This month was my husband’s birthday and when I asked him what kind of cake he would like, he replied with a white cake with white frosting. Mentally, I said “Oh how boring.” When I went to make his cake I realized I wouldn’t have enough of the key ingredient – flour. I didn’t have time to run to the store with everything else on the schedule that day so I improvised and used a boxed white cake mix and jazzed that baby up. One bite and you could not tell it was from a box, seriously. He loved it!
Using milk instead of water as called for on the box, adds some density, extra fat (trust me on this), and extra flavor. I used only egg whites as this will make your cake fluffier and whiter. Substitute the oil in the boxed cake recipe for melted butter. This will add so much more flavor than oil will. Adding a bit of vanilla extract will also bump the flavor up. The boxed mix does lose some of it’s freshness sitting on that shelf so adding more flavor, such as the vanilla, brings out the fresh, homemade taste.
Ingredients
- 1 boxed white cake I used Duncan Hines brand
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup melted butter cooled slightly
- 3 egg whites
- 1 tsp CLEAR vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease sides and bottom of each pan with nonstick spray. Flour baking pan lightly. (If making cupckakes, use baking cups in place of the grease and flour)
- Blend cake mix, milk, melted butter, egg whites, and vanilla in a large bowl at low speed until moistened for about 30 seconds.
- Beat at medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Pour batter in pans and bake according to box directions for your type of baking pan. I tend to check my cakes at the lower end of the time indicated as my oven cooks a bit faster than some others I have had.
- Cake will be done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes before removing. Cool completely before frosting.
- Great with this Cream Cheese Frosting
Enjoy!
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This sounds good to me. We sometimes forget plain flavors are best.
Wishes for tasty dishes,
Linda
So true Linda, thanks for stopping by!
I am making this Cake and the batter is really thick should I add More milk?
Hi Amanda, the batter will be a bit thicker than if you were using water. You can add a bit more if you think it’s too thick or even an extra egg white!
just in time my husbands birthday is monday i am going to make this cake for him. thank’s for sharing.
Wonderful Tamara! Check out the Cream Cheese Frosting] that I made for that cake too. Happy Birthday to your husband!
I’m all for jazzing up cake mix recipes! This looks divine and elegant and I would probably eat the whole thing if you gave me a chance! Stopping by from Crafty and Delicious Party. Pinned & Tweeted.
Thanks for stopping by Kim! Yes, it definitely was hard not to eat the whole cake.
how much butter? 1/4 what? Cup?
I have half the ingredients in the bowl and I don’t know how much butter to put in :/
Nickie, So sorry! It’s 1/4 cup of melted butter. I’ve corrected the recipe. Hope I got to you in time!
In the picture, is that the cream cheese frosting? I’m making a cake sunday and I will be using this recipe plus the cream cheese icing. I have tried making buttercream icing before but it always comes out greasy tasting and way thick. Any good recipes for that
Hi Donna, thanks for stopping by! So glad you are making this cake, it is so good! Yes, that is cream cheese frosting and the recipe I will use is this one The Best Cream Cheese Frosting. As for the buttercream frosting, I tend to make it with other flavors in it, like peanut butter and it is awesome. Replace the 1/2 cup peanut butter with butter so you are using one cup butter total. I have some tips in the link for the peanut butter buttercream frosting that I swear by and never has the buttercream frosting (flavored or plain) been greasy. Stop back if you can to let me know how the cake and frosting was!
So I made the cake and the cream cheese frosting….it was a hit at work!! The cake batterwas a bit thick and the cake seemed a little dry to me. Any tips on how to get a moist cake?
Donna, glad the cake and frosting was a hit! The batter is thicker than a normal cake mix would be but I’ve never had it be dry. Maybe try a bit more milk or an extra egg white and check for doneness at the lower end of the times. My oven tends to bake/cook faster than others I have so I have to check it often.
This vanilla snack cake was amazing! Much better than the box directions. Thank you!!
Do you make the cake mix as directed on the box first then add your ingredients
Emily, I’m sorry I didn’t see your comment before! To answer your question, no you don’t prepare the cake as directed on the box. Simply use the list of ingredients I have in the recipe to make the cake.
Just made your cake and icing. My husband loved it. That’s the best white cake you ever made.
Thanks for the recipe!
You’re so welcome!
Tastes amazing!! I’ll use this recipe every time !
Followed your directions exactly but when I tried to frost my cake (very gently) it started tearing it up. When I cut a piece and put it on a plate it falls apart very easily, and half the time I can’t even get it out of the pan in one piece. It definitely tastes dry and almost bread like as well. How did I manage to screw this up so bad? Again, followed the directions to a tee and baked it the standard amount of time in a 13 by 9 inch pan, making sure to check with a toothpick a few minutes before said time was up. I only turned off the oven when the toothpick came out clean, and left it in to cool. Pan was greased and floured. What happened??
If I’m reading your comment correctly, it sounds like you left the baked cake in the oven once you turned it off. If so, the oven was still hot so the cake kept baking, which would account for the cake being dry and hard to get out of the pan. If you mean to say you left in the pan to cool, I’m not sure what happened. I’ve made it many times without an issue, expect when a spot or two in the pan may not have gotten a bit of grease on it.
I am making this tomorrow. Have you made the cream cheese frosting with lemon? If yes, how much should I add?
I have not made it with lemon but I would use lemon extract and start with a small amount and taste, then go from there. I’m sorry I didn’t see this before, I do hope it turned yummy!
What size pans did you use or did you go off the box mix for pan sized
Kathryn, I used a 9 x 13 inch pan, but yes you can use whatever pan you need to from the box – including cupcakes!
Can you use the whole eggs in the recipe instead of just the egg whites?? Thought it might make batter even richer! What do you think?
Hi John, Yes you can use whole eggs. I choose to use just the whites so that the cake was really white and not a hint of yellow from the yolks.
Today is my birthday and I’m gonna make this! Can I put it in a bundt cake pan?
Happy belated birthday! I hope the bundt pan worked! Yes, I’ve made in there several times…baking time just needs to be adjusted
Made this recipe and enjoyed the cake and icing! Very tasty….
Wonderful! Thank you for sharing
can this recipe be used to make a poke cake
YES! It sure can!
350 degrees, but how long?
Hi Marsha, use the cake mix box baking directions for baking times. Depending on the size of pan, the baking times will be different.
Can this be made with half and half instead of milk?
It sure can! Same amount as the milk
I rarely make comments on posts unless they are good, but I am commenting on this cake as I did not care for this cake recipe at all. It still tastes like a cake mix to me.
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out as you expected. Maybe bump up the vanilla a bit if you try it again. Add an extra egg white, too.