Ann Reardon

10 amazing things you can do with a box of cake mix

 

That box of cake mix sitting in the cupboard can be put to far more uses than you think. The smartie cookies have become a super quick and easy favorite in our household. They are perfect when friends drop in unannounced. Do you have your own cake mix hacks? Let me know your recipe suggestions in the comments.

 

Cake Mix Chocolate Smartie Cookies

makes 12 large yummy cookies
10 best cake mix cookies recipes

1 box white wings rich chocolate cake mix
125g (4.41 ounces) or 1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 egg
smarties or m&m’s to decorate

Preheat the oven to 180C (356 degrees Fahrenheit)
Put the butter into a bowl and microwave it until it is melted. Then add in your egg, packet of cake mix and frosting mix from the box. Mix together until it form as a really thick paste.

Put spoonfuls of mixture onto a lined baking tray. Using the palm of your hand, flatten each cookie slightly and decorate them with lots of smarties.
 

Perfect Creamy Red Velvet Baked Cheesecake

red velvet cheesecake recipe
750g (26.46 ounces) cream cheese
2 eggs plus one egg yolk
15g (0.53 ounces) or 5 tsp flour
25mL (0.85 fluid ounces) or 5 tsp cream
60g (2.12 ounces) or 1/4 cup butter
1 box red velvet cupcake mix

Preheat the oven to 160C (320 degrees Fahrenheit)
Place the cream cheese, frosting mix, eggs, flour and cream into a bowl and beat until smooth.

Melt the butter and combine with the red velvet cake mix. Tip into a lined, loose-based tin. Then use the back of a spoon to spread it out and push it down to make the base.

Pour the creamy cheesecake mixture on top and spread it out.

Wrap the outside of the tin with foil so no water can get in. Then place into a water bath and bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until it no longer jiggles when you shake the side of the tin.
Let it cool before taking it out of the tin and serving.
 

A cake you can make if you’re camping

10 best cake mix recipes camoing
a box of chocolate cake mix
300mL (10.14 fluid ounces) can of soft drink

Tip the cake mix into a tin and add half a can of soft drink and stir together.
If you’re at home, pour it into a cake tin and bake in the oven. If you’re cooking on an open fire, follow the directions on the video – allow about 40 minutes to cook.

If you don’t have soft drink you can use a tin of fruit instead.

Once baked, make the frosting using a small amount of the soft drink and pour over the top.
 

Tie Dyed Cake

colorful cake
one box vanilla cake mix
various gel food coloring

Preheat the oven to 180C (356 degrees Fahrenheit)
Mix the cake mix according to the directions on the packet.

Place 1 cup of cake mixture into three bowls and add the coloring of your choice. Boxed cake mix is best for these sorts of recipes because it can handle being over-mixed while you are adding the colors. Pour the mixture into a cake tin, starting with half to two thirds of one colour, then the next just pouring right into the center each time. Bake that in the oven and once it is cooled cover it in frosting.
 

Cake Mix Cinnamon Rolls

cake mix recipes
520g (18.34 ounces) 3 1/4 cups flour
450mL (15.22 fluid ounces) or 1 3/4 cups water
1 packet vanilla cake mix with frosting
50g (1.76 ounces) or 1/4 cup oil
3 tsp yeast

Place the oil, water, flour, yeast and packet of vanilla cake mix into a bowl. Mix and then knead until elastic. Cover and leave in a warm place to rise. If you have a bread machine you can just place these ingredients into the machine and put it onto the dough setting.

Once the mix has risen, punch it down, tip it onto some baking paper and roll it out into a rectangle. Brush the dough with melted butter and sprinkle it generously with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Starting at one edge roll it up to make a long snake. Slice sections of the dough about 3 fingers wide and place them upright into the tin. Leave the dough in a warm place to rise.

Bake in the oven until golden and the base of the tin sounds hollow when you tap it.

Take your frosting mix and add to it just enough water to make it liquid but still thick. Drizzle it generously over the top of your cinnamon rolls. Serve warm.
 

Funnel Cakes Cake Mix Recipe

10 best cake mix recipes ann reardon
1 packet of vanilla cake mix
160g (5.64 ounces) or 1 cup of extra flour
1 egg
water

Place the flour, egg and cake mix into a bowl with enough water to make a thick paste.

Pipe your mixture onto a baking tray, spray with cooking oil and bake until they are golden.

Serve with your favourite topping.
 

Cake Mix Caramel Apple Pudding

caramel apple pudding cake mix recipe
1 box of cake mix made according to the directions on the packet
60g (2.12 ounces) or 1/4 cup butter
232g (8.18 ounces) or 1 cup brown sugar
800g (28.22 ounces) tin of unsweetened pie apple
300mL (10.14 fluid ounces) cream

Preheat the oven to 180C (356 degrees Fahrenheit)

Spread the butter onto the bottom of a baking dish and sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Add the tin of unsweetened apples over the top and spread it out.

Pour over the cream and finally the prepared cake mixture on top of that.

Bake for 45 minutes or until golden on top and bubbling hot caramel down below.
 

