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Doctored Cake Mix is an easy way to make a cake mix extra special. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t get from-scratch flavor from a boxed mix!
I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but I’m officially over winter and wind.
My hands are chapped to the point that I purchased cotton gloves to wear while I sleep. This is merely an effort to keep the ridiculous amount of hand cream that I slather on each night to actually stay on my hands and not on the sheets.
And let me tell ya about the crazy wind gusts that propelled the pillows off my front porch yesterday morning and had them blowing around the neighborhood like tumbleweeds.
I totally panicked because I love those pillows. Eric happened to leave his Nike sandals by the door, so I threw ‘em on – mind you he wears a size 15 – and ran out the front door sans bra (thank goodness for thick sweatshirts) and attempted to run after them.
This is obviously no easy task when you’re wearing sandals the size of small boats.
I eventually chased one into my neighbor’s backyard, which I had to just let go because it blew into the creek. And I’m pretty sure they were having family over for an early breakfast, so I just tried not to look at their windows while spewing swear words and tripping over those dang sandals.
In case you’re wondering, I eventually caught up with the other three pillows.
After that start to Daylight Savings Time Sunday, I needed a cupcake, or three. Plus, I promised Elle we’d bake something she could add sprinkles to.
DOCTORED CAKE MIX RECIPE
So here’s the thing: one of my favorite cake recipes starts with a boxed cake mix.
Gasp!
I’ll be the first to tell you that baking a cake from scratch can be an incredibly fun and cathartic experience. But I also think we should use the tools and ingredients that give you the results you want.
I’ve yet to be able to recreate the perfection of this Doctored Cake Mix on my own (not that I don’t keep trying). If that means a fabulous cupcake in less time, then give yourself a break and go for it.
Another reason that Doctored Up Cake Mix is one of my go-to recipes is because it’s pretty much foolproof.
Toss everything into a large mixing bowl, mix until it’s combined and it comes out perfect every single time. This makes Doctored Cake Mix a great recipe for baking newbies and kids alike.
ADDING PUDDING TO CAKE MIX
There are many reasons to adore this Doctored Cake Mix and number one on that list is that it’s super moist.
I love using this recipe when I have to make cupcakes a day or so in advance because I know that they’ll still taste perfectly fresh – even after being stored for 24 hours.
Two ingredients make Doctored Cake Mix super moist: pudding mix and sour cream.
Adding pudding to cake mix is always a great way to make your cake – or any baked goods – stay soft. It’s the secret to my Chocolate Chip Pudding Cookies, for example.
Sour cream also keeps the Doctored Cake Mix moist and lends a little bit of “tang” to the recipe. It’s similar to using buttermilk in a recipe!
DOCTORED CHOCOLATE CAKE MIX
I think my favorite version of Doctored Cake Mix is for chocolate cake mix. Specifically for devil’s food cake mix.
I like to add instant espresso dissolved in water to help deepen the chocolate flavor. But if you aren’t into coffee, you can always use plain water instead.
The batter for Doctored Cake Mix is really thick, so it’s a great consistency for suspending little surprises inside cupcakes. You already know I’m kind of obsessed with nestling candy into my cupcakes, and this ultra thick batter is ideal for that technique.
Just imagine adding little peanut butter cups to the center of your chocolate cupcakes and topping them with peanut butter buttercream.
If you want to use this Doctored Cake Mix recipe for a vanilla or other flavor of cake mix, you definitely can! Just use an appropriate pudding mix flavor and omit the espresso granules, just using plain water.
HOW TO USE DOCTORED CAKE MIX
I love using Doctored Cake Mix to make lots of different types of recipes. You really can get creative with all kinds of flavors and mix-ins!
I most often use my Doctored Cake Mix trick with chocolate cake mix, but it works great for making Coconut Cupcakes from a vanilla cake mix.
This method is also great for incorporating your favorite candy bars or seasonal candy. Check out Take 5 Cupcakes, Cadbury Creme Egg Cupcakes, Heath Bar Cupcakes, or Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.
And lest you think that you can only use Doctored Cake Mix to make cupcakes, I also love using it to make layer cakes! My Oreo Cake is a great example.
I can promise that Doctored Cake Mix will become your new favorite trick for baking up perfect cakes every time. The fact that they started with a mix will be our little secret.
Doctored Cake Mix
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 box devil’s food cake mix 15.25 ounces (see note below)
- 1 box instant chocolate pudding mix 3.4 ounces
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso granules dissolved in 1/2 cup warm water see note below
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat together the cake and pudding mixes, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and espresso water mixture. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined.
- Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; about 3 tablespoons of batter per well.
- Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 10 minutes.
- Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, top with your favorite buttercream recipe.
For Bundt Cakes:
- Pour the batter into a well-greased, 12-cup bundt cake pan.
- Bake at 350°F for approximately 50 to 55 minutes, or until top is springy to the touch and a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- If desired, drizzle the cooled cake with your favorite recipe for chocolate ganache.
For Layer Cakes:
- Pour batter evenly between 2 greased 9-inch cake pans.
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Frost cooled cake with your favorite buttercream recipe.
Notes
- My favorite Devil's Food Cake is Betty Crocker - Pudding in the mix.
- If you don't have instant espresso granules, you can sub in 1/2 cup warm coffee.
