The Simple Oven Adjustment That Elevates Boxed Cake Mix To Bakery Levels

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The easiest way to improve boxed cake mix, apparently, doesn't involve the mix at all. You just have to ignore the package instructions and bake the batter at around 300 to 325 degrees Fahrenheit, instead of the usual 350 degrees. According to bakeware manufacturer Fat Daddio's, baking at a lower temperature allows the batter to cook more evenly, giving you a cake with a bakery-level crumb and more balanced flavors.

The drop in temperature makes a huge difference in the flavor and texture of the cake. In 2015, The Cake Blog conducted an experiment where multiple cakes were baked for the same amount of time at different temperatures. The cake baked at 300 degrees Fahrenheit ended up having a lighter, smoother texture than the others, but had a gummy quality on the surface and lacked the caramelization that gives bakery-level cakes their depth of flavor. The cake baked at 400 degrees, on the other hand, developed caramelized outer layers, but had a drier, rougher crumb. Baking a boxed cake mix at 350 degrees Fahrenheit basically gets you results that are halfway between the two temperatures.

By baking low and slow, you get the best of both temperatures. The Maillard reaction that browns your cake can actually occur at temperatures of 285 degrees Fahrenheit or lower if you bake it for long enough, so all you really need to do is increase the bake time while decreasing the temperature. Going for too long, however, can end up drying things out, which is why it's recommended to bake at a temperature no lower than 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Fat Daddio's recommends increasing the bake time by about 10-20% of what's indicated in the package instructions for every 25-degree Fahrenheit decrease. Baking Duncan Hines Yellow Cake Mix in a 13x9-inch pan, for example, would take anywhere from 25 to 33 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit, as opposed to the 23 to 28 minutes at 350 degrees suggested by the instructions.

Keep in mind, however, that this might take a little bit of trial and error on your end. Outside of temperature, the speed at which the Maillard reaction occurs varies based on the batter's pH levels, moistness, and sugar and protein content. Since different boxed cake mixes use different recipes, there's a chance that some mixes will bake more slowly than others — especially if you plan on adding other ingredients to improve your boxed cake mix.

The best thing you can do for consistent results is to make sure your oven is calibrated properly. An oven's temperature sensors aren't always accurate. America's Test Kitchen explains that this happens because an oven's internal thermometer only reads the temperature where it's installed, and not in the center of the oven where the cake actually bakes. Use a reliable third-party oven thermometer in the center to get the actual reading, and if you find that the temperature's off, follow the calibration instructions in your oven's manual.