Birthdays, Parties, Christmas, New Year, and many other celebrations call for a cake. Cakes can be bought from bakeshops, cafes, coffee shops, and grocery stores!
But nothing beats homemade cakes, right? Although not all of us have the time to go through the tedious process of baking; hence, opting to buy box cakes from the nearest grocery store.
These box cakes started as a simple and inexpensive way to enjoy cakes by families. Still, as time passed, they became a gateway to convenience, especially since you will only need a baking pan, cake mix, and some additional ingredients in the pantry.
Despite offering the convenience box cakes bring, these end up too dry and lacking flavors. Upgrading these ready-to-made cakes will inspire your family and impress on your cooking skills.
So, without further ado, if you want to improve your box cakes, below are the effective ways, guaranteed tips, and tricks to accomplish your mission! Try them now!
The Six Effective Ways to Make Your Box Cake Better
1. Make sure ingredients are at room temperature
Ingredients such as eggs, milk, cheese, and butter must be at room temperature at all costs, or your baking journey will most likely fail.
Of course, no specific ingredient in your cookbook says “room temperature eggs,” but bakers should know that. This would form a seamless and smooth mixture that traps air and make your cake fluffier as a pillow!
You may wonder why your cake boxes end up hard and stiff, and now all you have to do is to ensure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature to enhance textures and flavors. Your family, especially the kids, might love your fluffy pillow cakes.
2. Sift Dry Ingredients
Lumps to the batter may be one of the problems when using box cakes. Dry sifting is used to achieve the perfect batter as it helps to mix all the ingredients thoroughly; It is a technique wherein dry ingredients such as flour, salts, and baking soda are put into a sifter and sifted into another bowl.
Aside from this would help to aerate dry ingredients, especially dry ones, which would distribute them evenly.
If you want a cake that is fine in texture and you are new to this, you can follow this tutorial by Meggan Hill on how she sifts her flour.
3. Mix the batter properly
Sometimes we think that mixing batter must be combined thoroughly, but that would most likely lead to overmixed batter. The technique to avoid overmixing is to mix all ingredients thoroughly. Remember to stop when you cannot see the last additives you have put in.
Box cakes still need to be mixed; even if this is a go-to cake, they are included in failure. Mix your ingredients until combined to attain that light and airy cake instead of having dense ones.
4. Bake the cake as it should
When baking, there are proper procedures that should be done to have a successful cake, and it takes a lot of effort to practice and execute it. Similar to these made-from-scratch cakes, box cakes should also be treated as cakes requiring much effort.
Box cakes usually come with procedures on the packaging box that should be followed for better results. Testing for the cake’s doneness should be done at the estimated time to examine if the cake is ready or not.
This is usually executed with a toothpick or a paring knife in the middle of the cake if it has set. If crumbs or batter clings to the tester, it still needs more time inside the oven.
After ensuring that the cake has been set and removed from the oven, cooling time is also an essential step toward a successful cake.
Remove the cake from the pan early enough because it might fall apart, and leaving it too long within the pan may cause it to stick. Washington Post discussed that 10-20 minutes is the best cooling time for cake.
5. Make your frosting
There would be no harm if we spread frosting to our box cakes; if it is done in made-from-scratch cakes, why can’t boxed cake? It will be ten times better. If you have time, you better make homemade frosting; nothing is better than something made from love.
Choosing the right frosting for your cake might be crucial, but experimenting with different flavors might land you in a perfect pair of frosting and cake. If you need help making frostings, try this easy buttercream frosting by Preppy Kitchen.
6. Stack the layers and decorate them
When you are done baking, you can slice it horizontally and stack them up! Add something special in between those layers to upgrade your cake. You can spread syrups and make your cake fillings; after all, cakes with fillings radiate Homemade cake energy.
There are different kinds of fillings, such as chocolate ganache, custard filling, the most common buttercream filling, and even just fruits.
Putting extra toppings that match the cake’s flavor is a plus if you want to put in the extra effort.
Chocolate chunks, crushed cookies, and graham will also elevate the taste. Assemble these layers with these filling and toppings, and it would give the box cake an extra point!
Guaranteed Hacks to Upgrade Your Box Cake to The Next Level
Add an extra egg
Does your boxed cake call for three eggs? Then make it four. Despite being sometimes underrated, eggs play a significant role in the texture of cakes. They are a flexible component in baking since they add taste, intensity, and strength.
Eggs are known to create structure and stabilize the cake, but they do not just end there; it helps emulsify the batter, add moisture, and bind the ingredients together. Cakes that are dry and need more sweetness usually need another egg, so if you make another boxed cake for dinner, add one Egg to the original recipe to make it a whole lot better.
If you still want to learn how eggs work in baking, Baker Bettie discussed different functions and their importance of it.
Use milk instead of water
Milk locks in moisture to the cake batter, but be careful to follow the ratio of it because once you have overdone putting milk, you have decremented the capability of the cake to rise. It also contributes to the texture of the cake; lots of milk results in a dense cake, while less milk ends up having a dry, coarse cake.
Pouring milk instead of water is a game changer when you have decided to pop out that box cake from your kitchen drawer. Remember that whole milk will give you that subtle flavor you would wish for your cake.
Also, always be mindful bout the measurements of your cake to avoid failing; hence, serving your moist and more decadent cake on the table will surely melt everyone’s heart.
Swap oil for butter
A moist cake is to die for. One secret for a moist cake is adding oil. You can notice that box cakes ask for vegetable or canola oil, which you can easily find in your pantry.
The significant advantage of using oil is having your cake fluffy and tender, even chilled in the refrigerator; however, it would affect the rise of the batter when baking. Butter, on the other hand, gives a better rise than oil.
Same with box cakes, using butter will create a better rise and add flavor to the cake, just like making homemade cakes! What’s better with finer texture and bounty flavors, right?
Throw in special ingredients
When kids are around, they shout for chocolate cake, while some request a classic vanilla. But because of cake boxes, everything will be easier; sprinkle some unique ingredients to make the cake extra.
Throw some chocolate chunks into your cake batter, making your cake more chocolatey than ever! You can also put the coffee on the chocolate cake batter if you’d like because it pops out that sweet flavor. Coffee and chocolate? Indeed, a match made in heaven!
Final Thoughts on How to Make Your Box Cake Better
Box cakes are lifesavers and very convenient in case there is an emergency celebration or even if you just want them for a sweet afternoon snack. Although some taste okay, you just know that they can still be upgraded.
Remember the following key points for better box cakes: Make ingredients at room temperature, sift dry the ingredients, mix it well, bake it properly, add frosting, and decorate the cake. Bakers use these pieces of advice, and doing them would make your next box cake a hit.
Now that you have a few ideas on how to level up your game, you should try it on your box cakes. And yes, please let us know how it goes, and leave a hint in the comment section! We’ll love to hear them.
