Boxed Cake Mix Hack: Tastes like you paid $6 a slice!

by Sabrina Snyder

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Boxed Cake Mix Hack swaps a few ingredients to make a dense and buttery, rich, bakery style cake that tastes like you paid $6 a slice!

There’s a time and place for fully homemade Cake Recipes, of course. Popular easy recipes include Best Ever Chocolate Poke Cake, Easy Butter Cake, and Coca Cola Sheet Cake. However, when you’re in a pinch and you want to use a shortcut, this boxed cake mix hack is even easier!

Boxed Cake Mix Hack slice on plate with fork

With just a couple of ingredient swaps, you can make a regular cake mix taste like you’ve paid $6 a slice for bakery cake. This hack is easy, replaces oil with butter and turns a cake mix into a delicious buttery, rich, dense crumb cake, perfect for any special occasion.

This recipe was created as a way to appease a toddler who just had to have this cake mix while at the store with mom. It’s a fun way to get kids involved in the kitchen and let them have fun baking something from “scratch” together, but without extra steps that aren’t as fun for them. You can make it an even more fun project with this tiny chef hat and apron!

Any buttercream frosting would complete this boxed cake mix hack. However, to disguise your cake mix secret even better, try a homemade frosting like Classic Buttercream, Rich Chocolate Frosting, or Cream Cheese Frosting.

Boxed Cake Mix Hack collage of mixing

More Delicious Cake Recipes

If you are not a fan of cake mix, you are not alone. It can have a weird, overly crumbly, way too soft texture. However, after trying this cake mix hack, you will be amazed at the improvement. This hack makes an altogether dull cake mix box taste fantastic!

In fact, this cake mix hack has been taste tested side by side with a from-scratch birthday cake with the same purple frosting, and the result was not a single person guessed it was from a mix. Many people complimented the cake, and some thought it was better than the homemade recipe!

The crumb was tender, denser, buttery and rich. The distinct “cake mix flavor” was unrecognizable. Try it and you won’t regret it!

Boxed Cake Mix Hack collage of frosting

Tips for Making Boxed Cake Mix Hack

  • This recipe uses a classic yellow cake mix, but you could try this method with any boxed cake mix flavor.
  • Substitute the water in box directions for milk.
  • Replace the oil in the box directions with butter and DOUBLE the amount.
  • Add one additional egg than what the box instructions call for.
  • Mix ingredients together and follow baking directions from the box. It’s that easy!

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How to Store Boxed Cake Mix Hack

  • Serve: Boxed Cake Mix Hack can be kept at room temperature, unfrosted, for up to 4 days. If frosted with a dairy frosting such as buttercream or cream cheese frosting, refrigerate in plastic wrap.
  • Store: Store frosted cake in the refrigerator, covered in plastic wrap, for up to one week. Let warm to room temperature before serving.
  • Freeze: If freezing a frosted cake, place in the freezer for about one hour, so the frosting becomes solid, then cover tightly in plastic wrap and freeze up to 2 months. Defrost in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before serving.
Boxed Cake Mix Hack slice on plate with fork

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Dinner, then Dessert

Boxed Cake Mix Hack: Tastes like you paid $6 a slice

Boxed Cake Mix Hack swaps a few ingredients to make a dense and buttery, rich, bakery style cake that tastes like you paid $6 a slice!
Yield 12
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Boxed Cake Mix Hack slice on plate with fork
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

Instructions

  • The only directions to note are that whatever the back of the box directs you to use, you have to:
  • Add an additional egg.
  • Replace the water with milk, same amounts.
  • Replace the oil with melted butter. DOUBLE the amount.
  • Cook with the same directions that are printed on the box.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 566kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 584mg | Potassium: 97mg | Sugar: 55g | Vitamin A: 595IU | Calcium: 134mg | Iron: 1.2mg
Keyword: Boxed Cake Mix Hack

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Boxed Cake Mix Hack Collage

Photos used in a previous version of this post.

Just a couple of ingredient swaps you can make a regular cake mix taste like you've paid 6$ a slice for bakery cake. This hack is easy, replaces oil with butter and turns a cake mix into a delicious buttery, rich, dense crumb cake, perfect for any special occasion.
Just a couple of ingredient swaps you can make a regular cake mix taste like you've paid 6$ a slice for bakery cake. This hack is easy, replaces oil with butter and turns a cake mix into a delicious buttery, rich, dense crumb cake, perfect for any special occasion.
Just a couple of ingredient swaps you can make a regular cake mix taste like you've paid 6$ a slice for bakery cake. This hack is easy, replaces oil with butter and turns a cake mix into a delicious buttery, rich, dense crumb cake, perfect for any special occasion.
Just a couple of ingredient swaps you can make a regular cake mix taste like you've paid 6$ a slice for bakery cake. This hack is easy, replaces oil with butter and turns a cake mix into a delicious buttery, rich, dense crumb cake, perfect for any special occasion.

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the upcoming cookbook: Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients which is being published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. I use this hack now every time I make a cake with a boxed mix. It turns out great everytime. I always get lots of compliments. Thanks!!

    Reply

  3. I made this into a Bundt cake, it had a great rise while baking and I was afraid it would overflow the pan. Other than taking an extra 20 minutes baking time it looks good, waiting now to see if it will come out of the pan in one piece, it seems really light and fluffy, definitely not heavy like a bakery cake which is what I was going for. Fingers crossed it doesn’t fall apart I don’t want to have to make truffles for dessert tomorrow lol.

    Reply

  4. I found this recipe to be very good. My large yellow cupcakes turned out perfect. I used a Duncan Hines cake mix. Only added 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of flour, 4 eggs and 1 stick of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Batter was thick! I give the recipe 5 stars.

    Reply

  7. Does anyone else have a problem with their cupcakes going flat, not rising up in a dome? I’ve tried this recipe several times and my cupcakes always go flat, regardless of the type of cup I use.

    Reply

  8. I’m revamping my last question: Why do some people add flour to the box cake hack? I noticed you don’t. Is it a preference? What would the reason be?

    Thank you

    Peter

    Reply

    2. I found this recipe to be very good. My large yellow cupcakes turned out perfect. I used a Duncan Hines cake mix. Only added 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of flour, 4 eggs and 1 stick of melted butter, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Batter was thick! I give the recipe 5 stars.

      Reply

  11. Unfortunately it does not work with lemon cake mix. But you never know until you try. At least I had not made the frosting so those ingredients were not wasted.

    Reply

  12. I tried this yesterday with a red velvet box cake from 2020. I sifted the mix, then followed the instructions as in the article, and honey, it came out moist, light and delicious, without that “cake mix taste”. I ended up putting Simple Syrup to add more moisture. The guys love it! (Sweetie and grandson). 5 stars for this adjustment. Plan on using it for 2 cakes I’m making later this week…

    Reply

    1. This is the only way that I make cakes anymore. I add a snack cup of applesauce or a small package of pudding into the mix… moisture problem solved!!

      Reply

  13. I tried this “trick” for both a cake and cupcakes. It did not work. When I took everything out of the oven, initially it looked super fluffy, but once it cooled, it caved in on itself and went all wrinkly. Would not try again.

    Reply

    2. Same! Came out of the oven beautiful, and began to collapse a few minutes later. I’m so grateful that I made a “test” batch of cupcakes before making a multi layer birthday cake! Even though collapsed to flat tops, the cupcakes are delicious and very moist. Unfortunately that moisture is oil and has completely soaked through the pretty paper liners.

      Reply

  14. This didn’t come out. Followed the instructions to the letter and the cake did not rise – super thin. You also have to reduce baking time.

    Reply

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