5 tips to pimp your instant cake mix
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with baking a cake or brownies from a box every now and then. After all, those gooey brownies are my favorite guilty pleasure of all time. Still, a ready-made bake can sometimes use a little boost. And with these tips, that’s a piece of cake.
With a few simple tricks, you can take that boxed cake to the next level in no time. It even gets so delicious that many a guest you serve a slice to won’t notice you pulled it from the supermarket shelves. Another bonus: you’ll usually already have most of the ingredients at home.
Vanilla extract
Many instant cake mixes often contain only flour, sugar, raising agent and salt. So a golden tip is to add a splash of vanilla extract to the batter. This gives the cake extra flavor.
Replace water or milk
Instant brownies taste much better when you replace the water with coffee. After all, coffee and chocolate are a match made in heaven. The coffee will make the chocolate flavor even more delicious. Baking a regular cake? Try using half regular milk and half buttermilk or heavy cream; your cake will stay moist for longer and have a richer flavor.
An extra egg
Don’t panic. Adding an extra egg to the batter won’t make your cake fail. An egg also gives it a richer, moister flavor and makes the cake just a little lighter. You’ll even be amazed by the result of adding two egg yolks.
From cake to cookies
Making cookies from instant cake mix? It’s possible. The mix actually contains the basic ingredients for cookie dough. By adding less liquid (so less butter and eggs) to the batter, you get a firmer dough that, just like chocolate chip cookies, you can easily scoop onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper using an ice cream scoop.
Add whatever you like
You can easily transform any instant cake into a unique homemade cake by adding, for example, pieces of chocolate, poppy seeds, lemon, coconut flakes, blueberries, colored sprinkles (for a birthday cake), Oreos, and so on. No children around to sneak bites? Then make a gin and tonic cake—delicious!
Also read:
- 9 ways to bake with oats
- Recipe: pancake cake for when you’re craving a fluffy cake but don’t feel like baking one
- Wait, cheese in your apple pie? Yes! And here’s why
