Sturdy Doctored Cake-Mix Base

A sturdy, moist doctored boxed-cake base that tastes more homemade and handles stacking and decorating better than a plain boxed mix.

YIELD One enlarged batch. It makes more batter than the plain box directions; use extra batter for cupcakes. INGREDIENTS • 1 standard box cake mix, about 13–15 ounces • 1 cup all-purpose flour • 3/4 cup granulated sugar • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 1 cup full-fat sour cream • 1 cup whole milk • 1/3 cup vegetable oil • 4 large eggs • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract DIRECTIONS 1. Grease the pans and line the bottoms with parchment circles. 2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. This is the preferred starting temperature for Brush, Colorado elevation. 3. Put the cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Stir briefly so they are evenly distributed. 4. Add sour cream, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Do not add the water, oil, or eggs printed on the cake-mix box. 5. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Scrape the bottom and sides. 6. Mix on medium for about 1 1/2–2 minutes. Stop as soon as the batter is smooth; continued whipping adds too much air. 7. Fill pans only about 1/2 to 2/3 full. Put any extra batter into cupcake liners rather than overfilling the pans. 8. Tap pans gently on the counter to release large bubbles. 9. Bake until the center springs back lightly and a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. Begin checking near the time printed on the box; deeper pans may need longer. 10. Cool in the pans for 10–15 minutes, then turn onto cooling racks. 11. Cool completely. Wrap layers in plastic and refrigerate before leveling, filling, or decorating; cold cake is much easier to handle. BEST-RESULT TRICKS • Use full-fat sour cream, not fat-free. • Whole eggs make the cake stronger and easier to handle. • Bake each tier flavor as its own separate batch. • Keep filling layers fairly thin and pipe a firm buttercream dam around each one. Avoid loose pudding or whipped fillings in a stacked cake. • Chill every filled tier before crumb-coating. • The cake’s firmness does not replace supports: the upper tier still needs its own cake board and dowels in the lower tier.

This is the master recipe behind the vanilla-confetti and strawberry versions. The chocolate version uses its own flour/cocoa adjustment.