Tips And Tricks To Making Boxed Cake and Brownie Mixes Taste Homemade

Tips And Tricks To Making Boxed Cake And Brownie Mixes Taste Homemade


Everyone loves a good cake, or a delicious brownie, but quite a few people can be intimidated by making a  (or just baking alone) recipe from scratch based on all the measurements and “work” that can go into just cake. 
Which is why many choose to use box mixes for a shortcut or just because they don’t have time. This post is to help those who use boxed mixes make them taste homemade. Everything below are tips and tricks used by friends, family and myself when using a boxed mix. 

**Some of these changes may alter the cooking time of the cake

  • Sift the mix, this allows all of the ingredients to get recombined after sitting on a shelf, in a box, for who knows how long 
  • Oil vs Butter Now when it comes to using boxed mixes it should always be a 1:1 ratio of whatever fat you use, but changing out the oil for butter that has been melted, then cooled, can make a delicious difference 
  • Water vs Milk, Cream or buttermilk, use a 1:1 ratio when it comes to replacing the liquid measurement. The milk or cream adds extra moisture and tenderness to the boxed dessert
  • Add-ins whenever you want to add something to the batter (nuts, candies, dried fruit, ect.) always toss the add-ins with the dry mix first. This prevents your add-ins from just dropping to the bottom of the cake and allows them to be spread Evenly throughout the dessert
  • Jams/jellies, (for white, yellow or lemon cakes) you can always add jam/jellies to the cake, about 1/4-1/2c that you have softened by microwaving for about 15-30 seconds and stir until it’s pourable. When the batter is in the pan drop spoonfuls or pour throughout the cake in lines or circular motion. Use a butter knife and use it to swirl the jam, making a design. Bake as directed 
  • Separate eggs. In one bowl whip the egg yolks until light yellow in color, add to the batter. In another bowl whip egg whites(making sure they’ve come to room temperature) until stiff peaks form, then fold into batter, doing your best not to deflate the egg whites *this may add about 5-10 minutes to the bake time*
Start Baking! More additions to come.

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