I am a huge fan of the Fat Daddios cake pans. If I could leave pictures I would. Bake time? I was sure the cake was done, wasnt jiggly, rose nice and high but fell while cooling and was very dense. The best part? Not to mention Duncan Hines are often on sale so stock up on your top flavors and enjoy all the funny looks you'll get at check out. Thank you. For the chocolate version of this recipe check out my Chocolate WASC Recipe. If so, maybe just remove 2.25oz. I just made this and it is wonderful. I have a recipe for doctored up chocolate cake mix: https://thefirstyearblog.com/doctored-up-chocolate-cake-mix/. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (or 325 degrees F for convection bake). any reason you substituted whole eggs and all buttermilk? Can you clarify? I like to use a homemade pan release (cake goop). I added a couple generous spoonfuls to a yellow cake recipe and it turned out great. Im having a hard time making one from scratch *cries*, Hi Nina I'll have a doctored red velvet box mix cake coming out later this week! In your stand mixer bowl or another bowl add the wet ingredients. Hi Judy! Looking for more cake ideas? Then I used cream cheese frosting and topped with toasted coconut. 1 box cake mix. Well let me put your mind at ease. For my son's very first birthday, I was determined to make his birthday cake. Hey there! Looking for Frosting recipes ? You say you prefer to use Duncan Hines cake mix but the notes at the end indicate you used Pillsburys cake mix. 1 15.25-ounce white or vanilla cake mix 1 cup granulated white sugar Salt, one pinch 1 cup all-purpose flour 1 cup sour cream 4 egg whites (large) 2 tbsp. Hey There! If you do, youll change everything and end up with a mystery In an attempt to make the cake pretty, I bought small round pans and cake wraps, to prevent the layers from doming. Add More Eggs . What an easy and fun hack! people. How did you make this into tres leches without the egg whites?? My apologies for all of the questions. For a similar effect, add an equal amount of full-fat plain yogurt. I consider an easy cake to be one that starts with a box mix. I followed your directions, made sure to read the comments and your response, and greased the pans thoroughly. This cake mix recipe is perfect for all of us who like the ease of a box mix, but maybe want to doctor up the cake mix for more of a homemade taste. I used 3 eggs instead of 4 egg whites and I also poked 100 holes in after baking with pineapple juice. This doctored up white cake mix definitely makes more cake batter than if you were to just follow the back of the box instructions, so thats my only caution you might have leftover cake batter because you dont want to fill the pan too high! It was soooo good!!! Thank you so much for such a great recipe. Can I use this for wedding cakes that are stacked. I picked up mine for $5 at a half price bookstore. Have fun experimenting! Turned out well. 1. Mad I wasted all of those eggs, milk and butter! Im wanting to use this recipe to make yellow and chocolate cakes to make sturdier for decorating with buttercream. Waste of four eggs and stick of butter. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, eggs, butter, and milk. I will only make cakes using this method from now on! I made it today and added a box of Hersheys white chocolate pudding, only because I had it. For an extra decadent cake, add two tablespoons of mayonnaise. I called . I am a baker and after a lot of testing in my kitchen I came up with this easy recipe to make your boxed cake mix taste like you bought it from a bakery. Thank you so much for your tips. Do you have some tips on how to make your box mix taste homemade? . I would have been better off just making a cake mix by itself. Simply place all your ingredients in a bowl, whip it until it's light and fluffy. Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount. This cake recipe is amazing! Hi Linda! Want to make your cake extra rich? It was for a birthday & I threw it away it was so bad! I made this cake in two eight inch cake pans reserved enough for 2 cupcakes. What brand of cake mix did you use? Vanilla cake is typically made with whole eggs (the white and the yolk) and contain regular vanilla extract. Can you add pudding to make it more moist ? Replace the oil with melted butter for more flavor and homemade texture, For chocolate cakes, try replacing the water with cooled coffee. Is it possible to use buttermilk and take out the sour cream? Also made your buttercream icing. I dont have a convection oven, just regular electric. I used a homemade vanilla whipped cream frosting (1 cup heavy whipping cream, 1/2 box instant vanilla pudding mix, and some powdered sugar - a bit less than 1/4 cup). 1 (3.9 oz) box of instant pudding mix. The cake doesnt need oil or butter because it uses sour cream and buttermilk! I need a recipe for a wedding cake, not too airy and not too dense. I do recommend Duncan Hines Ill fix the image on the bottom! Dump the mix into a large bowl and whatever the oil amount is, swap that for twice as much melted better. Even better, most are super easy, with items you probably already have in your kitchen. Required fields are marked *. This happened to me once I didnt cook the cake long enough. Sounds lovely. This recipe looks great! These are all recipes that take a ton of time to make from scratch and are the most requested flavors from my clients. The cakes batter was thicker in texture before baking. Curious if you used the same mix? Let your ingredients get to room temperature. oil 1 cup water or as needed to smooth the batter 1 tsp. It was a solid cake, in all senses of the word. I checked on it in the oven after 15 minutes and it had already sunk. I tried this, and in practice, it made the batter smell really good, although I couldn't really tell the difference once the cake was baked. