Are you scared to make a cake from scratch? Do you want to start cake decorating but do not have a good cake recipe? I have that foolproof cake for you!
When baking you need the right balance between time and patience, giving yourself the time to make your recipe correctly and the patience to create something tasty.
Baking can also be a difficult science but it doesn’t have to be, cake especially can be hard to make without a recipe. One wrong measurement or missing ingredient can ruin a whole cake. You’ll not only be wasting your time but also your patience might start to wear thin.
Trust me I have had some big-time mistakes and some straight fails. But that’s okay it takes mistakes and failures to come up with great solutions.
I have an easy solution that will guarantee a perfect cake every time.
The cake mixes you see at any grocery store have it right and if it isn’t broke don’t fix it. Those companies have worked hard to create a product that time and time again will turn out a great cake.
So using a prepared cake mix and adding to it, you can fool your friends and family the next time you make this for them. By taking a boxed cake mix and combining it with a vanilla pound cake recipe you get the perfectly moist cake you also strive for and keep the cost low.
The combination of box cake mix and vanilla pound cake is a tasty yet sturdy cake. You can stack four layers no problem. You can also use this recipe for carved cakes and then you don’t have to worry about it crumbling.
The flavor can easily be changed by adding lemon zest and fresh juice for a tart lemon cake or add extra vanilla beans for a stronger flavor. Also, use a chocolate cake mix and add cocoa powder to the vanilla pound cake for a rich chocolaty taste. So much you can do from this one recipe.
So let’s make some cake!
- In a stand mixer, place the unsalted room temperature butter inside the bowl and by using the paddle mix the butter until smooth and creamy. Then add the sugar, mix again until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Now add the oil from the cake mix recipe.
- Slowly add in all the eggs from the pound cake and the cake mix (it should be around 7-8 eggs depending on the cake mix). Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl every few eggs to make sure everything is getting incorporated.
- At this point, the batter will look broken and weird and you are probably thinking something went wrong no that’s okay, I promise it will look better after the next step!
- Now add the all-purpose flour and the cake mix dry ingredients to the mixer, it will become thick but still creamy. To loosen the batters up slightly add the water (or milk is fine too) from the cake mix. Your goal at this time is just to mix the two recipes together to create a combined batter. Once you don’t see any visible flour or dry ingredients turn off the mixer and you are done.
- This is the point when you do your last scrape down to add whatever flavor you want to the cake. This batter is really forgiving and will be fine.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the prepared pans either sprayed down and then lined with parchment paper or shortening rubbed and coated in flour. I personally always line the bottom of the cake pans so when I flip the cake out of the pan it’s easier to handle with paper underneath.
- Bake according to the cake mix directions check the center of the cake with a toothpick and once it comes out clean then it’s done. Let cool slightly so you can flip the cake out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. This will prevent the cake from drying out.
- Either wrapping plastic to freeze for the next time you want cake and can decorate it or buttercream and decorate it once it’s completely cooled.
Learn How to Make Your Very Own Magical Unicorn Cake!
This recipe is a great standard in my book. This removes the questions and the difficulty by making it semi-homemade. I can make cakes, yummy cupcakes and even cake pops from the trimmings of the cake.
The real power though is the ability to add any flavor you want. Maybe make a margarita cake in the summer with fresh lime juice and zest and add some tequila to the buttercream for a fun cocktail cake or add cinnamon and a little cayenne pepper to chocolate cake mix for a winter favorite.
By using his recipe you not only raise your success rate but you can also rest easy knowing you have a quick cake recipe in your back pocket.
Happy Baking!
The Best Foolproof Vanilla Cake
Ingredients
Vanilla Pound Cake
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Vanilla Boxed Cake Mix
- 1 box vanilla cake mix
Instructions
- Begin by combining the all-purpose flour, salt and boxed cake mix together. Sift them together to get rid of any lumps. (You can also use a whisk, that works just as well).
