Can You Make a Boxed Cake Taste Homemade?

Creating a homemade flavour from a boxed cake mix

Walk down the baking aisle of most grocery stores and you’ll find a vast display of boxed cake mixes.  You’ll find everything from comforting vanilla to more trendy options like Unicorn cake. A popular question is, is it possible to make a boxed cake taste homemade?

The appeal of boxed cake mixes is clear:  convenience.  The home baker need only add water, a bit of oil and some eggs to create a cake that most people would enjoy. 

I can hear the die-hard ‘from scratch’ bakers shouting, “but it’s not real baking!”  There are those who would rather buy a cake from a bakery than make a cake out of a box, insisting that somehow, it would be ‘cheating’ to make a cake from a mix.

While I can appreciate the joy of making a cake purely from scratch, so much so that I’ve spent most of my life doing it, sometimes the promise of a quick fix and guaranteed results is exactly what I’m looking for.

History of Cake Mix

Just how did the cake mix come to be?  While there were earlier versions of prepackaged cake mixes, the mix that we have come to know today didn’t really take off until after WWII. 

Convenience was the name of the game and companies developed mixes which also included dried egg.  The only additional at-home requirement was water.  (This method brings me back to my Easy Bake oven days!)

While home bakers appreciated the convenience of a cake mix, they also started to feel a bit removed from the process.  They wanted to BAKE, so sprinkling in a bit of water just wasn’t cutting it.

The companies went back to the drawing board and decided to remove the dried egg from the mix to allow the home baker the pleasure of cracking fresh eggs into the mixing bowl themselves.

Sales of the boxed mixes improved slightly but didn’t really take off until prepared frosting came on the scene.  Advertisers flaunted photos of creatively decorated cakes using both mixes and prepared frosting and the home bakers were hooked!

Can You Make a Boxed Cake Taste Like it’s Homemade?

Now, we could debate the merits of boxed cake and scratch cake until the cows come home, but I don’t think we’d ever come to a resolution.  I won’t attempt to sway you one way or the other because at the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference. 

What I was interested in is to see if it’s possible to elevate the basic vanilla cake mix.  In my research efforts, I found that many people on the interwebs were singing the praises of white almond sour cream cake.  Apparently, it’s possible to make this bakery favourite at home, while using a boxed mix. This sounded like the ticket! 

I was inspired by Liz from the Sugar Geek Show’s recipe https://sugargeekshow.com/news/how-to-make-box-mix-taste-homemade/ and I set out to see if I could turn this boxed mix into something that tastes like it was lovingly made from scratch.

Let’s see how it turned out…

What You Need to Make Your Boxed Cake Taste Like Homemade

You will need the following things to make your ‘homemade’ boxed cake:

• 1 Box of White or French Vanilla Betty Crocker mix (I used French Vanilla)
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• ¾ cup of granulated sugar
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup sour cream (full fat)
• ½ cup melted butter
• 1 cup milk (2% or 3.5%)
• 4 egg whites (try making these lemon bars with the leftover yolks!)
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 9″ round cake pans
• Cooking Spray
• Parchment Paper
• 1 can of prepared frosting
• filling of your choice (I made cherry filling. You can also go without)

Most people suggest skipping the cans of prepared frosting and to make your own homemade buttercream, but honestly to me, I think the frosting is the best part.  I whipped it up a bit to lighten the texture and then I happily layered on spoonfuls of the frosting.

The Results

For comparison, I also made one boxed cake as per the directions on the box. The first cake turned out exactly as I expected it to. Light, with a soft crumb. This is one of the boxed cake’s biggest strengths; your results will turn out pretty consistently every time you make these cakes.

Now, let’s move on to the White Almond Sour Cream Cake. It is pretty easy to put together. All of the ingredients get tipped into your mixing bowl and you mix for 2 minutes, just as with the original directions.

This batter is much lighter both in volume and colour from the original cake all thank you to the magic of 4 egg whites!

The finished cake is very light in texture. It has an angel food cake consistency which pairs well with a fruity filling. Because of the texture, the cake can be a bit difficult to cut into neat slices, but your family and friends won’t mind because it tastes so delicious!

So…does the cake taste homemade? I really like the flavour of the cake, and it certainly has a much lighter texture than the original mix with a subtle hint of almond. I’m not sure I would say it tastes homemade, but this recipe definitely enhances the original flavours.

If you’re pressed for time, and want to make a delicious cake that comes with consistent results, then I encourage you to give this recipe a go!

Did you try this recipe?  I’d love to hear what you think…does it taste homemade?  Please share your photos of your White Almond Sour Cream Cake on Instagram using #bakersbookshelf.

Making a homemade cake from a boxed mix