9 Ways To Upgrade A Store-Bought Cake

Baking a cake from scratch is, for many of us, a good idea in practice, but in reality, it just doesn't mesh with our schedules. Maybe you're too busy with your work or your family, or you just can't imagine making a dessert from scratch when you're already meal-prepping regularly. But just because you don't have the time to cook a cake from scratch doesn't mean you're completely relegated to the bakery section of your local grocery store. By learning how to upgrade a store-bought cake, you can create an impressive dessert that requires no bake time at all.

I've talked to baking experts Mogau Seshoene, author of "Hosting with the Lazy Makoti", and recipe developer Amy Hand of The Skillful Cook and created this list of some of the easiest ways you can upgrade a store-bought cake. These tips and tricks can ensure you always have a delicious dessert on hand without even having to take out your mixer. Whether you already consider yourself a pro baker or you've never made a cake in your life, these store-bought cake ideas can up your dessert game on even the busiest of days.

Most store-bought cakes you'll find at the grocery store are going to be pretty basic. Even the ones that are decorated are likely to be relatively simple. And if you're looking for a dessert that's really going to impress your guests, that kind of basic grocery store dessert may not cut it. But no worries — you can turn a store-bought cake into a masterpiece if you just use a little creativity. One way to make things look more impressive — and to ensure you have enough cake to feed a crowd — is to buy two cakes and turn them into one. "Stack two store-bought cakes together and decorate with flowers," suggests Mogau Seshoene.

If you can get your hands on them, try using edible flowers for this not-really-baking project. But if you can't find edible flowers, it's not a problem — just use regular flowers, instead. Seshoene just suggests wrapping the ends with cling wrap before sticking them into the cake to ensure nobody gets a bite of a real flower.

French toast is a beloved breakfast that offers a sweet start to your day. And although it's a great way to use up any stale bread you have lying around, you can make your French toast way more interesting by making it with leftover store-bought cake. Instead of using a slice of sandwich bread for your fresh French toast, give a slice of cake the French toast treatment. Throw it in the pan, let it cook until it's developed a nice, crispy exterior, and you have the best French toast you've ever had in your life.

You can use a wide variety of cake for this recipe. Pound cake will probably yield results closest to that of traditional French toast, but you can use chocolate or even Funfetti cake for a fun twist on the classic. Feel free to top your cake French toast with whatever toppings sound best to you — berries, chocolate syrup, or sprinkles can add a sweet touch to the dessert-turned-breakfast.

There are few desserts as beautiful — and as easy — as a trifle. And if you don't want to bake your own cake to make a trifle at home, you can easily just buy some cake at the store and get to stacking. You can use basically any type of cake to layer your trifle. Start with some pound cake for a rich but relatively neutral trifle base, or use plain vanilla cake to pair with basically any flavor profile. Opt for marble cake for more of a rich, varied flavor, or go for red velvet cake for an even more visually stunning dessert. You can even use chocolate cake and pair it with other rich, chocolaty flavors.

Start by stacking pieces of cake at the bottom of your trifle dish and then layer on fruit, whipped cream, crumbled-up cookies, or any other toppings you think would pair well with your store-bought cake of choice. Then, proudly show off your decorating skills — nobody even has to know you didn't make the cake from scratch.

Pound cake is a delicious option if you like rich and hearty desserts, but let's be honest: In its natural state, pound cake doesn't really boast much complexity. It's sweet and buttery, but there's not much else going on flavor-wise. And although that may not be ideal for some dessert lovers, it does make pound cake the perfect base for a more creative dessert. One way to improve the flavor of store-bought pound cake? Throw it on the grill. Grilling pound cake gives it more complexity and an added touch of texture — just what it needs to reach its true delicious potential.

Before you put slices of store-bought pound cake on the grill, though, remember to butter both sides of each slice. This will prevent it from burning or getting too charred, and it adds an extra layer of richness to the dessert. Then, enjoy your grilled pound cake on its own, or layer on toppings for an even more interesting cake experience. Berries, whipped cream, and chocolate sauce are simple additions that can pack a punch.

