How to turn plain packet cake mix into a tastier homemade dessert

No one can deny the convenience of packet cake mix — it’s fast, reliable and won’t cost you more than three bucks. But, when it comes to cake, nothing beats homemade and packet cake mix often misses the mark when it comes to taste. The good news is, we’ve found a way you can wow your guests without making a cake from scratch.

One savvy mum, who runs the Facebook page ‘The Pantry Mama’, has made headlines across the world after sharing a list of simple tips that transform a packet mix cake to a tastier homemade version — and the best part is, no one will even notice! “Got a packet cake mix in the pantry — try these tips,” she captioned the post.

To get started, the mum recommends adding two extra eggs to the mix. The additional eggs add more fat to the batter, helping to create a sweeter, moister cake.

While most packet cake mixes call for oil, the woman advises replacing oil with melted butter and doubling the amount instead. Why? Butter gives lots of flavour and it will also give the cake a firmer, denser texture. She also recommends replacing the water with an equal amount of milk for extra creaminess. Her last tip is to mix and bake according to package directions — and voila, you’ve got yourself a cheat’s homemade cake!

The group’s other followers praised the mum for her tips, with one person commenting: “I always replace water with milk and oil with butter. But doubling the eggs and butter, I’ve never done! I’ll try that for sure!!! Yummm!” Another person recommended adding in a few drops of vanilla essense. While a third wrote: “Flavoured milks work great in these too and some juices.” Another group member agreed, writing: “Yes! Vanilla cake mix with orange juice and a little zest.”

And if you want your cake to last a little longer, Starts at 60 recently shared a nifty trick for preventing cake and other baked goods from getting stale. All you need to do is place a couple of bread slices around the open parts of the cake where you last cut into it. Along with the bread, you’ll need a couple of toothpicks too to hold the bread slices in place. The bread will go stale and hard, but the cake will stay nice and soft. Just be sure to remove the bread slices and toothpicks before serving. And if you need to save the cake more than one, just use new slices of bread each time.