How To Add Back 3 Ounces To Cake Mix

Over the years, every bit cake mixes have gotten smaller and prices have gotten bigger, I've gotten tons of question on this topic. As someone who bakes primarily with doctored cake mixes, I thought it would exist neat to share my thoughts on Smaller Cake Mixes & How to Suit Cake Mix Recipes.

Originally published Oct 2, 2012. Updated October 2019.

smaller cake mixes in 3 different brands

I have a question for you. Do you broil with cake mixes? If so, take you noticed that companies are putting out smaller cake mixes? At get-go it was Duncan Hines and now Pillsbury. I rarely buy Betty Crocker... I bet they're smaller as well.

If yous've been hanging around hither on Rose Bakes for more five minutes, you lot know that nearly all of my cake recipes outset with a cake mix.

This is not something that bothers me at all... I admire those who bake totally from scratch, but the recipes I use work out great for tiered and carved cakes, they're mostly piece of cake to put together and my customers are always thrilled with the results... and so why not?

But lately, I've been having a bit of trouble. You see, I'm a die-difficult Pillsbury fan. With the exception of my favorite chocolate cake, I always recommend Pillsbury mixes for my recipes. But I practice keep other brands on paw here and there and they'veallchanged!

smaller cake mixes displayed on a counter and cake stand

Smaller Block Mixes & How to Adapt Cake Mix Recipes

However, awhile back, they changed up their mixes. At the very least, the corporeality of mix in the box is smaller (now fifteen.25 oz., down from 18.25 oz). [I also suspect that they've inverse upwardly their formula somehow because the cakes don't always work out as wonderfully equally they did in the past.]

However, despite the changes, I'm choosing to stick with Pillsbury for my baking, and so I needed to find a solution for this modify.

So thought I'd share what I decided to do to adjust my cake mix slightly to keep my concoction (pretty much) the same quantity and texture as before.

To exercise that, I calculate how many cups of batter I need (as usual), then I divide by v (I have always used that approximate - five cups of concoction per cake mix recipe) and thatis the number of boxes I used to buy. However, at present I buy one extra box of Pillsbury cake mix for every 5 boxes I'd normally purchase so I'll have the extra 3 oz.

And then I use my simple kitchen calibration to measure out an extra 3 ounces of block mix and add information technology to each batch that I do... that way I'chiliad getting the same quantity of batter. Then far, this is working for me!

Here'due south an case:

Lets say I'g doing a cake with half dozen" and eight" tiers and the flavor is vanilla cake. Co-ordinate to my chart, I need 10 cups of batter for these pan sizes.
Since i of my cake mix recipes yields approximately 5 cups of concoction. I take 10 and divide by five... that's 2, correct? hehe.
That means I need 2 cakes mixes (according to my original recipe) to become x cups of batter. Just since the mixes are smaller and they yield a little less batter, I get a tertiary box and mensurate out 6 extra ounces of cake mix (three oz. per cake mix).
I simply make the recipe according to my directions... plus the 3 extra ounces of cake mix. Most of the fourth dimension they've been working out great. They do seem to be a little softer... maybe a few more than air pockets than they used to take, but they're all the same working!
So that's my solution on how to adjust cake mix recipes to the new smaller boxes. Make sense?

Is this a hurting? Aye! Only it's easier than other suggestions I've seen. Since nigh of my cakes are chocolate and vanilla, I keep an open purse ready aside simply for measuring out the actress iii oz. of mix.

I put a food clippy thing on it when I'm not baking and if I happen to accept a white and a yellow or butter, I write on the bag with a mark then I don't mix them upwards!

the cake mix doctor cookbook with tips for smaller cake mixes

If you don't like that solution, here's another for ya! The fantastic Anne Byrn (known for her wonderful The Cake Mix Doctor cookbooks) suggests adding flour to the cake mixes. She gives different methods of doing this including by weight or measuring with a tablespoon or measuring cup.

For me, I once measured the extra cake mix and 3 ounces of block mix is approximately half a loving cup. Just for kicks one solar day, I substituted ½ cup of all-purpose flour instead of extra cake mix and that also worked beautifully!

Anyway, here are links to my most common and most used cake-mix recipes for tiered and carved cakes ... I oasis't updated them all with this info, but I hope to soon!

Vanilla Block Recipe
Butter Cake Recipe
Chocolate Cake Recipe
Strawberry Cake Recipe
Cherry-red Velvet Cake Recipe

I'm non lone in this... here and here are other manufactures that address this issue.

So, practise you lot have any questions? Have you had any problems with the smaller mixes? Had you even noticed? If so, I'd beloved to hear other "fixes"!! Please leave any thoughts or questions in the comments!!

Smaller cake mixes on display on a counter and cake stand

Rose Atwater is the founder and cake decorator backside Rose Bakes. She is baker, block decorator, author, wife to Richy and homeschooling mommy to 6 wonderful kiddos! Her piece of work has been featured in American Cake Decorating Magazine, Cakes Decor, Pretty Witty Cakes Mag, Huffington Post and Cake Geek Magazine. Acquire more here...

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