You will find that if you sift your boxed cake mix first thing, you will get a much fluffier and finer crumb to the cake.
To make a boxed cake taste more "homemade", add 2 Tbsp. of plain all-purpose flour along with an extra egg and 1 Tbsp. of sugar. The cake is a little heavier and more dense than it would have been. You can barely tell it was a boxed cake mix to begin with.
It never hurts to add a Tbsp. of sour cream to any chocolate cake mix. It ends up being so different, although I can't tell you why. Utterly delicious.
When you use a store-bought container of frosting, you can scoop it all into a bowl, add a Tbsp. of butter, and 6 Tbsp. of powdered sugar, then beat it all really well, to get a much better flavored and more stable frosting. Feel free to add 1/2 tsp. of flavoring such as orange, lemon or almond.
If you're using a chocolate frosting, you might want to add a Tbsp. of Hershey's Cocoa along with a tsp of butter to deepen the flavor of chocolate.
Add a Tbsp. of instant coffee to a Tbsp. of hot water, mix coffee and water, then pour it into chocolate frosting in a bowl, and add 6 Tbsp. of powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp. of Hershey's Cocoa to the chocolate frosting to get a rich mocha flavor. You might need an extra Tbsp. of butter to keep it soft enough to spread. Stir it all in first. All canned frosting are not created equal.
I taught Creative Cooking for a Cultural Art Center at one time, and these are the types of things busy women wanted to learn, so we tried some of everything.
Have fun in your kitchen. Teach your children how to cook with pleasure and creativity. It's becoming a dying art.
By pookarina from Boca Raton, FL
Please post your findings after using this idea.
By broadway7 from Rumford, RI
My favorite addition is coconut in the batter. Be sure to mix well before baking.
You can also add 1/3 cup of sour cream to make it more moist.
Adding pecans, dried fruit, etc. will also make it special.
By DesignedByJulie from Mt Pleasant, NC
I am making a wedding cake in June and would like to doctor a Duncan Hines butter golden cake mix to make this cake. It will be a four-layer cake with butter-cream icing. I have made a doctored wedding cake with Betty Crocker cake mix, but Duncan Hines butter is my favorite.
By Fran from St. Mary's County, MD
By Lilac
04/19/2011
My advice would be to stick with what you know in this case. Or else leave yourself time to make the other in case this does not work.
I am going to be making a diet cake (or maybe you call it soda cake) soon. I want to know if instead of the can of soda, if I can use 12oz. of sparkling water? It is flavored, carbonated water, so pretty much like diet coke. Would this turn out the same? For those of you who don't know, you just mix a can of soda with a box of cake mix and bake. It's delicious.
By becca25 from NY
If you bake an old cake mix (April '08) will it taste okay and not make anyone sick? Please advise.
By Beth from Dayton, OH
By redhatterb
08/17/2012
I have never had any problems with outdated cake mixes. You could call your county home extension agent or whatever they are called where you live. This person will have a home economics degree and should know more about that than I do. I have never had a cake mix that old, but I have had outdated ones.
I want to have a moist Pillsbury supreme strawberry cake. What should I do to make the cake moist?
By Renarda
How can I make a white cake mix into a chocolate cake?
Trish from CT
What would you add to the assorted flavours of cake mix to make them taste like homemade? I don't feel confident enough in my ability to follow a cake batter recipe, so tend to rely on cake mixes. I would really prefer to be able to say that I did something to make my cakes my own! Any clever ideas for delicious fillings between the cake layers would be much appreciated too. Thanks very much for the advice.
By AnnahFM from Canada
By meoowmom
08/12/2010
I buy box of cheap yellow cake mix follow directions on box, then i add butter pats ans chocolate chips, or whatever chocolate on hand, baking chocolate squares, chocolate candy bar or any other baking chips (a real favorite of all)
or you could add nuts and dried cranberries. Good luck and have fun trying these!
Can baking powder be added to freshen a cake mix past it's expiration date? During my late husband's bout with cancer, a lot of food items didn't get used since he didn't have an appetite.
Renee from Shreveport, LA
By Sally_Admin
04/07/2011
(submitted via email)
I received an email that has been sent to a long list of people saying that an expired cake mix or pancake mix will almost kill you. I am glad to read on your website that this is not true. If this would happen, the manufacturer would have to state such on the labels.
Sarah B.
Is there a leeway on expired cake mixes?
By AnnP from HI
By Great Granny Vi
08/16/2011
2 teaspoons of baking powder is what I add to expired cake mixes. I have had good luck with the three major brands 2-3 years (I sometime freeze them for a year) after their expiration date.
I also put cornmeal and flour and baking mixes in the freezer for storage.
