In my efforts to eat a less processed diet, I’ve eliminated cake mixes from the lineup. It’s been painful, I can’t lie. There’s something about the no-fail moistness of a boxed mix that is appealing, but I’ve promised myself not to give in although it’s been hard. We’ve been through our fair share of dry homemade cakes as I’ve searched for the perfect replacements for the old boxed mixes.
You can imagine I was overjoyed when I saw this recipe for a make-ahead yellow cake mix! Not only is it a snap to prepare, but it keeps in the freezer for up to 2 months. Along with that – it tastes fabulous. Buttery, moist and absolutely delicious.
I can’t wait to share with you tomorrow what I made with this delectable mix. So in the meantime, whip some up. Talk about feeling like a complete Becky-Home-Ecky, this cake mix made me happy that I’ve stuck to my guns about giving up the old kind. It is a hundred times more delicious and that’s a fact.
P.S. I can’t wait to use this mix for the gazillion recipes I have that call for sprinkling a dry cake mix over this or that to create cobblers and crisps, etc. In fact, I’ll share with you a secret for one of my most favorite peach cobblers of all time. Here it is (and please ignore the fact that I’ve just gone off on a tangent about giving up processed cake mixes since this dessert is far from organic or healthy): lightly spray a 9X13 pan with cooking spray. Layer peaches (canned or fresh) on the bottom of the 9X13 pan close together in a single layer. Sprinkle a yellow cake mix over the top of the peaches. Dot the top of the cake mix with one stick of butter. Open up a can of Fresca (I imagine Sprite or 7-Up would work equally well), drink half and pour the other half over the top of the cake mix and butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream. Relish in the fact that you are eating vitamin-laden fruit and zero-calorie soda, therefore constituting a healthy dessert. Peace out.
One Year Ago: Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars
Two Years Ago: Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Bars
Homemade Make-Ahead Yellow Cake Mix
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Makes enough for two 9-inch layer cakes (bake according to recipe), or one 9X13-inch cake (bake for 30 to 35 minutes), or one 12-cup bundt pan (bake for 40 to 45 minutes), or 24 cupcakes (bake for 18 to 20 minutes)
*Note: the recipe calls for cake flour, which I never have on hand so I substituted 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons cornstarch for the three cups of flour called for in the recipe. It worked beautifully.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons butter (2 sticks), cut into 1/2-inch pieces and chilled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
Process sugar, flours (or flour and cornstarch if making the substitution for the cake flour), milk powder, baking powder, and salt in a food processor for 15 seconds to combine. Add butter and vanilla and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal (you want this much finer than, say, a pie crust). Freeze the dry mixture in a zipper-lock bag for up to 2 months or use immediately.
To make the cake, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your pan of choice (see the note above the recipe).
With an electric mixer, beat the prepared cake mix, 1 1/4 cups warm water and 2 large room-temperature eggs until the mixture is smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan(s) and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25-27 minutes for two 9-inch layer cakes. See the note above the recipe for alternate cooking times with other baking pans. Cool the cake(s) in pan(s) for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook’s Country April/May 2010
{ 81 comments… read them below or add one }
Homemade cake mix?! That is too cool. I usually do make cakes from scratch, but they are recipes from my grandmother or mom. Many times they still come out dry. I gotta try this one!
I am trying to eliminate processed foods from my diet (trying to eat clean), and this home-made cake mix looks fabulous! What a great idea, and I bet you could adapt it to include different flavors (like add cocoa powder for chocolate cake mix).
That’s it, Mel. I am subscribing to Cook’s Country today!
Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! I have been reducing the number of processed/boxed items in my pantry too. Since boxed cake mixes aren’t that good anyway, they shouldn’t be to hard to give up. I am going to try a homemade granola bar recipe today. I will let you know how they turn out.
Do you have to make any adjustments to this for high altitude? I live at about 5500 feet, and haven’t had much luck making cakes or cupcakes.
yay! This makes me so happy! I love cake mix cakes, it’s true. they’re so predictable and good. I’ve made a few dry cakes as well, so I’m looking forward to trying this out! Thanks!
Have you tried this at high altitudes? Sometimes cakes and I don’t get along.
I love it when you post recipes like this!
The peach cake you’re talking about sounds like Dump Cake. Have you ever had that? It might be a Southern thing.
My husband loves that peach cake you’re talking about, only we’ve never tried it with Fresca, we’ll have to do that now.
This looks so great!
cindy and Katie – I’m not exactly sure how to adjust for high altitudes but I found a great article that might help (scroll down about midway through the article where it gives specific adjustments for certain altitudes).
