, you can add chili powder to your chocolate cakes, too!
This might sound strange to some, but if chili chocolate works well together, then why not a chili chocolate cake?
This will create a Mexican chocolate cake, and you will be sad you never tried it sooner.
Adding things like cloves, nutmeg, allspice and cinnamon to a cake will make it the perfect mix for fall.
When the weather cools, there’s nothing better than receiving a warm hug in the form of a cake.
These spices will do exactly that. Try them out.
Extract, To Be Exact
The flavor of boxed cake mixes will gradually weaken over time. So, using a little vanilla extract is never a bad idea.
Even if your mix is in date, some extract will just improve the flavor tremendously.
You can also add things like maple or almond extract to your vanilla cakes to give them an even richer flavor.
If you’re making a chocolate cake, add some mint extract! For a strawberry cake, lavender extract can be life changing.
If you haven’t tried adding different extracts, you better start now!
Throw In Some Delicious Additions
This is where you can let your creativity flow. You can add fruit, chocolate chips, purées, nuts, or even cookie crumbs to your cakes!
Just cake a look in your kitchen cabinets and see what you have lying around that will work for your cake.
Please note that things like fruit will have an impact on the density of the cake, and can make them incredibly moist.
Be sure not to add too much moisture in a cake, otherwise it might not come out as planned.
As long as you measure things carefully, you have the freedom to add anything you like to enhance your cakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do You Make Boxed Cake Mix Better?
There are 10 things you can do to make your mixed cake better.
These include using milk, adding coffee, adding an extra egg, using lemon zest, using butter instead of oil, and even adding some spices!
You could also add a little extract or berries or nuts to it, too.
Not only that, but you can turn the cake into waffles instead, or use a slow cooker to cook the mixture.
Is Milk Or Water Better For Boxed Cake Mix?
Milk is better to add to your boxed mix cake. This is because it adds density, a little fat, and some amazing flavor.
Milk keeps cake mixtures more bland and simple.
What Will An Extra Egg Do To Boxed Cake Mix?
Adding an extra egg to a boxed cake mix will make the cake thicker and more dense.
Boxed cake mix is naturally very light and fluffy. So, adding an egg will change the consistency, which can be a good thing.
Should You Beat Eggs Before Adding It To The Boxed Cake Mix?
Yes. Ideally, you should beat the eggs before adding them to the cake mixture. However, this is often overlooked and ignored.
Is Boxed Cake Mix Any Good?
Yes! Boxed cake mix is delicious and incredibly easy to use.
It’s worth it for anyone who isn’t a fan of measuring a lot of ingredients, or who simply wants to make their lives a little easier.
Can You Use Boxed Cake Mix After It Expires?
Yes, you can use boxed cake mix even after its best before date passed.
It should be safe to use for a year, if not more.
However, the quality might not be as good as it would have been before the best before date.
15 Perfectly Amazing Brownie Brittle Recipes To Try At Home
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Hi! My name is Jessica, and I recently decided to set up the site My Baking Heart, as an extension of my love for baking. It is something I have enjoyed since being a young child, when I would bake cookies and cakes with my grandma
Over the years, I have developed my skills and love to try all kinds of baking, from genoise sponges, to peach cobbler, and everything in between. New recipes are so much fun to follow and recreate.
Through this site, I hope to teach others the basics of baking, from how to use certain equipment, to the best types of recipes to follow. My site is a mixture of useful informational content, recipes, and of course, review of the best types of baking equipment.
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