I have 25-30 year old letters from at least three national companies saying canned goods are safe to eat as much as 5 years after purchase. Even after their expiration date.Nutritional value and color may have changed, but still safe to eat. GG Vi
I need a recipe to make a moist yellow and chocolate cake, or cupcake. My last cake was so dry, and it was made from scratch. I was told to use sour cream to substitute for oil, I don't know how much? Also, Duncan Hines would be the best bet, but I would like to add extra cake flour to the batter to spread it out. Has anybody heard this before, if so how much can be added along with the sour cream? Please help.
Thank you.
By a219170 from New Jersey
By lhegs
05/30/2009
I don't know about substitutions but this is a great moist cake. Very easy too. All my cake mixes went out of date when I learned this one :)
Wacky Cake
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 teas. salt
3/4 cup oil
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 teas. baking soda
2 tbls. vinegar
1 teas. vanilla
Mix all and bake at 350 degrees
35 min. in greased 9x13 pan
18 min in cupcake papers
Very moist, chocolately cake.
I am using a white cake mix, can I substitute lemon juice for the water to make it a lemon cake?
By Kathy
To make cake mixes taste like cakes made "from scratch":
Source: I have had this tip for years, and as far as I can recall, it was given to me by a friend of my mother's.
By Annabelle from Phoenix, AZ
By Kelly
When making a cake mix cake, I use milk instead of water. I measure the required milk in a 2 cup mixing cup. Then I add the correct amount of oil and eggs. I beat the cake mix to get the lumps out and then gradually add what is in the 2 cup measuring cup.
Once it is blended well, I scrape the bowl and then beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. I then pour the batter in a prepared 9x13 inch pan and bake it a 300 degrees F for about 45 minutes. Baking it with a lower heat makes the cake rise more evenly and keeps the cake from having narrow edges and a high center of the cake.
People that eat my cakes can't believe I used a cake mix. They say it tastes like a "scratch" cake.
By Sue from Chester, SC
By MCW
Also, straight from my a chef's mouth, use a tsp of vanilla, it helps cut down on the cloying sweetness from boxed cakes, any flavor.
And I realize that from scratch cakes are good, but you can find box mixes on sale for less than a dollar a LOT of the time, the ingredients to make from scratch, cost way more than that! (04/16/2009)
By michawnpita
By Chevygirl
By Kings Kid
I hope someone can help me. I read somewhere online that you can make a box cake really good by adding extra things to it. It had 3 or 4 more ingredients than what the box cake calls for. I think one was an extra egg and a box of pudding, but I can't remember what else. I don't know if it was baking powder or soda does anyone have this recipe? Thanks for your help.
By Vicky
http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf45627237.tip.html (09/02/2010)
By MCW
By cett
Another option is to take a spice cake or a chocolate cake and simply add a can of regular (not pie filling) pumpkin, nothing else. The batter will be rather thick but the cake is wonderful. Bake at 350 degrees F and use Cool Whip for frosting, if you like. Hope this helps. (09/04/2010)
By newlifeat49
By Ann Parker
By marinewife5
By fresca03
It never hurts to add a Tbsp. of sour cream to any chocolate cake mix. It ends up being so different, although I can't tell you why. Utterly delicious.
When you use a store-bought container of frosting, you can scoop it all into a bowl, add a Tbsp. of butter, and 6 Tbsp. of powdered sugar, then beat it all really well, to get a much better flavored and more stable frosting. Feel free to add 1/2 tsp. of flavoring such as orange, lemon or almond.
If you're using a chocolate frosting, you might want to add a Tbsp. of Hershey's Cocoa along with a tsp of butter to deepen the flavor of chocolate.
Add a Tbsp. of instant coffee to a Tbsp. of hot water, mix coffee and water, then pour it into chocolate frosting in a bowl, and add 6 Tbsp. of powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp. of Hershey's Cocoa to the chocolate frosting to get a rich mocha flavor. You might need an extra Tbsp. of butter to keep it soft enough to spread. Stir it all in first. All canned frosting are not created equal. "
Today, I would add to those suggestions:
Add 1 mashed up ripe banana or 1/3 cup applesauce to a yellow cake mix. This just adds a bit more moisture as well as flavor.
Hope this helps. Good Luck. Never be afraid to try your own ideas in the kitchen. (09/04/2010)
By PookaRina
By Stngray
By turtlechell
When making a cake from a mix, place mix in bowl, add the water, mix it up, oil, mix it up and mix after each egg, then scrap the sides and beat for 2 minutes, your cake will be bigger and lighter!
I also scoop out the bought icing, beat it for about 1 minutes, there is more icing and it tastes like homemade.
By Jackie from Aurora, CO
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Improving Boxed Cake Mixes