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/High-Altitude-Cake-Baking/Detail.aspx
I couldn’t live without Cook’s Country or America’s Test Kitchens -I’m glad you posted their recipe because its a good one! Everything I make from them is a winner!!
Just today I was searching for a homemade box cake mix to use for cake batter ice cream. PERFECTO! Thank you.
Holy cow! 2 sticks of butter?!! No wonder the cake is so moist!
It actually sounds really good though, and very handy to have. Just out of curiousity, do you always use actual butter for all of your recipes, or do you ever use margarine sticks?
Also, I just made the Beans & Rice for dinner last night, and aside from the fact that I accidentally added double the oregano, it was very good. Thanks so much for all of your wonderful recipes!
Tracey – yeah, in my experience, cake mixes aren’t necessarily low-fat, but this one sure tastes great! I never use margarine. I am an exclusive butter-girl (and have the thighs to prove it). Glad you liked the beans and rice!
Mel! This is brilliant! I can’t wait to try it!! Thanks for sharing! can’t wait to see what you make tomorrow!
I’m so excited that you posted this, because my mom recently requested a cake from a cake mix and I just hate to use it, even though it’s moist and delicious. Love it!! I can’t wait to make apple kuchen with this, also!
You are hilarious. Love this recipe– and I’m def going to try the cobbler one soon!
P.S. It’s ALL about the butter. I bet my thighs beat your thighs
Sweet! This is something I’ve wanted to start doing–making mixes at home. Not just for cake, for everything. Oh, and I see you’ve been submitting photos to Tastespotting! I hope you’re on foodgawker too. Aren’t they frustrating when they reject your photos? Or maybe you don’t experience that to the degree I do. It’s humbling.
I can’t wait to try this out! What a great alternative to the mixes, which I try to avoid as well.
PS Love the photo! It is great!!
Excellent, excellent, excellent. I can’t wait to start having this on hand (after I use the one box of yellow cake mix I have on my shelf, that is). Thank you for doing this! AWESOME!!
Awesome! Thanks!
I had a friend who once gave me, as a housewarming gift, a huge Tupperware container of home made brownie mix that could be kept in my pantry. So i’m just curious, if the butter & vanilla were left out, do you think this would keep in the pantry instead of the freezer possibly?
Okay, I need some clarification! In the note about the cake flour you talk about how to get “the three cups of flour called for in the recipe”, but the recipe says 1.5 cups of cake flour. Does the whole recipe need to be doubled? Thanks!
Sounds really good – can’t wait to try it! Be sure and let us know if you come up with any variations (such as chocolate). Mmmmm!
Yes – I was wondering the same about the recipe and the amount of flour. The recipe (as posted) is for 1.5 c. flour. Did you mean to say that 3 cups? If we are to double the flour, are we doubling the rest?
Cat and Rachel – The recipe as posted calls for three cups flour (1 1/2 cups all-purpose and 1 1/2 cups cake flour). If you want to avoid buying cake flour and use my recommended substitution (in the note above the recipe), the easiest way to make the mathematics of the recipe work out is to eliminate all three cups of flour from the original recipe (both the cake flour and the all-purpose flour) and use the 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour and 3 tablespoons cornstarch instead (all added up, this substitution still equals three cups it just doesn’t use cake flour as part of it). Is that clear as mud? Let me know if you have other questions.
This sounds so amazing, and so easy. I will definitely be trying this one out. Thanks for the great recipe!
This is such a smart idea!
this is EXTREMELY useful, mel–thanks! although i don’t mind using a cake mix every now and again, it seems like many times i find an awesome recipe requiring one and i don’t have a box. maybe i’ll wean myself from them completely now.
incidentally, fresca may be my favorite beverage ever.
This is fantastic – thanks for the post. I love that your site offers a print with photo option!
Amber – yes, it would keep on the shelf without the butter and vanilla. I’m not sure for how long, maybe a couple of weeks?
This looks really yummy! I’ve pretty much eliminated cake mixes from our kitchen too, but I make an exception for lemon cake mix, to make the Lemon cake you posted last spring, with the lemon frosting & blackberry garnish. Have you found a homemade substitute for that one? Because I looooove that cake.
I must be blind – I didn’t even see that you had two kinds of flour in your receipe. I’m looking forward to trying this. Now that I saw the Coconut TresLeches Cake recipe, I’m really chomping at the bit to pull out my baking pans! Your husband’s comments intrigue me.
Allison – no, unfortunately, I haven’t found a substitution for lemon cake mix. You could always add the zest of a couple lemons to this yellow cake mix, but I don’t know if it would give the punch of lemon flavor you are looking for. Actually, as I’m typing this, I’m wondering if you could add a teaspoon of lemon extract with the vanilla extract – now that might work!
