14 Easy Ways to Make Boxed Cake Mix Taste Homemade

Add 1-2 extra eggs.

Eggs add fluffiness and flavor. An extra egg yolk will enrich your cake’s flavor, while the egg white fluffs up your cake and gives it more moisture. If you want more fluff without more eggy flavor, add an extra egg white separated from the yolk.

Replace oil with an equal amount of melted butter.

Butter adds richness and a creamier taste. The texture of your cake will be denser and have a more intense flavor. Use butter as an alternative to oil with any flavor or brand of boxed cake.

Replace eggs and oil with flavored soda.

Use a 12 fl oz (350 mL) can of soda. Try root beer or cola to add a subtle taste to chocolate cake. Pair lemon or strawberry cake mixes with Sprite, 7 UP, or ginger beer.

Replace water with an equal amount of milk.

Milk adds flavor, richness, and moisture. Use whole milk or your preferred non-dairy milk with a white or vanilla cake mix. Use buttermilk for a tangier flavor, which pairs especially well with red velvet cakes. As another substitute for water, pro baker Lisa Britten recommends using “coffee creamers to give [your cake] a different taste.”

Replace water with an equal amount of coffee.

Espresso or strongly brewed coffee enhances flavor. Use these caffeinated substitutions in a chocolate cake to bring out the richness of the cocoa-y flavors. For an extra kick, try Kahlua instead for a boozy combo of espresso and chocolate.

Add ¼ cup (35g) of flour.

Flour gives more structure and stability to your cake. A denser and tighter structure is ideal for something like a Bundt cake pan, where you’re trying to achieve a specific shape. Combine this tip by swapping out water for milk or adding an egg to maintain fluffiness and moisture.

Add sour cream, yogurt, or mayonnaise.

Use ½ cup (125g) sour cream, yogurt, or mayo for density and richness. The extra dairy adds creaminess without adjusting the rest of the recipe. Professional baker Lisa Britten sometimes adds “flavored yogurts…to give an offset to the sweetness [and] allow it to have some extra moisture.”

Add a small box of dry instant pudding.

The milk powder in dry instant pudding adds moisture and flavor. Add dry pudding mix to any boxed cake for a texture boost. Use it in a chocolate cake with fudge frosting to increase the fudge factor.

Add 1 cup (120g) of flavorful mix-ins.

Mix-ins make a cake taste more special and less generic. Stir in anything that suits your desired flavor and look; sprinkles, candy bar pieces, berries, candied cherries, butterscotch chips, coconut flakes, nuts, chocolate chips, dried fruit, or white chocolate chips. Add the same mix-ins to your frosting, or sprinkle them on the cake for decoration.

Add 1 teaspoon (15g) of spice, zest, or extract.

Boost the personality of box mixes with flavorful additions. Add in a splash of your favorite flavor extract, like vanilla, almond, orange, maple, peppermint, or red velvet emulsion. Alternatively, add in cinnamon, nutmeg, or lemon zest. Vanilla, almond, and citrus zest pair well with white or yellow cake, while coffee extract and warm spices do wonders for a chocolate mix.

Mix your batter until no dry streaks remain.

Overmixing your batter makes for an overly dense cake. If you’re going for a light and fluffy texture, expert baker Lisa Britten advises to mix “just until the liquid is absorbed into the flour and then…stop mixing.” Your finished batter should be satiny and slightly glossy.

Use room temperature ingredients.

Room-temperature ingredients make for a smoother texture. Using “super room temperature ingredients,” as recommended by baker Lisa Britten, allows ingredients to bond together easily. Cold butter, eggs, and milk won’t mix well, leaving you with a lumpy batter.

Make your frosting from scratch.

Homemade buttercream adds a bakery taste to basic box cake mix. For a simple vanilla buttercream, use 1 cup (225g) of butter, 3 cups (360g) of powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon (4.9 mL) of vanilla extract, and 2 tablespoons (30 mL) of heavy cream. Mix these ingredients together until combined and fluffy. Customize your buttercream flavor by adding melted chocolate, maple syrup, or fresh fruit.

Use simple decorations that hint at your flavor.

Decorations make your cake look more professional. Add a drizzle of melted chocolate to a chocolate cake, or thinly-sliced strawberries for a yellow or strawberry cake mix. Baking expert Lisa Britten gives the example of a lime cake: "You could do some crushed butter graham crackers on top and lime zest. Anything just to match that flavor to identify the flavor of [cake] from the topping.”