Cake mix substitutes
Cake mix substitutes — 6 options, ranked, with the exact amount
Use From-scratch dry mix (yellow or white cake)
2 ¼ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup dry milk powder, replaces one 15 oz box
The genuine answer. Whisked together it looks and measures like a box mix and works in dump cakes, poke cakes, cake mix cookies and standard layer cakes. Flavor is markedly better, less of that unmistakable boxed vanilla sweetness. The texture difference is real but small: without the emulsifiers a box carries, the crumb is slightly less bouncy and a little more tender-crumbly, and it stales a day sooner.
A box of yellow or white cake mix is nothing more exotic than pre-measured dry ingredients, and you can build the same thing in three minutes: whisk together 2 ¼ cups (280 g) all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt and, if you have it, ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder. That is about 15 ounces of dry mix, which is what a standard box holds, and it drops into any recipe that says one box. If you would rather use another mix you already have, a white, vanilla or butter golden mix swaps 1:1 for yellow, and spice or lemon mix works if the extra flavor suits the recipe. The one thing to know before you start: boxed mixes contain emulsifiers and very fine cake flour that a scratch mix does not, so a dump cake or poke cake made from scratch mix will taste better but come out a touch less spongy and slightly more crumbly. In no-bake recipes where dry mix is eaten raw, do not swap in raw flour without heat-treating it first.
- Verdict —
- Tweak it
- What changes —
- enhanced taste, different texture
- Best for —
- dump cakes and cobblers
Updated 26 Jul 2026 · no sponsored swaps
Every option, one card
Ranked| # | Substitute | Instead of cake mix | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | From-scratch dry mix (yellow or white cake)dump cakes and cobblers | 2 ¼ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup dry milk powder, replaces one 15 oz boxTweak it | Tweak it |
| 2 | A different flavor of cake mix you already havedump cakes with fruit filling | Same amount, box for boxTweak it | Tweak it |
| 3 | Pancake mix or baking mix such as Bisquickfruit cobblers | 2 cups baking mix plus ½ cup sugar replaces one boxYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 4 | Muffin mix or quick bread mixdump cakes | Same amount by weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 5 | Brownie mix, in chocolate recipes onlychocolate dump cakes | Same amount by box weightYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
| 6 | Crushed cookies or graham crumbs plus butter, for topping onlyfruit crisps and cobbler toppings | 2 cups crumbs plus 6 tablespoons melted butterYou'll taste it | You'll taste it |
From-scratch dry mix (yellow or white cake)
enhanced taste, different texture
The genuine answer. Whisked together it looks and measures like a box mix and works in dump cakes, poke cakes, cake mix cookies and standard layer cakes. Flavor is markedly better, less of that unmistakable boxed vanilla sweetness. The texture difference is real but small: without the emulsifiers a box carries, the crumb is slightly less bouncy and a little more tender-crumbly, and it stales a day sooner.
- Best for
- dump cakes and cobblers, poke cakes, layer cakes, cake mix cookies and bars, sheet cakes
Cake flour in place of all-purpose gets you closer to boxed texture, using 2 ½ cups since it is lighter. Adding 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to all-purpose flour is the cheap version of the same trick. Then follow whatever the recipe said to add to the box.
A different flavor of cake mix you already have
different taste, similar texture
White, vanilla, butter golden and yellow mixes are close enough to interchange with no adjustment, differing mainly in whether they include egg yolks and butter flavoring. Spice, lemon, strawberry or carrot mixes also work structurally and simply take the recipe somewhere else, which is often fine in a dump cake with fruit. A chocolate or devil's food mix swaps in the same way but obviously dominates.
- Best for
- dump cakes with fruit filling, poke cakes, trifles, any recipe where flavor is flexible
Check the box weight. Mixes have shrunk over the years from 18.25 oz to 15.25 oz, and older recipes assume the larger box, so if a recipe seems short on batter you may want to add about 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and a tablespoon of milk.
Pancake mix or baking mix such as Bisquick
different taste and texture
Both already contain flour, leavening, salt and fat, so adding sugar gets you into cake territory. The result is denser and more scone-like than a box cake, with a slightly savory, biscuity edge from the shortening and buttermilk powder in the mix. It works genuinely well for cobbler and dump cake toppings, where a biscuity crust is desirable, and less well for a layer cake.