- In a stand mixer, place the unsalted room temperature butter inside the bowl and by using the paddle mix the butter until smooth and creamy.
- Then add the sugar, mix again until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Now add the oil from the cake mix recipe.
- Slowly add in all the eggs from the pound cake and the cake mix (it should be around 7-8 eggs depending on the cake mix). Then add the vanilla extract.
- Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl every few eggs to make sure everything is getting incorporated. At this point the batter will look broken and weird and you are probably thinking something went wrong no that’s okay, I promise it will look better after the next step!
- Now add the all-purpose flour, salt and the cake mix (dry ingredients) to the mixer, it will become thick but still creamy.
- Next, slowly add the water (or milk is fine too) from the cake mix. Your goal at this time is just to mix the two recipes together to create a combined batter. Once you don’t see any visible dry ingredients turn off the mixer and you are done!
- This is the point when you do your last scrape down the sides of the bowl including the bottom of the bowl (get in there). This batter is really forgiving and will be fine.
- Pour or scoop the batter into the prepared pans either sprayed down and then lined with parchment paper or shortening rubbed and coated in flour. (I personally always line the bottom of the cake pans so when I flip the cake out of the pan it’s easier to handle with paper underneath).
- Bake according to the cake mix directions (typically 20-25 minutes depending on the size of the cake pan), check the center of the cake with a toothpick and once it comes out clean then it’s done.
- Let cool slightly so you can flip the cake out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. This will prevent the cake from drying out.
- Either wrapping plastic to freeze for the next time you want cake and can decorate it or buttercream and decorate it once it’s completely cooled. Even if you are decorating the same day as you baked the cake, still freeze the cake for 2 hours because it is so easy to frost a cold cake. Now you can start decorating!
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Kelly says
Could this work on chocolate cake mix?
Katie says
Yes you can absolutely make this with chocolate cake mix. Just add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder to the pound cake recipe to make it richer chocolate cake!!!
Kelly says
This has become my favorite recipe to use…..do you know how many cups of batter it ends up being?
Katie says
Hi Kelly!
That’s so awesome! I seriously use this for everything cake and it’s so good! This recipe I would say is approximately 10-12 cups of batter.
Thank you for reading!
Best Wishes,
Katie
Jordan says
Hi! Looking forward to making this for my daughter’s first Birthday… Question! Does the recipe you provided make 1 cake or (3) 9in round cake pans? Also, can you bake all 3 cakes at once or only 1 at a time? How much batter should go into each pan?
Sorry, I am a newb to this!!!
Thanks!
Katie says
Hi Jordan!
No worries, I love answering cake questions! This recipe is perfect for a newbie! This recipe makes enough cake for 1 (9″) round cake. I make my cakes with 3 layers. So the assembly goes as follows: cake layer, frosting layer, cake layer, frosting layer, cake layer. You can totally bake all 3 cake layers in your oven at one time as long as you have 3 separate pans. I generally fill each cake pan with batter an 1 1/2″ deep or it some out to 4 – 4 1/2 cups per pan roughly. Once the cakes are baked, let them cook completely and then slice the dome off the top so each cake layer is flat and even, this is how you get a straight and even cake. I save the cake I cut off and use it for cake pop mix which I keep in my freeze until I need it! Please let me know if you have any other questions! Thank you for reading!
xo, Katie
Ashley says
Would this be enough for 3 6in cakes?
Katie says
Hi Ashley!
First of all thank you for reading! Second yes this recipe makes plenty for 3-6″ cake layers. Which makes one tall 6″ cake. Let me know if you need anything else!
xo, Katie
Sherry Guthrie says
Katie, how can I make this using Vanilla bean paste?
Katie says
Hi Sherry! You can use the same amount of vanilla bean paste as vanilla extract. If you want a really vanilla flavored cake you can add 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean paste to the vanilla extract. It’ll be a true vanilla flavor. Thank you for your question!