So you say you never bake because you can’t. Is there truth to that? Maybe. But no one is asking for you to bake a three layer cake with a infused butter cream frosting and fondant roses. Unless you bake for fun or you do it as a job, the parent who asked you to bring cupcakes to the school bake sale is not expecting anything more than a basic cupcake with a little frosting out of a jar.
Then we find out, you’re a perfectionist. You don’t want to serve cupcakes, let alone an actual cake if it’s not going to taste absolutely delicious.
So let’s change the name of the game. Go to the store. Get a boxed mix. “But Zoe,” you say, “everyone will know it came out of a box!” Will they? For a while now, people have been “dressing up” their boxed cake mix to make luxurious and delectable cakes that taste just like you made them from scratch.
Step 1: Pick a decent boxed mix. I personally like Pillsbury (a classic choice) Betty Crocker and Ghirardelli. You can choose your own favorites, I won’t pick that for you.
Step 2: Choosing the number of eggs.
The first thing you should do is add an extra egg. If it says 2, add 3. Eggs do a few things
when added to a cake. They help provide structure that keeps the cake from falling,
softens the texture and the fats make the cake richer.
I don’t know about you, but that all sounds pretty good. If adding one extra egg will make my cake taste better and be more delicious, sign me up!
Step 3: Oil… or butter?
Pretty much every single cake mix out there will tell you to use 1/3, ¼, ½ etc. of
vegetable oil. If that’s all you have, go for it. The change using melted butter is not a
necessary step, but we like doing it. Adding the same amount of melted butter instead of
oil will give the cake a better flavor (who doesn’t love the taste of butter?!)
If you follow all the steps except this one, and find that your cake still seems to be missing something, try adding the butter. I haven’t found that it is necessary for all boxed cake mixes, but if your cake is missing some of that rich flavor, this is why.
Step 4: Use Milk, not water.
In case you hadn’t realized yet, all of these tips involve ingredients that have fat in them.
This is because fat is flavor. Milk has a lot more flavor than water, last time I checked. It
is also creamy, smooth and adds density to your cake. Like using an extra egg, milk can
be instrumental to the structure of your cake, as well as giving it that boost of flavor it
may still need.
Pro-tip, I use chocolate milk in my chocolate cakes because I am a chocolate fiend, and the more chocolate the better.
Now, there are a ton of things you can do beyond these steps to add to your boxed cake mix. Some of these include:
-Add extracts! There are more extracts than just vanilla. Try almond or hazelnut.
-Adding coffee or espresso to chocolate cake will add a whole other dimension you didn’t
even know you were looking for. Try adding a splash to your mix. See what happens.
-Add a teaspoon of salt. Chocolate and salt are best friends.
-Layer your cake with butter cream frosting.
-Poke your cake with holes before baking, and pour your favorite cake topping in it. I like
to do this with caramel.
There are so many things you can do. You don’t need to know the science or amounts or what temperature to set your oven to. The box mix tells you all that. All you need is to be a little bit creative… and no one will know the difference!
Happy Baking!