Sometimes, you want to serve a large, shareable dessert to your guests. Other times, though, you may want to opt for more individual servings. That's where this next hack from Mogau Seshoene comes in. "Turn the cake into mini cakes using a cookie cutter to make stunning individual servings," she suggests. You can use any shape cookie cutter you want — keep things simple and easy with stars or hearts, or choose holiday-themed cookie cutters if you're preparing for a holiday party. Make sure you cut the pieces close together so you're wasting as little cake as possible.

Once you've cut all your individual cakes out of the larger cake, you can start decorating. Keep the frosting that came on the original cake, or wipe it off and start fresh with your own decorations. Add sprinkles, cocoa nibs, powdered sugar, or whatever other toppings you're craving. Want to keep things simple, fresh, and summery? Seshoene recommends topping your mini cakes with berries, which will add a nice burst of flavor and texture.

There's nothing like a hybrid dessert that features elements of two different types of treats. Think ice cream cakes, or this recipe for brookies. Put cake and brownies together, and it's no exception. That's why perhaps one of the best ways to use a store-bought cake in your cooking is to add pieces of that cake to a brownie recipe. Instead of just baking your brownies the same way you always do, crumble up chunks of store-bought cake and include them in your brownie batter. Then, pour that batter into a pan like usual, throw it in the oven, and take a bite of your cake-brownie hybrid. You may never want to go back to regular brownies again.

The result is a texturally rich dessert that has both the gooeyness of brownies along with the softness of cake. If you want to keep things simple, opt for a chocolate cake. On the other hand, you can also experiment with other more interesting flavors, like strawberry, Funfetti, or red velvet.

You can easily transform a store-bought cake into a handheld dessert that kids and adults alike will enjoy. "I love using store-bought cakes to make cake pops," says recipe developer Amy Hand. "Cake pops are essentially crumbled-up cake mixed with buttercream, formed into a ball on a stick, and coated in melted chocolate or fondant. This means that the density or lightness of the cake doesn't really matter, and you can make a stellar cake pop out of a very mediocre cake."

When you're first learning how to make pops using store-bought cake, you might want to keep things simple. "I recommend starting out with vanilla cake and buttercream to get used to the technique," advises Hand. Once you have that down, move on to other flavors. After you've covered the cake with that melted chocolate or fondant, get creative with the toppings — you can add crystalized sugar, sprinkles, or even cookie crumbles.

There's one way to make pretty much any food taste crispier and more delicious: Fry it. Think about it: Fried Twinkies and fried Oreos are a thing, and they're delicious. So why wouldn't cake taste just as good after it's been fried? That's why you may want to consider deep-frying store-bought cake slices. Because you're not actually baking the cake from scratch, you can take some extra time to set up the deep fryer. After a few minutes in the hot oil, you'll have a hot and crispy dessert that's even more indulgent than your typical slice of cake.

There's one thing you should keep in mind before you start frying store-bought cake, though. It's important to freeze the slices before you pop them into the deep fryer. Why? Because freezing the slices ensures that they'll stay intact once they're in that hot oil. Otherwise, they're likely to fall apart, leaving you with a big, sweet mess. Additionally, you'll want to make sure you scrape off as much frosting as possible before those cake slices take a plunge. Follow these tips, and you'll soon be eating the fried dessert of your dreams — with whatever toppings you please, of course.

Just because you're remixing a store-bought cake doesn't mean that you have to do anything wild to transform it into a different dessert. Sometimes, it just comes down to playing with the aesthetics. Perhaps the best way to do that is to alter the frosting on the cake to better match the look you're going for. "Play with the icing," says Mogau Seshoene.

You have some options here. "You can either remove the icing to make a baked cake or add more," she says. Removing the icing makes for a plainer, more versatile cake, while adding even more frosting to the mix can turn an average cake into a super-sweet masterpiece. If you want to really impress with the decorations, Seshoene suggests, "Make a simple ganache with chocolate and cream and make droppings on the end all around the cake for a lovely effect." Of course, you can always stick with store-bought frosting if you don't trust your own frosting-making abilities.