Use Boxed Cake Mix For Even Faster Quick Breads — Here's How

Quick breads are known for their convenience. All you need to do is whip up the batter and bake the treat in a loaf pan — no delicate cake layers, fillings, or frostings required. However, to make even faster quick breads, you can employ a boxed cake mix for the job. Simply transfer the batter to a greased or parchment paper-lined loaf pan and add on ample bake time, since quick breads usually take about 45 to 60 minutes at around 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Among the many creative ways to use boxed cake mix, using it to make quick bread saves you the time of gathering and weighing the batter's ingredients. You can simply mix up a boxed cake mix, customize it with your favorite add-ins, and bake it in a loaf pan. Just like you can make Jessica Morone's banana cinnamon roll pound cake recipe in a loaf pan and call it banana bread, the same technique can apply to a variety of your favorite store-bought cake mixes too. 

When transforming boxed cake mix into a quick bread, a successful treat is as much about creativity as it is convenience. The switch is seamless in some case, and in others in requires more thinking out of the box (or boxed mix, that is). Take for instance, easy swaps like adding blueberries to white or yellow cake mix to make blueberry quick bread. Or you can turn chocolate cake into a chocolate breakfast bread by simply baking it in a loaf pan.

However, you can also substitute and customize your cake mix to make for an even more unique treat. Want banana bread in a fraction of the time, no weighing ingredients necessary? Mash up a few ripe, mashed bananas and add them to the cake mix batter, along with a bit of sour cream for good measure. For an easy yet delicious version of Kesenia Prints' three-ingredient pumpkin bread recipe, add canned, pureed pumpkin to yellow or spiced cake mix, then bake the batter in a loaf pan. 

For even more flavor and textural intrigue, add dark chocolate chips, chopped walnuts, or warm spices like cinnamon and nutmeg to the mix. You can also add extracts to your favorite cake mix and bake it up as a quick bread. Adding a dash of almond extract and lemon juice to white cake mix batter will make for a truly satisfying and unique take on a breakfast bread or sliceable snack, perfect for whenever your sweet treat craving strikes.