Boxed Cake Mix Add-ons

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milford

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Mar 18, 2016
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Bedford, Oh
I've found several web site's that mention adding extra ingredients to boxed cake mixes to get more of a "homemade" cake.
An extra egg, milk or buttermilk instead of water, butter instead of oil, mayo, etc.
Question...How many or how few of these add-on should/could you use in a boxed cake mix? I don't think adding 7 or 8 items would work, but what about 2-3?

How To Turn Ordinary Boxed Cake Mix Into Crave-Worthy Cakes - One Good Thing by Jillee
 
Yeah, I don't think trying to substitute too many ingredients would not work very well. The boxed mixes are designed to use the ingredients they call for, of course, so if you add too much liquid or increase or reduce the amount of fat too much, the chemistry may not work.
 
The thing I've been seeing a lot online lately is the 2 ingredient cake. 1 Box cake mix and 1 can of soda that's it.
 
Yeah, I don't think trying to substitute too many ingredients would not work very well. The boxed mixes are designed to use the ingredients they call for, of course, so if you add too much liquid or increase or reduce the amount of fat too much, the chemistry may not work.

Have you made yogurt in your IP yet? It's so good. I'm making some now.

After I strain it I'm going to try using the whey to replace liquid in a cake recipe.
 
Yeah, I don't think trying to substitute too many ingredients would not work very well. The boxed mixes are designed to use the ingredients they call for, of course, so if you add too much liquid or increase or reduce the amount of fat too much, the chemistry may not work.

If there is any cake you would use to fiddle around with it would be a boxed mix. They try to make them as fool proof as possible. I have no idea how they do it, but it seems like people mess around with them online all the time and somehow come up with an acceptable product.

But a scratch cake, I totally agree with you on, these can be very finicky, just a small change in its ingredients can mess up its chemistry.
 
If there is any cake you would use to fiddle around with it would be a boxed mix. They try to make them as fool proof as possible. I have no idea how they do it, but it seems like people mess around with them online all the time and somehow come up with an acceptable product.

But a scratch cake, I totally agree with you on, these can be very finicky, just a small change in its ingredients can mess up its chemistry.
I'll take your word for it, since I don't bake (sweets) much and you have the word in your user name ;)
 
I have used a Duncan Hines vanilla cake mix to make sugar cookies. They were all right, but I would still rather make them from a recipe. If I had thought of it, I would have added some extra vanilla to it. No flavor.
 
They actually have cookbooks as well for fiddling with boxed mixes. There are at least 2 versions of "The Cake Doctor." Stepmom got me 1 years and years ago because she had 1 and had made a cake while I was visiting out of it. I was flipping through it and made a comment about how I was going to have to get 1 as there were lots of interesting recipes. She must have ordered it while I was there because it came within a couple of days of me getting home. You'd be surprised at what you can do and there are lots more hacks than a can of soda.
 
I know my used to add chocolate chips to her cakes, but they would alway sink to the bottom.

Ive added toppings to brownies
-Pretzel / caramel
-Peanutbutter cups ( chopped up)
-Mint topping

All 3 were a hit, sadly don't remember exactly what I did, and of course, I didn't write it down. So if i ever decide to do it again, Ill just have to go searching
 
I know my used to add chocolate chips to her cakes, but they would alway sink to the bottom.

Ive added toppings to brownies
-Pretzel / caramel
-Peanutbutter cups ( chopped up)
-Mint topping

All 3 were a hit, sadly don't remember exactly what I did, and of course, I didn't write it down. So if i ever decide to do it again, Ill just have to go searching

If you toss the chips with flour before adding to the cake batter, they won't sink to the bottom.
 
+ 2... My grandmother showed me to do that with huckleberries when I was a kid... And yes, there were huckleberries that long ago.. ;)

Ross
 
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I like to put raspberries into my chocolate cake. I half squeeze them, reserve the juice, coat in flour and add. I use the reserve juice to whip into the frosting.
 
I do add an extra egg and use milk instead of water for boxed cake mixes but, two replacements is all I would do. I also add things like dried fruit, chopped nuts, chocolate chips, a couple of tsps. of an extract to give a white or yellow cake a flavor to compliment my add ins. (mint extract with chocolate chips for example.)
 
Excuse me for being a bit thick but if you want a more "homemade" cake why don't you make a homemade cake. It would have to be easier and cheaper than buying a box and then all the additions.

(Would taste better too.)
 
And it only 4 ingredients to get a good vanilla cake and sorry to say cake mix is more then one ingredient, it is a lot of additives.

My favorite cake is 175 cake, it just 175 gram of butter, sugar, self raising flour, 1 teaspoon flavouring and 3 eggs, baked in 175C for 30- 35 min.
 
Many years ago I had just bought a bunt pan. Just before Christmas. I bought a Vanilla Duncan Hines cake and colored the batter green along with adding additional vanilla. Perfect for what I had in mine. Then I made a lot of green frosting. Bunt cakes take a lot of frosting. I also tinted a package of coconut green. See where this is going? Yeah. A Christmas Wreath cake. Those red-hot candies for the berries and royal frosting for the holly leaves.

That cake took me all day to frost and decorate. The next year I made my own chocolate cake and used my angel food cake pan. So much easier to frost. And having learned from the previous one, I put aside some of the frosting to make the royal frosting and the berries. I have made this cake every year since then. I even made it for my son's in-laws Christmas celebration.

I no longer buy box cake mixes. I just don't think they have much flavor.
 
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