Wake Up The Taste Of Bland Boxed Cake With A Flavorful Addition

Boxed cake makes baking easy peasy, and for that we love it. But there's no denying that sometimes this very convenient product can be bland and uninspiring. The good news is that you can add a boost of flavor to your boxed cake simply by using a splash of espresso.

This strong-tasting coffee style brings in some bitterness and strong earthy tones to any recipe. When boxed batter simply isn't making the cut, a bit of espresso can make it wake up. All you have to do is add a bit of espresso to the batter before mixing it along with the other ingredients. You can brew an espresso and pour it into the mix, but if you're not sure about the measurements, use instant espresso powder instead. Instant coffee is great for baking, and this way you'll get the flavor boost without risking making your cake too wet.

Espresso — and other coffee types — is especially good for chocolate cake. Coffee brings out chocolate's rich, bitter notes, which sometimes can get overpowered by the sweet ingredients in a cake. Enhancing the not-sweet side of chocolate makes for a more interesting dessert, as it provides contrasting flavors rather than just having a single flavor profile — a lack of complexity is the best way to guarantee something is bland. The best part is that you likely already have espresso in your kitchen. If not, it's an ingredient that you can easily get at pretty much any grocery store around the country.

Once you've mastered the art of baking cake with espresso, you might want to experiment with adding even more flavor to the mix. You can start with liquors that famously pair well with coffee, like Kahlua and dark rum. For this, you'll want to make sure you use just a splash, so you can get the flavor without ending up with soggy batter. Alternatively, you can substitute some of the water measurements for liquor and brewed espresso.

On the other hand, if you're not a huge fan of coffee flavored anything, there are plenty of alternatives you can use to make boxed cake better. For instance, almost any cake can be upgraded with maple syrup. This ingredient works particularly well with plain cakes like yellow or white cake, but it also pairs beautifully with spice and carrot cake, which often use nutmeg, cinnamon and other spices. For those who want something more subtle, tea is another great cake batter addition, and one that home cooks often overlook. Chai, Earl Grey, and matcha are types of teas that make for subtle, yet delicious flavors.

Experimenting is half the fun in cooking, so don't be afraid to try out other ingredients. But at least with espresso (and the other options we've given) you are guaranteed to never have to eat a piece of bland box cake again.