8 Ways To Make Boxed Cake Mix Taste Homemade

Everyone loves the taste of homemade cake, but not everyone has the time to make a cake completely from scratch. Luckily, there are ways to make boxed cake mix taste homemade!  Here are some of my favorite tips that are ideal for making that box in your pantry turn into a delicious dessert!

Here are 8 Ways to Make Boxed Cake Mix Taste Homemade when you don’t have time to bake from scratch. By adding ingredients and making easy substitutions, you can use a simple boxed cake mix to make delicious desserts your friends and family will rave over time and again! You can also use these tips with packaged gluten-free cake mixes.

8 Ways to Make Boxed Cake Mix Taste Homemade

1. Use Butter Instead of Oil- Instead of adding the typical vegetable oil to your boxed cake mix, consider adding butter instead! It adds a lot of flavor. To substitute butter for vegetable oil in cake mix, you can replace in a 1:1 ratio, either melted or just softened.

2. Add Spices- There’s nothing wrong with shaking in some ground seasonings into your cake mix! Cinnamon, nutmeg, or our homemade pumpkin pie spice, and similar seasoning blends can help add a touch of flavor. About 1 teaspoon of a single spice or  3 teaspoons of a spice mix is usually enough for a single boxed cake mix. Just don’t add too many spices, unless you want to make a spice cake! Try this Easy Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake or this Easy Applesauce Cake Recipe for delicious “doctored” cake mix cakes!

3. Substitute for Water- Substituting milk or buttermilk for water can really help make boxed cake mix taste homemade! You can even be really clever with it and use chocolate milk in chocolate cake and strawberry milk in a strawberry cake! Milk (and non-dairy milk alternatives like almond milk) can be substituted with water in a 1:1 ratio. If you’re substituting buttermilk, you’ll need to add slightly more buttermilk than the amount the box suggests for water.

Another substitute for water in boxed cake mix is beverages like soda, juice, coffee, and even beer! Just choose your beverage wisely. A super sweet orange soda won’t work well in every cake, but it would add a punch of flavor to an orange cake! Try this Mocha Fudge Bundt Cake which uses coffee in place of the water.

4. Add Mix-Ins- There’s no rule that just because your boxed cake mix didn’t come with mix-ins, you can’t add any yourself! Consider adding chocolate chips to chocolate cake, crushed peppermints to a Christmas cake, chopped nuts, or dried/fresh fruit like cranberries or blueberries! Try this Earthquake Cake with nuts, coconut, and cream cheese!

5. Add Extracts- An easy way to make boxed cake mix taste homemade is to add a liquid flavoring like vanilla extract, lemon extract, peppermint extract, or anything else that seems suitable. A small amount of an extract can add a lot of flavor! About 1/2 – 1 tsp of an extract is usually a good amount, unless you want the flavor to be stronger.

6. Add an Egg- To make boxed cake mix taste homemade and make it more moist and dense (and overall more delicious), you may want to add in an extra egg to your cake mix. It really helps!

7. Add Extra Moisture- Another way to make boxed cake more delicious and increase its moisture is to add a 3.4 oz box of pudding, 3/4 cup sour cream, 2-3 oz softened cream cheese, or 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Any of those substitutions will quickly make your cake taste as if it was made in a bakery! Try this Easy Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake that uses chocolate pudding to make a very moist cake.

8. Add Lemon- If you normally think that boxed cake mixes are too sweet, you should add some lemon! Not only does it cut down on the sweetness, it also adds flavor! You can add lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract, or any combination of the three. Just don’t overdo it, you don’t want a sour cake!

Keep a few mixes on hand and you can easily make boxed cake mix taste homemade!  Your friends and family will rave over your baking skills, and you’ll know how easy it is to manage without spending hours in the kitchen.

More Baking Tips:

7 Hacks for Baking the Perfect Pie

11 Holiday Cooking and Baking Hacks

Baking on a Budget: How to Save Money on Baking Supplies

No Bake Cookies and Desserts That Do Not Require Baking

How to Make Self Rising Flour, Baking Powder, and a Substitute for Whipping Cream