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. This recipe for easy white cake could also be called vanilla sheet cake. Vanilla & Salt give the cake a more homemade taste. Respectfully, Tim. THANK YOU So much!!!! Prepare two 8-inch cake pans. How frustrating. I used the same suggested bake times on the box, so just reference it for other bake times. I have even made wedding cakes and birthday cakes for people. I made your strawberry reduction recipe and added it to some of the batter and used an insert to make a checkerboard cake. Combine all dry ingredients and whisk together. If you have been around here for a long time, then you know I LOVE making cakes for people. My team member and taste-tester extraordinaire Jenna had this to say: The differences you listed are all true! That makes me so happy to hear! I am very excited about this method. Hi Rebecca, I want to make this recipe into a layered cake. I made this cake. Substitute milk for water (the higher fat content the better) Bake your cupcakes according to the directions (they're done when an inserted toothpick comes out clean), and I promise they'll be the best cupcakes-from-a-box you've ever had. Plus, it was just as delicious days later because of the added moisture. The flavor of white cake and vanilla cake are nearly identical. God bless! I was wondering if its okay for a layered cake, or will the layers not hold up? Hi guys! Glad youve enjoyed the recipes in that book! Can I use 8 inch round pan? There are many different fillings that you can use when you are making a homemade cake, my personal favorites are Chocolate Ganache, marshmallow fluff, and Bavarian cream. Any flavor cake mix will work with this recipe. This is my go to trick every single time and it works amazingly well. They are definitely some of my favorites too! oh thats so great! This recipe makes enough batter for three 6"x2" cakes or two 8"x2" cakes (round). Hi Tammy! 1 boxed mix will make three 6-inch cakes. Instead of using 3 eggs like the box calls for, use 5 eggs. , Thank you so much for your recipe, help, & time! Speaking of coffee, instead of making your cake mix with hot water, try replacing it with strong brewed coffee. Yes, I will definitely try it out, but just wondered if anyone knew for sure. The sour cream gave it just the right touch. Check it out on YouTube! I greased and floured my pans really well, but still ended up loosing some of the bottoms when I unmolded them from the pans. Boost the flavor of a boxed chocolate cake mix by adding hot water instead of tap. 2. My favorite Duncan Hines box mix flavors are Red Velvet, Triple Chocolate, White Cake (for making WASC) and strawberry. Learn how your comment data is processed. Learn our tips for how to make a box cake taste homemade. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. Add an extra egg Adding an extra egg to a boxed cake recipe is a longtime trick to amp up the moisture and density. Use a convenient & inexpensive boxed cake mix along with a few staple pantry ingredients to "doctor up" the cake mix. That sounds delicious with the apples!! I havent tried it myself, so I am not sure! Usually a box mix has the following ingredients listed on the back that they want you to add. Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window), Click to share on H2S Email (Opens in new window), Click to share on SMS (Opens in new window). You guys know, no one loves a cake made from scratch more than I do! Swap out the milk for buttermilk, and now you've really got something special! Especially love the frosting. Hi Feli! No, Janet, you dont get to make choices like that. I actually made this recipe twice today, because I questioned myself, thinking I mustve forgotten to add one of the ingredients. Its crucial to use the 15.25 oz box. Sure can! Every cake and frosting recipe has turned out delicious. I recently made this fun Paw Patrol Cake for a sweet little boy that steals everyone's heart! Thank you for sharing these tips! This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2011 - 2023 All rights reserved. For a tangy twist, add up to cup sour cream or full fat yogurt. Now, I am making the chocolate version for my friend. Thank you for the comment, Natalie! I live in a high altitude area. Thank you for pointing me in the right direction. It is SO easy to make frosting at home, and any flavor you want too! First, add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract to the cake mix and stir it in. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Home Baking Tips How to Make a Cake Mix Taste Like a Cake from the Bakery, Copycat Cracker Barrel Hashbrown Casserole. Would you also like to leave us a comment? Youll use egg whites only to keep the cake looking extra white. 