How to Turn Cake Mix Into Delicious Homemade Baked Goods: 9 Easy Additions – Pick Your Own!

Let’s be realistic: few people can devote a day, or even a few hours, to creating a confectionery masterpiece: there is already enough to do before any family event. And yet, we often want dessert to be something exquisite, even if the child’s main culinary preference is “empty” pasta, and the spouse most appreciates ravioli with sour cream and vinegar and is ready to eat them even on his own birthday.

Why not really try to bake something exceptional? Perhaps, with the intention of bringing this idea to life, you have already bought a pastry wire, a cookie cutter and a set of accessories for a culinary bag. There is only one little thing left to do: you have to make the cakes. Usually, we have neither the time nor the inclination to tinker with them, so we suggest taking the path of least resistance – just take the cake mix from the box and improve it. For example…

It’s an old trick for increasing the moisture and density of a cake. “Most of the time, you need three eggs, but add a fourth and you’ll be amazed at the results,” advises blogger, homemaker, and editor of the home economics website Rihanna Murray.

If a recipe calls for a cup of water, substitute the same amount of milk. “I usually use whole foods, but anything will work, including plant-based options like almond or coconut. It gives the cake more fat and flavor,” Rihanna says.

And of course, if the recipe calls for both eggs and water, you can use both tricks at the same time. According to Rihanna, she did this once and ended up with “the moistest cake I’ve ever eaten.” “Plus, it tasted just as good a few days later, which we all really appreciated,” Murray adds.

Another alternative to water and milk that comes up most often when talking about cake mixes, especially chocolate ones, is coffee.

“Coffee is said to bring out a richer chocolate flavor. I tried this trick and can say that the smell of the cakes was delicious, but I didn’t notice a significant difference in the taste – maybe my receptors aren’t trained enough for that. However, my mother-in-law swears she couldn’t sleep all night even though she only ate one piece,” Rihanna explains.

Either way, using coffee is a great excuse to call your cake “chocolate mocha.” Sounds fancy, right?

Don’t like the combination of coffee and chocolate? This world is full of different drinks that will help you invent your own signature recipe. (The main thing is to not tell anyone that you are making a cake from a regular boxed mix: let them think that the list of ingredients has been passed down in your family for generations.)

For example, two-time cookbook author Bridget Edwards recommends using three-quarters of a cup of ginger ale, which will give cakes a bright yellow color, and a quarter cup of sour cream or buttermilk, which will add fat to the batter. And Riana’s colleague Jocelyn Adams suggests using lemon-lime soda, which will make the batter fluffier.

This may sound strange at first, but think about it: mayonnaise is basically egg yolks and butter. The logic here is that the cakes will become moister, which is always a good thing when it comes to cakes.

“I added a few heaping spoonfuls and it turned out great. I can’t say it’s a big difference, but it is—next time you’ll probably want to reuse mayonnaise. If you’re running low, try sour cream or Greek yogurt for similar results,” Murray says.

This tip is different from the others because the previous tips revolved around adding moisture to the cake rather than dry ingredients.

“At first I was skeptical about this advice: what good would it do to mix the contents of two boxes? I thought the cake would be too dry, but the result exceeded all expectations. I don’t know how it works, but the cakes are fantastic: porous and moist, but not too much,” Rihanna explains.

She also reminds us that puddings give you the opportunity to experiment – ​​you could try, for example, a banana, caramel or peach panna cotta.

“You can choose one that becomes your signature and allows you to have your own signature recipe. For example, almond extract is delightfully old-fashioned, vanilla is romantic and goes with everything, and rum immediately evokes vacation,” says chef, restaurant recipe developer and food photographer Jessica Furness.

“This applies especially to brownies: Most boxed mixes call for vegetable oil, which gives the brownie a lighter texture and neutral flavor. If you want to swap it out for something warmer and richer, use melted butter,” Jessica advises.

“Cookies, pecans, walnuts, candied fruit… Let your creativity and experimentation run wild! Why not, for example, cut mini Snickers bars into small pieces and mix them into the dough? Give it a try and maybe you’ll invent a personal trick that will delight all your guests!” says Furness.

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