Cake Mix substitute

Substitutes for Cake Mix with ratios

1. 2A different flavor of cake mix you already have

   Different taste

   Use the same amount box for box

   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.

   What changes

   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.

2. 3Pancake mix or baking mix such as Bisquick

   Taste and texture differ

   2 cups baking mix plus ½ cup sugar replaces one box

   Both already contain flour, leavening, salt and fat, so adding sugar gets you into cake territory.

   What changes

   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.

3. 4Muffin mix or quick bread mix

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by weight

   Structurally the same family, just formulated for a coarser, sturdier crumb and usually less sweet.

   What changes

   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.

4. 5Brownie mix, in chocolate recipes only

   Taste and texture differ

   Use the same amount by box weight

   A workable swap when the recipe is chocolate anyway, but understand what changes.

   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 1/2 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.

5. 6Crushed cookies or graham crumbs plus butter, for topping only

   Taste and texture differ

   2 cups crumbs plus 6 tablespoons melted butter

   Not a cake mix substitute in any real sense, but if the recipe was only using dry mix sprinkled over fruit as a topping, this does that job better anyway.

   What changes

   It bakes to a crisp buttery crust rather than a soft cake layer, so you get crunch instead of sponge.

   Best for

   fruit crisps and cobbler toppings, dump cake toppings, cheesecake bases

   Only use this where the mix was going on top of something wet. It cannot be a cake batter, and it will not work in cookies, poke cakes or layer cakes.