How to Make Cake Mix

Last Updated: March 29, 2019 References

A cake mix is just the dry ingredients needed to bake a cake already mixed and stored for later. Before you go buy a cake mix at the store, take 10 minutes and mix your own! Just store it away for when you need to make a homemade cake later.

Ingredients

Basic Cake Mix

2 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar

Freezable Basic Cake Mix

2 cups granulated sugar
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1½ cups cake flour
½ cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter in ½ inch cubes
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Spice Cake Mix

2 cups all purpose flour
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of all spice

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:
Preparing a Basic Cake Mix

1
Sift dry ingredients. Place the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into a sifter or a strainer. Sift into a bowl, eliminating any clumps.
- Sifting helps lighten the flour from where it's been packed down. It also helps to mix the dry ingredients together well.^{[1]
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- You can also use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour in this recipe.
- For a chocolate cake, add a cup of unsweetened cocoa powder with the other dry ingredients.^{[2]
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2
Mix in sugar. Stir in the the sugar a little bit at the time. Pour a little into the bowl, mix together, then pour some more.^{[3]
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- You can adjust the amount of sugar based on preference.
- At this point, an alternate step can be added. You can mix shortening into the mix until small crumbs form.^{[4]
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3
Store in an airtight container. Place your mix in an airtight container. A jar works really well for this. The cake mix should last for at least 6 months this way.
- If you add the shortening to your mix, store it in a sealed plastic bag at room temperature.^{[5]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:
Preparing the Freezable Basic Cake Mix

1
Combine dry ingredients. In a food processor, combine flours, sugar, milk powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix for 15 seconds.^{[6]
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- If you want to make a chocolate cake, add 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder into the food processor.
2
Add butter and vanilla. After processing the dry ingredients, add the butter and vanilla. Lightly toss the butter with a fork until they are coated with the ingredients. Pulse everything together until they look like very fine crumbs.^{[7]
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3
Store in the freezer. If you don't want to use it right away, store the mixture. Place it in an airtight freezer bag or an airtight container and then store it in the freezer. This mixture needs to be frozen because it includes the wet ingredients (butter and vanilla extract), which will go bad if not frozen.
- You can store this mixture in the freezer for up to 2 months.^{[8]
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- When you get ready to use the recipe, mix the mixture with 1 1/4 cups of warm water and 2 room temperature eggs for about two minutes. Then place in a pan.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 4:
Preparing a Spice Cake Mix

1
Sift dry ingredients. Place the all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into a sifter. Sift into a bowl, eliminating any clumps.
2
Mix in sugar. Stir in the the sugar a little bit at the time. Pour a little into the bowl, mix together, then pour some more.^{[10]
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- You can adjust the amount of sugar based on preference. Some people prefer less sugar with a spice cake.
3
Mix in the spices. After mixing together the other dry ingredients, mix in the cinnamon, clove, and all spice. Make sure to combine the ingredients well so the spices are evenly distributed throughout the mixture.^{[11]
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- You can adjust the amount of spices based on your taste.
4
Store in an airtight container. Place your mix in an airtight container. A jar works really well for this. The cake mix should last for at least 6 months this way.

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Method 4

Method 4 of 4:
Using the Cake Mix

1
Label the container. Before placing the mix in the cabinet, make sure to label it. You may also want to add a sticker or tag on the jar that lists what specific wet ingredients are needed to make the cake.
2
Add wet ingredients. When you get ready to bake the cake, add the wet ingredients. This usually includes eggs, milk, butter, and vanilla extract.^{[12]
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- If you added shortening to your mix, don't add butter when you include the wet ingredients.^{[13]
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3
Give cake mix as gifts. A cute, DIY gift option is to give homemade cake mixes away as gifts. Add walnuts or chocolate chips to the mix for some extra, fun additions.
- Place fabric over the top of the jar lid before twisting the lid on.
- Tie ribbon around the neck of the jar.
- Place a decorative sticker and neatly write the name of the mix on the side.
- Attach a decorative tag to the neck that includes a list of ingredients in the cake mix, the wet ingredients it needs, and basic tips on how to bake the cake.^{[14]
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