Cake Mix Scones with Jam and Cream

1 egg
1 packet of vanilla cake mix
160g (5.64 ounces) or 1 cup flour
enough cream to make a thick dough, add just a little at a time

Combine all the ingredients – do not over mix. Gently roll it out and cut circles of mixture. Place on a tray lined with non-stick baking paper and bake for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm with jam and cream.
 

Strawberry Chocolate Poke Cake

10 best cake mix recipes
1 packet rich chocolate cake made as directed on the packet and baked in a tray
the packet of chcolate frosting that came with the cake mix
250mL (8.45 fluid ounces) cream
additional 500mL (16.91 fluid ounces) or 2 cups of cream
2 packets jelly
250g (8.82 ounces) chocolate
30mL (1.01 fluid ounces) milk

 

Up-market Cake Mix

10 best cake mix recipes

A box of chocolate cake mix with what it says you need on the packet
Additional 2 eggs
110g (3.88 ounces) or 1/2 cup sugar
2 Tblspns icing sugar
3 tablespoons raspberry juice
400mL (13.53 fluid ounces) cream
fresh raspberries

Seperate the eggs, both the ones needed for the cake mix and the extras.

Make the cake mix according to the directions on the packet but replace the whole eggs with all the egg yolks.
Split the mixture into two tins and bake at 180C (356 degrees Fahrenheit) until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Whip the egg whites, sugar and icing sugar to stiff peaks.

Fold in 3 tablespoons of raspberry juice, this will give the meringue a raspberry flavour.
Pipe two spirals the size of your cake onto non-stick baking paper. Pipe any left over mixture into individual meringues. Bake at 110C (230 degrees Fahrenheit) for 1 and a half hours.

Once everything has cooled, layer your cake, cream and meringue discs. Top with fresh raspberries and little meringues.
Copyright © 2017 Reardon Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. How To Cook That

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All recipe quantities in the book are in grams, ounces and cups.

64 Comments View Comments

  1. Rating: 4

    What can we use instead of butter?

  2. Rating: 5

    These recipes are too yum. Apple pudding is one of my favorites.

  3. Rating: 5

    I love your recipes!

  4. Rating: 4

    Late to this party but just wanted to say this does not work with Greens brand rich mud cake mix. They did not rise, but expanded into flat chocolate cow pads. At ten minutes in the oven they were wobbly like jelly. At 12 minutes they were fragrant and…. Overcooked. ?

    Still chewing (and crunching and chewing and crunching) my way through because I’m not wasting these.
    Gave a 5 star rating given I didn’t use the same packet and can’t fault Anne for that!!

  5. Rating: 5

    Hi Ann The box cakes where i live don’t come with frosting what can i use as a substitute

  6. Rating: 5

    Hi Ann, for the cinnamon rolls, can you use nonflavavored floss?

  7. Rating: 5

    I made the funnel cakes and they came out somewhat correctly! They taste pretty good too 🙂 thank you the recipe guidance, Ann!

    • Could you please say what temperature you baked them at? The recipe doesn’t mention it.

  8. Rating: 5

    I live in India and do not get White Wings cake mix. We get cake mix in two sizes- 370 gms and 510gms. Which sized cake mix box do I need for your recipes?

    • in her video she uses 510 gram white wings cake mix so i think you can use the 510 grams cake mix

  9. Rating: 5

    Hello mam.. I amMonica from India. your these recipies r too yum. The apple pudding is one of my favourites n one of my most selling items. I wish to try all n be perfect in these. Problem lies that I am a vegetarian n cannot use egg. Pls can u let me know the egg substitute in cookies n scones, perhaps in every recipe. I use egg free cake mix. I will be really thankful for this.

  10. Rating: 5

    Hi
    Can you please tell me how long to leave the cookies in the oven for?

    Thanks

    • Hi Di, oh sorry I filmed this one a while ago and forgot to record the time, set a timer for 10 minutes and check them, then if not done give them another 5 minutes. Or as I usually do stay in the same room as the oven and do something else – when you start to smell the yummy cookie smell they are likely to be done or very close to ready.

  11. Rating: 5

    Hi Ann, I have tried the cake mix cookies recipe and it tasted AMAZING! Just wondering whether i can use the cake mix ONLY without the frosting pack and reduce the amount of butter (perhaps cut it to 100g?) in order to make the cookies less sweet?
    P.S I am using the exact same cake mix as you did:)

    • Hi Athena, Reducing the amount of butter and sugar will make the cookies a different texture. But do experiment – I find splitting the mixture into 4 seperate bowls is best for experimenting – then you can do four mini batches and choose what you like the best ?

  12. Rating: 4.5

    Hi Ann ,
    with the Funnel Cakes Cake Mix Recipe can you do it with chocolate cake mix?
    I love your recipes, I am 14 and I love baking so this website really inspires me to be more creative,
    although I think that food has to taste good before it looks good 😉

  13. Rating: 4

    Just subscribed yesterday, but I notice that you haven’t given any direction for the Strawberry Chocolate Poke Cake

    • Hi Stephen, this recipe has all the instructions you need on the video tutorial.

  14. Rating: 5

    For the cookies can you use vanilla cake mix instead of chocolate cake mix

    • Hi Natasha, You can try it.

  15. do you have to use white wings for all the recipes

    • Hi Savesh, no you don’t but that was what Ann tested as it is commonly available. Results will vary between brands.

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