40% Off Myprotein Promo Code + Free Shipping | Lemonade, Mike & Ike, & More Fun Whey Flavors! Use real butter or oil instead of margarine, and use whole milk or heavy cream instead of water. Can I leave it out without too much of an impact on the recipe? I actually just verified that I used a Duncan Hines 15.25 ounce cake mix. Most box recipes call for three eggs try four and you'll be pleasantly. I have never made buttercream, nor a doctored cake mix, before. With the added ingredients, how many cupcakes would it make? @Kathy, I made cupcakes and they also fell. Yum! Yes you can. I don't really love that "chemical" taste that can come from a straight up box so here are my tips on how to make box mix taste homemade. Thank you! Hope thats helpful., Using a GF yellow cake mix (18oz) for cake mix recipe (16.25) banana cake, how do I adjust 18 down, Hi there! Ive used it at least 3 times in the last two months. When I read stuff like that, sarcasm immediately takes over and Im thinking .. Shes having a slumber party and Im decorating it to look like a bed. Swap it out for another liquid, preferably something with flavor and fat. Yay! You can find a link to the Privacy Policy, How to Make a Cake Mix Taste Like a Cake from the Bakery, Ultimate Guide to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Alabama, Your Complete Guide to Visiting Branson Missouri, Your Complete Guide to Visiting Georgetown, KY. I will most definitely try your recipe again! Just wanted to say thanks and let you know this is my go to recipe now! Everyone always thinks I bake them from scratch and I dont. Wrap cake rounds with damp Evenbake strips (optional). I filled 3 eight inch pans with 18 oz batter and had a little left to make a taste tester., Loved this cake. Grab a cup of coffee and join me! Thank you. A lot of professional cake decorators out there use doctored box mix in all their cakes. By using this site, you are agreeing to the site's terms of use. It looked like it was in a freezer with the Happy Birthday looking discolored. This recipe makes 40 cupcakes with about 1.25 ounces of batter per cupcake tin. Do I use the buttermilk along with the sour cream??? In some areas, no one would probably mind if you used a box or if you made a cake from scratch. My brother-in-law made like a strawberry pie filling (I don't know his recipe.) I will try it next time. But everyone thinks my cakes are from scratch. You repeat this process until batter is gone. Okay so I tweaked this a tad because of all the comments. Hi! I was skeptical of this at first, since all the other tips I came across focused on adding moisture to a cake. Simple recipe swaps that will make your store-bought cake mix taste like it was made-from-scratch at a fancy bakery. Begin to add the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time, mixing by hand. This might sound weird at first, but think about it: mayo is mostly just egg yolks and oil, which are already in the cake anyway! I came across a lot of recommendations to swap coffee for water, especially in chocolate cakes, to achieve a richer, deeper chocolate flavor. I followed the recipe exactly. Im going to try the red velvet. Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix, Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich), Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount, Step 4: Instead of water, use milk. Aside from the easy step by step directions below there are a few other things you can do that will help you doctor up a box of cake mix and have it be the most amazing boxed cake mix that tastes homemade ever! Thanks! Stir with a fork until blended. What size cake mix box did you use? (I had one extra layer that I didn't use the magi-cake strips on (it was extra batter) and it raise only half as high as the other five layers. How to Make Boxed Cake Mix taste homemade Preheat the oven to 300 degrees and grease your cake pans. I have a question. Please refer to the Wilton cake baking guide: https://www.wilton.com/cake-serving-guide/cms-baking-serving-guide.html! Cake batter is ready. Oh wow that sounds amazing! When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Plus, I feel that this doctored up version of a white cake comes together just as quick as the box mix because you can still put everything into one bowl and beat it together. Since I have to make 200 for a wedding Im thrilled that I found this hack! I baked it the full time, so Im not sure what happened. And the best part? Will this make too much in a bundt cake pan? Ive been using this recipe more than once when I stumbled on it last year for my daughters birthday cake and for last minute thing Always perfect! I did a taste test using my family by providing them with a bite of each cake to tell me which one tasted better. Im looking to use the recipe to make 4 6 rounds. The sooner you use it, the better though. This was fantastic. Hi Kathy! So I am sure to put that information on my website so there's no question. Then, add cake mix, pudding, milk, vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 37-43 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Lina has a Bachelor's Degree from Northern Arizona University with 11 years of blogging and photography experience having work featured in Today.com, Martha Stewart, Country Living, Fox News, Buzzfeed, and HGTV. I think its great. Today Im sharing a few easy tips on how to enhance a cheap box of cake mix to have it taste as if it came from a bakery. Thanks , What if I use a butter in the recipe mix? Thank you for the great recipe. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl using a handheld electric mixer), add the butter, oil, granulated sugar and powdered sugar. They turned out beautifully! Try a platform where you can hire a tutor todo your assignmentonline. Can this be baked in a 13 by 18 sheet cake pan?? Go ahead n make it extra spicy Be really careful not to over beat the batter once you add in the cake mix. This cake turned out awesome!!! I won't try to explain the science, but the cake I made with this technique was fantastic spongy and moist, but not overly so.