Let’s face it. We are all busy. You know, there is something about a cake mix that takes the pressure off of making a scratch cake. But, we still want it to taste like scratch. It is easy enough to “doctor up” a cake mix, as my grandmother would say. Real butter and buttermilk make everything taste better. Even the crust is more authentic with this hack. We had the trimmings for breakfast with coffee just this weekend. It was good even plain!
This recipe is a blank canvas, literally. You can add pretty much any flavor you like. I have used this for almond cake, coconut cake, vanilla cake, caramel cake, lemon curd, and fruit filled cake. The other key is to use homemade frosting. I ALWAYS use homemade frosting!!
For a fruit flavor, I bake the cake in three 8 or 9 inch rounds and fill the layers with homemade or good store bought preserves, like Bon Maman raspberry or strawberry. If you are going to serve it same day, you can also add fresh fruit slices to the jam and decorate with fresh fruit. Just be sure to pipe a border of frosting on the edges before adding the preserves. And yes, I use a whole jar of Bon Maman because it is worth it! Pictured above is strawberry preserves with Cream Cheese Frosting and fresh strawberries. (I’m itching to do it in blackberry!). My great grandmother would do a plain cake and layer it with homemade red plum preserves/jam with no additional frosting…delicious! Tastes like childhood summer! Be creative and enjoy!
White Cake (aka the Cake Mix Hack)
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
Description
Let’s face it. We are all busy. You know, there is something about a cake mix that takes the pressure off of making a scratch cake. But, we still want it to taste like scratch. It is easy enough to “doctor up” a cake mix, as my grandmother would say. Real butter and buttermilk make everything taste better.
Ingredients
- 1 Duncan Hines White Cake Mix
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup sifted cake flour
- Pinch salt
- 5 egg whites
- 2 sticks butter
- 1 & 1/3 cup buttermilk
- Flavor of choice (Such as 1 teaspoon vanilla, almond, lemon, coconut, etc.)
- Baker’s Joy
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Combine dry ingredients in a bowl with whisk and set aside.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients and beat 2-3 minutes until smooth and fluffy.
- Spray pans with Baker’s joy and divide mix equally into pans of choice. Bake per directions on box for pan size.
- Cakes are ready when center springs back or toothpick comes out dry. Cool completely on racks. Frost and assemble cake.
Notes
All ingredients should be room temperature.
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Semi-homemade