There are those who are masters in the kitchen, whipping up cakes and gourmet meals, seemingly, out of thin air. Then are their extreme opposites, those who manage to set a bowl of cereal on fire Homer-Simpson-style. And then there are us, mortals, with a decent amount of skill and experience to make a pancake, but not enough finesse to impress anyone (especially not Gordon Ramsay).
If you have ever tried baking a cake or a pan of cupcakes using a box cake mix you’ve snatched at the local grocery store, you might have come to a disappointing (but not surprising) result. It’s no news that box cake simply doesn’t cut it, compared to bakery goods that were made from scratch. They taste a little bland and dry out quicker than you can have a second bite. Well, the box mix game is about to change.
One Tumblr user decided to share some ingenious baking hacks using box cake mix
Image credits: Dennis Sylvester Hurd
Tumblr user “docholligay” claims to be a state champion baker and whether her credentials are credible or not, this lady has some practical baking tips to turn your box cake mix into a gourmet dessert.
Image credits: Matthew Bland
Doc’s simple set of tips, to replace water with milk, vegetable oil with melted butter and toss in an extra egg, started an avalanche of replies with people not only swearing that this “hack” works, but also sharing their own tips and tricks. And for those still questioning why should they doctor their box mix if they can just make something from scratch, there are legitimate arguments to sway them to the box-cake-mix-hacked side.
Image credits: Rebecca Siegel
After all, making a decent cake involves a set of tools, skills, and patience. And that’s only the biscuit part! Why bother so much with the creation of complex chemical reactions to make your cake have a fluffy and moist texture when you can pour your heart out into icing? Or decorating?
Image credits: Andy Melton
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In Germany cake mixes already ask for butter, eggs and milk on the package.
In the US it depends on the mix but generally require eggs (her tip was to add an extra egg) and usually vegetable oil instead of butter. Some call for water while some call for milk. Some call for water but also advises you can replace it with milk.
Load More Replies...
"Once you realize that you don't need a special occasion to buy a cake, the second part of your life begins." -Simon Holland. I will be testing this, not at the next friend/family birthday, but tonight.
I'm a relatively competent baker and I can bake a lot of stuff from scratch but if I can save money by using a packet mix, I will. The discounters usually have boxes of cake mix for 50p which even with the added stuff is cheaper and quicker if I'm not in a baking from scratch mood. I think most bakers and cooks use a combination of packet mixes and from scratch ingredients.
I have made many cakes (different recipes) from scratch and for some reason they don’t turn out that good so my go to is box mixes or pre made cakes that I decorate myself. I might attempt making cakes from scratch in the future but for now box and shop bought cakes do the job.
When cake mixes first came out in the 1950s, they contained powdered milk & powdered egg, so only water had to be added. Women didn’t buy them because they didn’t feel like they were really making the cake themselves. So the manufacturers changed the mixes so that the consumer had to add milk, oil, and an egg. The rest is history!
Interesting tips, but if you are planning on adding things to the cake to give them a kick (like almond or coffee), please don't say it's a "secret ingredient" and not tell anyone if you are sharing it. It's gotten to the point where I usually don't eat anything with frosting or icing that I haven't made myself or is specifically made to be nut-free because of how often people (including bakeries) add almond as a "secret ingredient" and I learned about it the hard way.
Ugh. :( That sucks. My mom has a deathly pine nut allergy, and people love to grind it up and use it as seasoning lately... on pretty much everything. So, I can relate. I always ask my guests if they have any food allergies before making anything for them. Isn't that just common sense? Also, if you're a bakery, and you're adding potential allergens to your food and not warning your customers... uh... you deserve to get yourself sued. That could kill someone. Why are people so careless?
Load More Replies...
I don't like almond or coffee. What else could I add to send it through the roof?
I hate coffee. I don't even like the smell. But a small amount of coffee added to a chocolate cake brings out the chocolate flavour and will NOT make the cake takes like coffee. I always start with a really tiny amount of coffee and add it in small amounds until I can smell it in the cake. It really does make a difference to the end result without even a hint of coffee flavour in the cake.
Load More Replies...
