Packaged cake question

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Caslon

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Besides starting from scratch, is there anything I can do to make my packaged cake mix (white cake) more like bakery or homemade? I came across these tips. Any comments about the below or other tips appreciated.

"Did you know that most professional cake makers use boxed cake mixes? They do!"

Milk. Use whole milk instead of water. It gives it a denser texture like homemade.
Eggs. Use 3-4 eggs instead of 2 for a richer taste.
Sugar & Flour. Add 1/4- 1 cup sugar and flour to your cake mix.
Sour Cream. Add in 1/2 cup sour cream to add a more dense, rich flavor.
Pudding. Add a small instant pudding box to the mix to add moisture and flavor.
Vanilla & Salt. Add in a teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of salt the mix.
Butter. Use melted butter in the place of vegetable oil for richer taste".

Also, should I use egg whites or entire eggs? If egg whites only, should I use more eggs than are called for? Will the cake be less rich using only egg whites? Any of the above suggestions used by you?
 
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You can do all of those things to improve a cake just don't do all of those things at once.:ermm::ohmy::LOL:

Most important thing IMO is just follow the directions, use clean equipment, fresh ingredients and bake in an oven with an accurate temperature.

I like a moist dense cake so I tend to choose those directions on the cake mix box or use a 1-2-3-4 cake recipe, pound cake recipe, etc...

All I can say is practice, practice, practice!!!:pig:

Good luck!
 
Okay, thanks. I bought Duncan Hines cake mix. I like that the instructions say to lightly coat the pan with oil, then sprinkle flour on (non-stick pan). Hopefully that will make the cake pop out of the pan. The other brands tell you to just pour it into a pan. I did that once and the cake stuck to the bottom.
 
Okay, thanks. I bought Duncan Hines cake mix. I like that the instructions say to lightly coat the pan with oil, then sprinkle flour on (non-stick pan). Hopefully that will make the cake pop out of the pan. The other brands tell you to just pour it into a pan. I did that once and the cake stuck to the bottom.

As much as I enjoy baking cakes, when the kids were small, I always used Ducan Hines. But I always added my own extra vanilla extract. Sometime I would buy a white cake, and use orange juice along with the Orange Extract. Or turn it into a lemon cake, etc.

And ALWAYS grease and flour your cake pans. Regardless of what the directions say. For me, the cake mix in a box was just the beginning of a new experience. Now that the kids are all grown, I bake all my cakes from scratch. Come the beginning of November, all the orders for their cake start coming in. Right now Hershey's Dark Cocoa cake is the family favorite. For that I not only grease the pan, but dust it with cocoa and sugar.
 
Okay, thanks. I bought Duncan Hines cake mix. I like that the instructions say to lightly coat the pan with oil, then sprinkle flour on (non-stick pan). Hopefully that will make the cake pop out of the pan. The other brands tell you to just pour it into a pan. I did that once and the cake stuck to the bottom.

That's the method that I use.

If you don't keep flour on hand grease the pan and use a tablespoon of the dry cake mix to dust the pan before you make the batter, dump any excess cake mix back into your bowl and follow the directions on the box.

You could also cut a piece of wax paper and put it in the bottom of the greased pan.

If you plan on doing quite a bit of baking try using Bakers Joy spray that combines the oil and flour in one spray. You can also make your own pan release by combining equal parts of oil, vegetable shortening, and flour until smooth. Store in the refrigerator.

Good luck!
 
Quite honestly, I don’t bake cakes. But I do use boxed cake mix to make cookies. I don’t have to cream the butter and the sugar, which is the biggest PITA for me! I’ve added all sorts of stuff to the dough (but only one or two at a time), including molasses, cream cheese, and most recently, dulce de leche. And I always add 1/4 of brown sugar (light or dark). As I don’t bake cakes, I don’t know if any of this is relevant.
 
Cake Doctor cookbooks use boxed cake mixes and do all kinds of things with them. My step mom saw me looking through hers, then sent me my own. I've made several of them.and they all turned out great.
 
When I take my cakes out of 9" round pans (after cooling on cold tile) the bottoms are quite moist, almost wet. I may not be cooling the pans right. Hot pans on cold kitchen tile causing that? Use a rack to cool the pans slowly? I'm learning, always learning. After buying Chips Ahoy and other cookies for so long, I've been eating one cake a week now, lol. I'm saving money too. A single serving square piece of cake from the bakery costs me $2.24. Duncan Heinz cake mix costs just $1.34 (icing $1.27) for an entire cake.

I may go back to craving cookies, but as of now I'm baking cakes. I never realized before now that they were so cheap and easy to bake up. :yum:
 
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I cool my cakes in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes then take them out of the pan and finish the cooling on the rack.

Yes, I personally think cooling hot pan on cold tile could cause your excess moisture on the bottom.
 
If you use whole eggs you will get a yellow cake. White cake requires egg whites only. If you can never figure out what to do with the yolk, you can buy egg whites in a carton. Approximately 1/4 cup equals one egg white.
 
If you use whole eggs you will get a yellow cake. White cake requires egg whites only. If you can never figure out what to do with the yolk, you can buy egg whites in a carton. Approximately 1/4 cup equals one egg white.

I found that out when I bought white cake and mistakenly used 3 eggs, yolks and all. It became yellow cake upon baking. Stlll delicious tho.
 
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