Cake Mix Gets 10X More Flavor And Better Texture When You Add One Thing From Your Pantry

Every home baker knows boxed cake mix is a miracle must-have. It saves time and money you'd otherwise spend shopping for various ingredients. But there's another benefit to this cake-mix convenience you might be overlooking: With all the time you save using it, you can spend just a minute or so upgrading it by adding your own creative twist. A mere 30-second step can seriously boost cake mix in both flavor and texture: nut butter. 

It couldn't be simpler. For a box of cake mix, you want to use between ½ and one cup of nut butter  – the difference depends on how many other wet ingredients you're using and how nut-butter-y you want the cake. When you're combining your mix and the wet ingredients you need to add, like vegetable oil, eggs, and water, butter, or milk, just also add that nut butter and mix to combine. Don't worry if it's not super smooth; the nut butter can create some lumps, but as long as the batter is well-incorporated, you're good to bake as usual. 

The finished cake will have the actual flavor of the nut butter, which instantly elevates it with the complexity of a deeper, warmer sweetness as well as some earthiness and a hint of saltiness. Plus, the nut butter enhances the moistness of the crumb and adds overall richness.

You can play with the exact flavor profile of your cake — and accommodate dietary restrictions — by switching up nut butters. No matter what you use, you'll get that richer texture, but you can tap into subtle flavor differences. Peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter, pecan butter, walnut butter, macademia nut butter, hazelnut butter, pistachio butter — the way to choose the best nut butter is to consider the other elements of your cake and the overall flavors you want to achieve. 

Peanut butter is a classic pairing with chocolate and works just as well with vanilla. Macademia nut butter is lighter and would be dreamy with vanilla, lemon, passion fruit, strawberry, banana, or raspberry. Pecan or walnut butter would bring warmth and depth to a spiced cake, while pistachio butter would sing with white chocolate, lemon, or floral flavors. Incorporating these nut butters will become one of your go-to simple steps for upgrading boxed cake mix — people won't believe your bake came from a box at all.

Keep in mind that depending on what nut butter you use, you may want to tweak the other wet ingredients you're using. Natural nut butters can contribute more of their own oils, so instead of just adding them, you may want to make a swap, like half a cup of butter for half a cup of nut butter. From there, you can also try incorporating nut butter into frostings, too — and don't forget to garnish with chopped nuts for crunch.