- The espresso in this recipe really just deepens the chocolate flavor, but if you aren't into the whole coffee thing, just use 1/2 cup warm water.
- If you are using a different flavor of cake mix and pudding, simply omit the espresso granules and simply use 1/2 cup warm water.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I make the old recipe all the time with the 15 oz mix and people rave about it! I’m hesitant to change anything!
Janelle-
Stick with what works for you! Have a fantastic day and thank you so much for following MBA!
-Jamie
Hi Janelle
You used to old recipe with a 15.25 oz box cake mix and the 5.9 pudding mix and the chocolate chips? That’s what I was going to do today, but I don’t want to mess it up!
Thanks for doing this. I have been noodling around with the original one, but it is good to have the update. And congratulations on the baby!
Thanks for the new post and responding to my original! I neglected to mention that even though the cupcakes collapsed in the old recipe the flavor was so far superior to that of a regular boxed cake mix. So I’m hoping this revised one does the trick. Thank you!
These look scrummy :)
Although I consider myself a “scratch” baker, I do use cake mixes when I make cake balls and gooey butter cakes. I became so annoyed by the change in mix sizing that I boycotted Betty Crocker and switched to Duncan Hines as theirs are still the original size (I think).
Great improvements to the cake mix cakes. I rarely use them now, but I would just replace the water with whole milk and butter for the oil, and maybe a little extra vanilla. I have made other flavors using white, yellow or vanilla cake mixes, such as banana and pumpkin spice by using pureed fruit/veggies and adding spices. It is a shame some boxed mixes have reduced in weight, how many cupcakes can one make out of a box now?! I’d make 24 perfect cupcakes with 1 boxed mix.
Connie, I love messing around with them too. They’re such a versatile ingredient! The new box mixes still make 24 cupcakes. Somehow they’ve managed to change the structure so that they need less product. I don’t notice a texture change, so not sure how they did it.
When I’ve made your doctored up cake mix in the past, my cakes always fall when I take them out of the oven. Any suggestions you can offer to help me out here? Thank you!
Karen, most of the time falling cakes are due to a few different possibilities:
– overmixing: too much air in the batter will cause the cake to rise quickly, and then fall because it isn’t fully cooked (which would hold up the structure)
– oven temperature: you should use a separate oven thermometer to make sure your oven isn’t running hot or colder than the temperature you’ve set it to. Many ovens do not run correctly. For example, mine runs about 10 degrees hotter than what I set the temperature setting at. My oven says it’s 350°F, the thermometer inside tells me it’s actually 360°F. A too-hot oven can also cause a cake to rise too fast.
– peeking: as tempting as it is, do your best not to open the oven at all while the cake bakes. This was a hard lesson for me to learn!
I hope that will help.
-Jamie
Karen & Jamie,
I know that altitude caused a falling cake for me. I increased my oven temp by 25 degrees (Fahrenheit), and decrease the oil by 1/4 cup. That seemed to do the trick. Just a suggestion for any other mountain dwellers.
Thanks for your suggestions.
-Jamie
I absolutely love your pumpkin spice cupcakes made with cake mix and pudding. Should that recipe be adjusted also?
Hi Janet,
I would definitely say so, unless you can find the bigger box size.
-Jamie
your adjusted recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of liquid, and the old one had 2 cups including the pumpkin. I just finished making them and the batter seems very stiff which I don’t remember from the past. Would you mind sending the adjustments you’d make to the pumpkin spice cupcakes? I have served these at the last 4 large parties and they get raves every time.
Janet-
The recipe is always quite stiff – that’s what I love about it. There is no pumpkin in this recipe, nor the original Cake Mix recipe that I posted. The pumpkin spice recipe continues to perform well (per reader feedback) without any alterations. I hope this helps – thanks so much for stopping by!
-Jamie
I made the pumpkin cupcakes last week. Only alteration was adding in 3 TBS flour to make up for the ounce reduction in the cake mix. Came out perfect!! Topped with a maple cream cheese swiss meringue buttercream. Heavenly!
I’m glad the recipe was a success for you! Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
Can you take down the original post? I just made the cake using your old post because I didn’t see this one! Then I clicked on the homepage and saw this one :(
ie I didn’t notice the package was 15oz and used the old recipe for 18oz and though I haven’t tried it yet the cake looks much heavier and not moist and light
E G,
Sadly, this is something that’s been happening with all sorts of store bought ingredients, not just cake mix. Even my peanut butter is smaller in volume! The jar is the same size, but they put a dimple in the bottom of the jar to take up space where peanut butter used to go. I hope that the cake still tastes good for you, but if not, please give this updated recipe a try.
-Jamie
EG-
The original post has now been update with a link to the new post. Thanks for the suggestion.
-Jamie
Do you have a similar recipe for a white cupcake? i loved this choc recipe but the white one i got off internet was TOO sweet.
You might like these Vanilla Bean Cupcakes https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/vanilla-bean-cupcakes-recipe/ Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I used this recipe for white cupcakes. I used white chocolate pudding mix from Hershey’s. They came out scrumptious and have had repeated requests for more!
Christine-
I’m so glad the recipe was a success for you. Thanks for stopping by.
-Jamie
I was killing time in a bookstore today and spent a good portion of it reading The Cake Mix doctor – have always been obsessed with these kinds of recipes!