Make Boxed Cake Mix Taste Like It Was Made From Scratch

I’ve learned a lot about cooking in the last two years, so I knew that with the right ingredients and substitutions, I could make even a boxed cake mix taste fantastic.

(Unfortunately, I didn’t grab a picture of the final product. Because I honestly didn’t expect it to taste that good!)

I started with a boxed carrot cake. I personally did the following:

1. Used milk instead of water. A lot of sites will recommend whole milk or buttermilk…but I didn’t have that on hand. Skim worked fine for me.
2. Used melted butter instead of oil. I would have done this even without the whole “research before I post” thing. I cannot dump oil into a cake!
3. Used an extra egg. Box called for 3, I used 4.
4. Instead of making a 9″ x 13″ as I normally would, I made two 9″ rounds, and made a layered cake out of them.
5. I confess…I even grabbed canned frosting. But I added 5-6 drops of vanilla extract, whipped it well, and then used it as frosting. You would not believe the different a few drops of vanilla makes!

In addition to the tips above, here are a few I’ve heard from different bakers. I can’t personally vouch for them…but I’ll probably try them in the future.

• If making a boxed chocolate cake, use hot water instead of cold. (This kind of conflicts with using milk instead of water above…your choice).
• 1 tsp. of flavoring that matches the cake: vanilla for a white cake, almond for a yellow cake, lemon for a lemon cake, coffee liqueur for chocolate. (Though I don’t know who has lemon flavoring around…I’m just passing on the advice.)
• If you have time and a good recipe: Homemade Frosting! The frosting is at least half of the cake experience.
• One person recommended doubling the amount of butter. Not sure…but I might try at least adding another half.
• Use an extra egg white or two for a very fluffy white cake.