Yes, I think doctored cake mix is fine. Beats sifting regular flour like I had to do as a kid (because cake flour was too expensive).
I'm a terrible baker but love decorating cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes, anything. Loved this <3
I can only say that I never use a box mix for any of my baking, not from the need to be fancy, but because I bake so rarely that I want the finished product to be worth it when I serve that puppy up. In the five years my fiancé and I have been together, I have made maybe three cakes (if you can count a batch of cupcakes). I'm sure if we ate more baked goods these tips would be great though!
Baking a cake from scratch has to be an exact science and can end up being costly. But there are ways to spruce up a boxed cake. If i am in a hurry or dont have all the ingredients and use box. Depending on the flavor i will add pineapple juice instead of water for pineapple upside down cake or apple juice instead of water for a caramel apple upside down cake.
Where are the pictures? I thought there would be before/after pics.
In Germany cake mixes already ask for butter, eggs and milk on the package.
In the US it depends on the mix but generally require eggs (her tip was to add an extra egg) and usually vegetable oil instead of butter. Some call for water while some call for milk. Some call for water but also advises you can replace it with milk.
Load More Replies... "Once you realize that you don't need a special occasion to buy a cake, the second part of your life begins." -Simon Holland. I will be testing this, not at the next friend/family birthday, but tonight.
I'm a relatively competent baker and I can bake a lot of stuff from scratch but if I can save money by using a packet mix, I will. The discounters usually have boxes of cake mix for 50p which even with the added stuff is cheaper and quicker if I'm not in a baking from scratch mood. I think most bakers and cooks use a combination of packet mixes and from scratch ingredients.
I have made many cakes (different recipes) from scratch and for some reason they don’t turn out that good so my go to is box mixes or pre made cakes that I decorate myself. I might attempt making cakes from scratch in the future but for now box and shop bought cakes do the job.
When cake mixes first came out in the 1950s, they contained powdered milk & powdered egg, so only water had to be added. Women didn’t buy them because they didn’t feel like they were really making the cake themselves. So the manufacturers changed the mixes so that the consumer had to add milk, oil, and an egg. The rest is history!
Interesting tips, but if you are planning on adding things to the cake to give them a kick (like almond or coffee), please don't say it's a "secret ingredient" and not tell anyone if you are sharing it. It's gotten to the point where I usually don't eat anything with frosting or icing that I haven't made myself or is specifically made to be nut-free because of how often people (including bakeries) add almond as a "secret ingredient" and I learned about it the hard way.
Ugh. :( That sucks. My mom has a deathly pine nut allergy, and people love to grind it up and use it as seasoning lately... on pretty much everything. So, I can relate. I always ask my guests if they have any food allergies before making anything for them. Isn't that just common sense? Also, if you're a bakery, and you're adding potential allergens to your food and not warning your customers... uh... you deserve to get yourself sued. That could kill someone. Why are people so careless?
Load More Replies... I don't like almond or coffee. What else could I add to send it through the roof?
I hate coffee. I don't even like the smell. But a small amount of coffee added to a chocolate cake brings out the chocolate flavour and will NOT make the cake takes like coffee. I always start with a really tiny amount of coffee and add it in small amounds until I can smell it in the cake. It really does make a difference to the end result without even a hint of coffee flavour in the cake.
Load More Replies... Yes, I think doctored cake mix is fine. Beats sifting regular flour like I had to do as a kid (because cake flour was too expensive).
I'm a terrible baker but love decorating cakes, pies, cookies, cupcakes, anything. Loved this <3
I can only say that I never use a box mix for any of my baking, not from the need to be fancy, but because I bake so rarely that I want the finished product to be worth it when I serve that puppy up. In the five years my fiancé and I have been together, I have made maybe three cakes (if you can count a batch of cupcakes). I'm sure if we ate more baked goods these tips would be great though!
Baking a cake from scratch has to be an exact science and can end up being costly. But there are ways to spruce up a boxed cake. If i am in a hurry or dont have all the ingredients and use box. Depending on the flavor i will add pineapple juice instead of water for pineapple upside down cake or apple juice instead of water for a caramel apple upside down cake.
Where are the pictures? I thought there would be before/after pics.
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