You're Doing It All Wrong - How To Make Boxed Cake Mix

Cake is the king of desserts, but it can be a bit laborious to make. That's why boxed cake mix is such a friend in the pantry, taking the trouble out of making a show-stopping dessert. It's a double-edged sword though, as boxed cake mix tends to result in bland, uninspired cakes. Fortunately, Chowhound recipe developer Katie Rosenhouse has got your back in this "You're Doing It All Wrong" video, where she offers some simple tips and tricks that will turn your standard boxed cake mix into a decadent delight.

Rosenhouse's number one piece of advice will probably surprise you. "You never want to add exactly what the box is telling you," she says. Although the basic steps on the box serve as a helpful guide, these recipes typically call for bland ingredients like vegetable oil and water, which add nothing to your cake in the way of flavor. You will be much better off swapping out the ingredients the cake mix calls for with some richer options.

Most cake mixes call for you to add three things: vegetable oil, whole eggs, and water. Each of these could and should be swapped out for something more flavorful. "I always add melted butter in the place of vegetable oil," says Rosenhouse. Vegetable oil is bland, while butter will bring both a richer flavor and mouthfeel. You can also swap one whole egg for two egg yolk, since the fattiness of yolks makes them substantially richer than egg whites. Rosenhouse's boxed mix calls for three eggs total, for example, but she actually adds two whole eggs and two egg yolks instead. 

Water is the last thing you should be putting in your cakes, as it brings nothing in the way of flavor. If your boxed cake mix calls for water, Rosenhouse recommends replacing it with a different liquid that will enhance the flavor of the dry ingredients. For a plain yellow cake, she suggests swapping out the water in favor of a mix of equal parts whole milk and buttermilk (or sour cream if you don't have buttermilk), while chocolate cake gets a flavor boost from coffee.

These are just a few ingredient swaps to upgrade boxed cake mix, and you can also try adding some extra things. A bit of vanilla extract, or better yet, vanilla bean paste, will add warmth and richness to the flavor profile. Lastly, a pinch of salt will help to enhance all of the other ingredients and balance out the sugar. "If you give me a dessert without salt, I'm going to be super disappointed," says Rosenhouse.

It is important to use a high-quality cake pan with relatively thick walls. Avoid light, thin-walled pans because they do not distribute heat nearly as well. Rosenhouse explains, "What's going to happen is that the cake is going to bake really quickly on the outside, get really dark brown on the outside, and have trouble baking through." To keep the cake from sticking, try spraying a bit of cooking oil on the bottom of the pan, then adding a piece of parchment paper on top. The one caveat here is that putting down a layer of parchment is only doable in a flat-bottomed cake pan. If you're using a bundt, follow these tips for getting bundt cake out of a pan and you should get a smooth release.

Make sure to preheat the oven before you start work on the cake mix so that it is fully up to temperature by the time you're ready to bake. To check whether your cake is finished baking, perform the springback test by giving the cake a gentle poke. If it springs back, it's done. Many people use a toothpick to check if their dessert is done, but this method is ineffective, as it does not account for the residual heat that carries over after you remove a cake from the oven. Rosenhouse warns, "If you bake until a toothpick is completely dry, and the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan, you're probably overbaking it."

Canned frosting is a convenient pal for decorating a cake in a time crunch. Unfortunately, canned frosting tends to have a poor texture. "Kind of gummy," Rosenhouse says when sampling store-bought frosting, "Just not the best frosting I've ever had." At the same time, canned frosting lacks structural integrity, and won't hold its shape if you use it for decorative piping. 

To fix this, all you need to do is whip the canned frosting, just as you would do with homemade whipped cream. This will incorporate air bubbles into the frosting, making it less dense, and it will also make the frosting sturdier so it can hold a shape. Whip the frosting until it holds a peak, and as you go, incorporate extra ingredients like vanilla bean paste, a drop of lemon juice, or a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor. 

As for decorating, if you properly whipped your frosting, it should be thick enough to pipe easily. If it still seems runny, you'll want to whip it a bit more to reach the consistency you need to decorate nicely. The more of your own personality you can put into the decoration — and into customizing your boxed cake mix in general — the more you'll enhance that homemade look and feel of your cake.

So there you have it! Your cake should be in tip top shape — and much more flavorful than your average boxed treat. By ditching these common mistakes, you'll have a cake with extra richness, a more balanced frosting, a hint of tang, and notes of vanilla. Rosenhouse says, "Overall, just a better cake."