Upgrade Boxed Cake Mix With An Easy And Fresh Ingredient

When you want a slice of homemade cake, but don't have enough time or ingredients to make your own, boxed cake mix can help you create a worthwhile alternative. While there are several ingredients that will take your boxed cake mix to another level – such as vanilla extract, spices, and instant coffee — try incorporating fresh berries for a vibrant dessert with bright flavor. While there are countless homemade cake recipes that include fresh fruit, such as light and airy Chantilly cake with berries, adding fruit to boxed cake proves to be extra convenient and gives the dessert a more refreshing flavor.

To follow the simplest route, prepare the cake mix as directed and then combine the berries with a bit of flour before folding the fruit directly into the batter. The added flour will help prevent berries from sinking to the bottom of your cake pan. Alternatively, bulk up prepared batter with a denser dairy product like sour cream to make it thicker, which keeps berries evenly suspended without the addition of flour.

To any standard cake mix, prepare as directed, but omit the water and add one cup of sour cream, some lemon juice and zest, and a small amount of sugar. The inclusion of sour cream and citrus juice amplifies their refreshing taste. Finish by folding in strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and so on. And mixing the fruit into the batter isn't the only way to make a noteworthy berry-infused boxed cake.

The one pitfall here is that preparing cake with fresh berries can sometimes lead to inconsistencies regarding the texture. If you're worried about the impact, you can make a berry upside-down cake. Just make the same caramel-based topping you would use to craft a banana upside-down cake, and add strawberries or blueberries instead. You can also use berries to make a classic dump cake. Pour berries, sugar, and citrus juice into a standard 9 by 12-inch pan, then cover with dry cake mix and top with melted butter. This tasty dessert requires no stirring, and the end result has a consistency similar to a simple fruit crumble.

If you have your heart set on making a delicate two-layer cake, instead of adding berries directly to the batter, save them to make a delicious filling or frosting. Without the addition of moisture-rich berries, thinner cake layers are easier to remove from pans and have a better chance of turning out perfectly uniform. 

You can add chopped berries to upgrade canned frosting, or make your own homemade frosting by combining pureed berries, room-temperature butter, and powdered sugar. As a last-minute dressing-up, sprinkle chopped berries between your cake layers and along the top of your prepared two-layer treat. Fortunately, you have endless options when it comes to using berries to enhance your next boxed cake.