How to Make a Box Cake Mix Taste Like a Cake From Scratch

Okay, maybe not *exactly* like scratch, but much closer than a box cake mix made strictly according to package instructions. More than once, I've had someone ask me if a cake I made from a box was from scratch using this trick. I got it from my grandmother; I'm not sure who she got it from. And this works with any flavor of standard (approximately 18 oz) box cake mix. I always swore I wouldn't give away my secret, but since I now have an easy scratch butter cake recipe, I pretty much don't use this anymore. So I'm sharing it with you! :-)

Box Cake Mix Additives
Source: Jacqueline Warren

Ingredients:

• 1 (approx 18 oz) box cake mix, any flavor
• ingredients in amounts listed on the package to prepare cake
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (in addition to what the package calls for)
• 2 Tablespoons light corn syrup
• 2 Tablespoons self rising flour

Directions:

• Prepare cake mix as directed on the package, adding additional oil, corn syrup, and flour when other ingredients are added.
• Mix and bake as directed on package.

Tip: If you measure the oil in the measuring spoon first, then the corn syrup, the corn syrup will just slide out of the spoon without sticking.

White Wedding Cupcakes

To be fair, I wanted to show that I have tried other cake recipes. This one was billed on Pinterest as "the best cupcake/cake batter recipe ever." (Pin here.) Worth a try, right? I decided to test it out back in the fall before my son's birthday, just in case it really was better than my scratch butter cake recipe. They're supposed to be white (i.e. no egg yolks), but I made the mistake of trying to separate my eggs over the mixing bowl, so one egg yolk did slip in accidentally. I don't think it affected things much, though.



These were pretty good. We certainly ate them all. It's a doctored cake mix recipe, which I don't mind, but my scratch butter cake is better, as are my own "cake mix additives" (I'll post them sometime later). I don't care for the tang of the sour cream. It became less pronounced over the first 2-3 days, then started to reassert itself near the end. (I realize most folks don't have cake hanging around for a week, but it took that long for us to eat them all! It makes a ton.) If you like that kind of tank in your cakes, you might like these. Like I said, not bad, but I have two other recipes I prefer, so I probably won't make these again. That's not a reflection on the recipe, just my personal tastes.

White Wedding Cupcakes
Source: RecipeGirl.com

Ingredients:

• 1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix (recommend Duncan Hines)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 large egg whites

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325°F. Place cupcake liners in cupcake pans (you'll need approx. 36).
• In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.
• Use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost as desired.