The Simple Mixture That Will Increase The Size Of Boxed Cake Mix

There is a lot to love about boxed cake mix. Not only are there so many different flavors to choose from, but it's just so easy to dump the contents of the package in the bowl, add the ingredients it calls for, and bake it into a batch of cupcakes or a standard layer cake. 

However, the one thing we don't entirely love about cake mix is that it rarely makes the amount listed on the box. Although the recipe may say it makes 24 cupcakes, you'll be lucky if you get 18. And, if you're making a layer cake, this might mean smaller than average layers, which will result in a sad and small cake. 

But, there is a way to hack boxed cake mix and ensure that you have enough to feed your crowd. Essentially, you'll need to add your own cake mix, made with flour, leavening agents, and sugar, to the boxed cake mix. While it might seem a little silly to have to make this supplemental mixture when you can just buy another box of cake mix, the shelf-stable blend comes in handy for when you need to stretch your cake mix just a teensy bit more, but don't need to add a whole box's worth. 

The basic upsizing mix blend contains 1½ cups of all-purpose flour, 1 cup of sugar, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. If you add about 6 tablespoons of this homemade upsize mix to a 15.25-ounce box of cake mix, you'll be left with approximately 18.25 ounces of cake mix to play with. You might think you need to tweak the liquid ingredients, like eggs, milk, water, and/or oil to accommodate for the increased dry ingredients. But, the benefit of this hack is that it increases the proportion of dry mix but will not require any additional liquid ingredients. Simply follow what your boxed mix calls for, and you'll be on your way to a great cake.

You can also tweak this recipe depending on the type of cake you're making. The standard upsize blend is perfect for a white or a yellow cake mix, though you could also add 6 tablespoons of cocoa powder to it to make it a suitable blend for your chocolate and fudgy cakes.