- Best for
- fruit cobblers, dump cakes, coffee cakes, quick sheet cakes
Reduce any oil the recipe adds by about a third, since baking mix already carries fat. Taste the dry mix for salt before adding more, because most baking mixes are already well salted.
Muffin mix or quick bread mix
different taste and texture
Structurally the same family, just formulated for a coarser, sturdier crumb and usually less sweet. In a dump cake or a fruit crumble it is nearly indistinguishable. In a layer cake you notice it: the crumb is more open and bready, the top domes more, and the cake is less delicate.
- Best for
- dump cakes, crumble toppings, snack cakes and bar recipes
Banana, blueberry and cornbread mixes all work in fruit dump cakes if the flavors line up. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of sugar per box if the recipe was relying on the mix for sweetness.
Brownie mix, in chocolate recipes only
different taste and texture
A workable swap when the recipe is chocolate anyway, but understand what changes. Brownie mix has far more sugar and fat and much less leavening, so it bakes dense, fudgy and flat rather than light. A poke cake made with it is rich and closer to a brownie slab, which some people prefer, but it will not rise into layers.
- Best for
- chocolate dump cakes, brownie-bottom desserts, cookie bars
Add ½ teaspoon of baking powder per box if you want any lift at all, and expect a shorter bake, checking 8 to 10 minutes earlier than the cake recipe says.
Crushed cookies or graham crumbs plus butter, for topping only
different taste and texture
Questions
5 questionsCan I make cake mix from scratch?
Yes, and it takes about three minutes. Whisk 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ½ cups granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ¾ teaspoon salt and ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder if you have it. That is roughly equivalent to one 15 oz box, and you then add whatever eggs, oil and water the recipe wanted. Cake flour in place of all-purpose, using 2 ½ cups, gets closer to the boxed crumb.
Can I just leave the cake mix out?
Not in a cake, since the mix is the flour, sugar and leavening, meaning it is the entire structure of the dessert. There is nothing to leave out. The only version of this question with a yes attached is a dump cake, where the dry mix is a topping over fruit, and there you can replace it with a butter-and-crumb streusel or an oat crumble and get a good dessert of a different kind.
Is boxed cake mix really different from a scratch cake?
Yes, in a specific and measurable way. Mixes include emulsifiers, most often mono- and diglycerides or propylene glycol esters, which let the batter hold more sugar and liquid and produce that distinctive springy, damp, uniform crumb that stays soft for days. A scratch cake tastes better, more of butter and vanilla and less of sweetness, but has a slightly shorter shelf life and a more delicate crumb. Neither is better, they are different textures.
What can I use instead of a yellow cake mix specifically?
White, vanilla or butter golden mix swaps 1:1 and nobody will notice, since the difference is mostly egg yolk and butter flavoring. A homemade dry mix is the other clean answer and gives better flavor. If you want the yellow color and richness back in a white mix, use whole eggs instead of just whites and add a tablespoon of melted butter.
Can I use self-rising flour to make a cake mix?
Yes, and it simplifies things: use 2 ¼ cups of self-rising flour plus 1 ½ cups of sugar and skip the baking powder and salt entirely, since self-rising flour already contains both. Check that yours is fresh, because the leavening in a bag that has been open for a year is weak and the cake will bake flat.
Tips for substituting cake mix
5 tips- Standard boxes are now about 15.25 oz, down from 18.25 oz in older recipes. If you are following a recipe from an old church cookbook and the batter looks skimpy, add roughly 3 tablespoons of flour, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of milk to make up the difference.
- Boxed mix is unusually forgiving because of its emulsifiers, and a scratch mix is not, so mix a homemade version only until the flour disappears. Beating a scratch batter for the three minutes some boxes tell you to will make it tough.
- The reason boxed cakes are so springy is emulsifiers plus finely milled cake flour. If matching that texture matters, use cake flour and add ¼ cup of sour cream or plain yogurt and an extra egg yolk to the wet ingredients, which is closer than any dry-mix tweak.
- Recipes that use dry cake mix uncooked, such as no-bake cookie dough dips and some frosting hacks, are not safe to make with raw flour. Toast the flour on a sheet pan at 350F for about 7 minutes and cool it before mixing.
- For a dump cake, the mix goes on dry and unstirred, and butter is dotted over the top. A homemade dry mix works exactly the same way, but sprinkle it more evenly than you would the box mix, since it is coarser and leaves dry patches if it clumps.