Box Cake Mix Hack
Both of my parents have been using this cake hack my whole life, and everyone always thought the cakes were homemade. It is super simple and really takes the cake to the next level by transforming both the texture and flavor. You'll never have to make a cake from scratch again.
Alexis Wilmouth
Dec 29, 2023
3 min read
Ingredients:
- 1 box Pilsbury Funfetti Cake Mix
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 3 large eggs
- 3 canisters Pilsbury Funfetti Frosting with Sprinkles
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare 2 twelve well muffin pans with liners. Set aside.
- Prepare the cake mix according to the directions on the box, but substitute the melted butter in place of the oil and the milk in place of the water. This gives the cake a homemade taste, instead of tasting like it came from a box. It gives the cake a more dense and pillowy texture, much more similar to a cake that is made from scratch.
- Bake one pan of cupcakes at a time according to the directions on the box. You should be able to make 24 in total.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely. Frost the cupcakes using a piping bag and a large star tip. This will give them more of a bakery style look. It takes me 3 whole canisters of frosting for 24 cupcakes. Top with the sprinkles and/or icing decorations if desired. Enjoy!
*Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
*You can use this hack with any cake mix you like, except angel food cake. It will deflate if you don't follow the directions on the box. It also does not have to be Pilsbury. It can be Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker or any other brand that you like. Just always use milk instead of water and melted butter instead of oil and it will taste like homemade!
*You can always use this hack for the cake mix, and make homemade frosting if you like. This makes the cake taste even better, and you get a much less oily frosting. I prefer to do this if I am making any cake that uses cream cheese frosting, like red velvet or spice cake.
*Also, if you are making cake for a party where you need the frosting to withstand variuos temperatures, a big tub of Wilton frosting is my go-to. It tastes like homemade buttercream and it doesn't melt in hot temperatures. This is also a great one to use because it comes in white, so you can dye it any color you want for easy cake decorating.
*This hack seriously works. Everyone is always asking me for my cake recipes, and they are legit just boxed cake mixes. Below are a few more examples of cakes that I have used this hack on, and everyone thought they were homemade. They all received a ton of compliments and I was asked for the recipe on a few of them.