Brilliant idea! And I love the photo as well. You’ve got skills in the kitchen and behind the lens. I guess this means I won’t be buying anymore cake mixes.
I don’t have a food processor…any suggestions if I want to try this?
You cracked me up with your peach cobbler paragraph! I LOVE your blog. I haven’t been on for a while (been really busy!) but coming back I realize that I could seriously just make your food for the rest of my life and be a happy girl. Thanks for your hard work!
Hey Kaleena – sadly, I think this recipe definitely needs a food processor. If you were really daring, you could try doing it in batches in the blender but I have no idea if that would work. The tricky thing is the mixture needs to be ground finer than using a pastry blender (like for a pie crust) or two knives. Do one of your awesome neighbors have one you could borrow?
Could it maybe be mixed in a KitchenAid stand mixer using the whip attachment? That’s what I was planning to try…
Camille – that’s a great idea. Let me know if you try it that way. I think the key will be to make sure the butter incorporates with the dry ingredients to form small crumbs.
I made this over the weekend and it came out great and full of flavor. I could never go back to box after trying this. I just need this in chocoloate now – up for any experimenting, Mel?
Patricia – I’ve been waiting for someone to weigh in on this recipe. I’m so glad the cake baked up so well! I’ll let you know if I get brave enough to attempt a chocolate version. Chocolate runs through my veins so it’s only a matter of time before I attempt it, I’m sure!
FYI, I attempted making this using a blender. I made cupcakes but they didn’t really turn out–they were flat and too crumbly to frost. However, they tasted great. Next time I make this, and there will be a next time, I will use a food processor because you’re right, the blender doesn’t cut it.
I tried this recipe the other day without a food processer. First, I mixed the dry ingredients, butter and vanilla extract using my hand mixer to break up the butter into smaller chunks.
Then I put about 1/2-1 cup into the blender to make the mix more fine. I had to stop the blender and scrape down the sides to get all the larger chunks broken up. The blades on the blender just weren’t big enough to cut through all the ingredients.
Even after running the mix through the blender, the mix wasn’t as fine as the picture. I used the mix right away in the Coconut Tres Leches cake so made sure to mix the batter really well to remove any larger clumps. Luckily, the cake turned out great.
I would say making this mix is doable without a food processer, but it took much more time and effort. I’m thinking seriously about getting a food processor because I will be sure to make this mix again!
Thank you! This is great. My mother makes a wonderful chocolate chip bundt cake that uses yellow cake mix. I haven’t made it in YEARS because I’ve been weirded out by boxed cake mixes. I am so going to make it now!
Ruchita – your review on this recipe is invaluable to those wondering if they need a food processor. Thank you so much for detailing your experience with the recipe!
Melanie – thanks for checking in on this recipe. I’m bummed it didn’t turn out better! I hope the food processor method results in better cupcakes for you next time.
Melanie, I know I’m annoying….I don’t have a food processor and am wondering how else I can mix it up to get the effect and consistency right??
This cake is sooooo soooo good! With two sticks of butter, how could you go wrong? I used it for Strawberry Shortcake and it turned out wonderfully! http://theskinnerscene.blogspot.com/2010/06/strawberry-shortcake-on-rainy-day.html
My husband came home with a crate of farm fresh Georgia peaches. I got an idea to have a Mel’s peach cobbler recipe throw down with Paula Deen’s recipe. Your cobbler won hands down in the blind taste test with my family. The yellow cake mix recipe with Fresca poured on top made a delicious delicate crust with a hint of citrus. Thank you! Would you happen to have any great peach salsa or peach chutney recipes? I still have a lot of fruit to use up quickly.
Amanda – what a great idea to use it for strawberry shortcake! Glad it was a hit!
Hi, I’m wondering if this recipe would work if I prepared the mix as stated without the milk powder and substituted for fresh milk when I baked it?
Sera – I think anything is worth a try but I can’t give 100% results for what you suggested – I’m not sure how much milk you would need to add…if you figure out a way to make it work and try it, let me know.
This cake didn’t turn out well for me
. First, I could taste the milk powder in the batter even after mixing it for 2 minutes. Then, the sides burnt while the middle parts of the cakes were still not done. Even after testing for doneness, when I cut into the cakes, one of the cakes wasn’t done. On the plus side, the cake was moist and didn’t taste like dried-up cornbread like I’ve tasted before in other yellow cake recipes. It was buttery and had the right amount of sweetness. I know my oven has problems, so that is a factor. Maybe my milk powder is not good. I may try out this recipe again, because I know that your recipes are always fantastic. I am sure that the problem is on my end. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Memoria – I’m so sorry this cake didn’t turn out well! I was sad reading your comment – I hate it when I’ve wasted ingredients on a recipe and it doesn’t work. I hope if you give it another go that it works out better!
Memoria – I tried the cake tonight and had the same exact problems. How funny. My oven, however, bakes fine usually. Oh well, the family ate it and were happy for a treat. Mel – I’ve enjoyed your other recipes a lot! Thanks for posting them.
Kristel – not sure what is happening with that cake! I’ve made it several times and haven’t had the edges burn/doughy middle…I’m sorry it didn’t turn out well!
Mel, as I stated in my blog post, I think the problem is with my powdered milk and the size of the granules. I’m going to try out the recipe again with liquid milk in place of the powdered variety and the water. Also, I mentioned that the problem could be oven. If you read my post carefully, you can see that I put blame on my own equipment, not the recipe. I even mentioned I would try it out again. I’ll figure it out on my end haha. Thank you again! So far it is still #1. The second cake we tried today didn’t make the cut haha.
SAVING FOR SURE! Thak you!
Melanie~ Seriously, are any of your recipes bad??? I have yet to find one. Made this cake mix last week and froze it to use this weekend. I don’t have a food processor like some of the other followers, so I cut the butter into tiny little chunks and mixed it in my hand. It took a little time, but worked out just fine. Then this weekend I made your peach cobbler. Oh my! Delicious! I added a little br. sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg over the fresh peaches, and it was absolutely delicious and so, so quick and easy. Thanks so much for another winner. When I am looking for new recipes to try, I always go here 1st. Cheers, Jeanette
Jeanette – how sweet are you? Thanks for your review on this. I love your additions to the peach cobbler. I’m so glad this homemade cake mix worked out for it! Thank you so much for letting me know! (And thanks for the tips on using good old hard work instead of a food processor.)
Could you substitute clarified butter, ghee or oil for the butter to make a shelf stable mix?
Jake – I’m not sure since I haven’t tried either of those but it’s worth a try. If you have experience using clarified butter or ghee then go for it…let me know if you try it.
Whoops, I accidentally posted this question on the wrong recipe:
Would it be possible to substitute the milk powder for regular milk?
Lisa, I’m not sure how it would work to sub regular milk in for the powdered milk since I’ve never tried it. I’m not sure how much milk you would want to substitute for the 1 1/4 cups water. I figure anything is worth a try, though, so my recommendation would be to omit the nonfat dry milk and then when making the cake, use 1/4 cup water and 1 cup milk. Let me know if you try it!
This is great! I’ll use a similar homemade mix in my favorite “Pumpkin Streusel” dessert (posted here: http://pccuisine.com/pumpkin-streusel-recipe.html)
I’ll add the vanilla to the melted butter that goes on top. If I was to make extra of the dry mix to have on hand, I wouldn’t want to add the vanilla, as the moisture might react with the baking powder… although your idea of freezing it would work for shorter storage times, hey?
(I’d add the butter later too, if only because I’d be melting it to drizzle on top…)
Great recipe! I just stumbled upon your blog and love it. Can’t wait to try out some of your recipes.
Wendy
Around My Family Table
I’m confused. Surely this makes enough to be the equivalent of 2 boxed cake mixes? Does it say that somewhere above? When I mixed it up I had to send it through the food processor in two batches and it filled up my regular size mixing bowl (which probably holds 8 cups). When I google how many oz. in a cake mix box. it tells me somewhere around 2 – 3 cups total.
After I made this up I used half of it (around 4 cups) for a “doctored cake mix” recipe called Raspberry Swirl cake that called for a one cake mix. It turned out fine.
So now I’m wondering how to prepare the remaining 4 cups of “cake mix”. Do I only use 1 egg and and half the water listed above? I guess I’ll eyeball it and figure it out when the time comes.
Regardless of my confusion today – I love your blog! Thanks!
Mary, believe it or not the recipe (originally from Cook’s Country) is only for one cake (or 24 cupcakes or two 9-inch round cakes). I have found, like you, that the dry mix makes a lot more than what is in a traditional boxed cake mix. I’m sorry for the confusion! I’ve been meaning to update the recipe and am sorry I haven’t yet. I use about 3 1/2 cups of dry mix whenever I’m using it in place of a boxed yellow cake mix that doesn’t have to be mixed up (like for a cobbler or streusel type application) or for a recipe that gives their own measurements on liquid ingredients for a boxed cake mix. To make a plain yellow cake, yes, I would suggest using half the dry mix and half the water and one egg and making one 9X13 or the equivalent. I still need to do a bit of testing in this area since I usually use the dry mix in other applications but that would be my recommendation.
OK, I tried the half recipe. My food processor is not a full-sized one so I had to make the recipe a half batch at a time. The half-batch seemed like a good amount. I compared the half-recipe ingredient amounts to a quick cake recipe in my 1972 Joy of Cooking cookbook (recommended for a 13 x 9 pan) and it was very similar. I weighed the dry mix and it was about 20 oz, more than a box of cake mix that was 18.25 oz. But you have to add oil to the purchased cake mix so the weights are not really equivalent. I used your version without the cake flour (I don’t keep that on hand either) and after the mix was prepared I beat it up with one egg and half the water. After it was mixed it didn’t look like as much batter as you get with a cake mix. but I went ahead and poured it into a 13 x 9 pan and put it in the oven. I set my timer for 25 minutes and didn’t check it before that. It was definitely done by then. So next time I would check it earlier. But next time I would probably try the whole recipe because the half recipe turned out to be a rather shallow cake: only 3/4 inches deep. The flavor and texture are satisfactory though. Now the question is, should I only use half the liquid to make the tres leches cake??? Not sure whether I will just eat this cake as is, or forge ahead with the tres leches.
Darlene – thanks for your extensive review of this recipe. If I were you, I’d only use half the tres leches liquid for the cake. That way it isn’t too soggy.
I’m wondering if you could make this lemon-flavored. I make a lemon-blueberry bar that calls for a lemon cake mix and I would love to be able to make my own mix.
Hi Andrea, I’m not sure as I’ve never tried it. You might try adding lemon zest and a bit of lemon juice for that flavor.
Thanks for doing all the experimenting for me. I have one recipe that I LOVE but it calls for yellow cake mix. I haven’t made it in a while because I didn’t want to use the mix. I can’t wait to try this out.
Thank you for the cake mix recipe! I have been trying to eat cleaner – avoiding mystery ingredients in processed foods is a big part of it.
As for your peach cobbler, I’m afraid I have to challenge your healthy rating there. It sounds really yummy, but when you eat it, with the white flour and white sugar and pop you have to just acknowledge it as a cheat.
Lorena – apparently my sarcasm didn’t come through the post really well because I was just teasing on the “healthy” part of that dessert!
Thank you for this recipe.
I’m making a pumpkin crunch cake for Thanksgiving and the recipe calls for a box of yellow cake mix. It also calls for two sticks of butter (cut into pieces to sprinkle over the cake mix). Do i just mix the first 6 ingredients in a food processor and use the butter separately to sprinkle over the cake mix or do I still need to combine another 2 sticks of butter into the yellow cake mix and use another 2 sticks of butter to sprinkle on top, making it a total of 4 stick? yikes!! 4 sticks seems like alot, I’m not complaining. LoL!!
MIsa – you could try and get away with just the 2 sticks. I’m not sure if prepackaged cake mixes already have fat (oil or butter) in them besides what is added separately. I’m sure it will work fine…I mean, 2 sticks is still a lot of butter! I’d say go for less and see how it works out.
I LOVE this cake recipe! It is the only one I ever use now! I have been making it actually without a food processor- I’ve just been using a pastry blender to get the pieces as small as I could and then I just made sure to beat it long enough to blend all the butter into the mix. It’s been turning out just fine! I didn’t have a food processor when I first started making it, so I didn’t write that part down. Now that I have one, it sounds like it would make my life easier and this recipe way faster! Thank you! I am going to try a chocolate one sometime to experiment with- I’ll let you know how it turns out!
I would like to make a bundt cake and just wanted to be sure that I don’t get confused with the correct amount of cake mix to be used. I believe you stated 3-1/2 cups of mix should be used. The bundt pan is a Nordic Anniversay pan that will hold 15 cups so I don’t believe I will have a problem of overflowing.
Cheryl – to make the full recipe, you’ll actually use the full amount of mix that the recipe produces. I’ve never made it in a bundt pan but it sounds like the 15-cup pan should be big enough.
Could you substitute whole wheat pastry flour for the flour and succanat for the sugar? I am asking, but I am going to try it if I don’t find a whole wheat cake mix recipe online. I can’t feed my family anything with white flour and regular sugar in it or two of the five go a little crazy (hypoglycemia and aspergers).
Tracy – I’ve never made those substitutions and haven’t baked with succanat before so you’ll probably have to experiment to figure out how the substitutions would work. Good luck – I hope it works out so you can have an easier way around your family’s dietary restrictions!
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