Completely transform boxed cake mix with a sparkling ingredient
One of the advantages of boxed cake mixes is that they are quick to prepare and only require a few simple ingredients that you normally always have on hand. Typically, all you have to do is throw the packet of dry ingredients into a bowl with oil, eggs, and water and whisk them together. But if you want to make an improved boxed cake mix, you can make a simple modification to this process: replace the water the recipe calls for with club soda.
While it may seem like an odd substitution, it can be the key to making a lighter, fluffier cake with a more delicate crumb and moister consistency. In addition to creating an airier dessert, club soda also gives your treat an extra burst of flavor. Whether it’s the earthy, sassafras-sweet flavor of root beer or the citrusy kick of 7Up, it can take a boxed chocolate or vanilla cake from good to great.
Read more: Cake Tips Every Baker Wishes They Knew Sooner
Why Adding Soda to Your Boxed Cake Mix Works
It’s not just chance that soda results in a more delicious dessert; the bubbles from your soda can help the cake rise by adding air bubbles to the mixture. At the same time, they interact with the leavening agents present in the dry ingredients. In fact, you can actually make a two-ingredient soda cake, because this carbonation means you don’t even need the usual eggs in your mixture. However, simply replacing the water and using the soda as well as the eggs can lead to an even fluffier, cakeier dessert.
But it’s not just the soda’s carbonation that makes your treat better. Soda often contains high fructose corn syrup. This corn syrup helps brown your cake better and also adds moisture to the mixture. Plus, it gives your cake a touch of sweetness which can also make a boxed cake more flavorful.
Many types of soda, such as Sprite, contain citric acid. This ingredient adds acidity to your cake, balancing the pH and bringing out the flavors of vanilla, lemon, chocolate and others. Citric acid also reacts with leavening agents, causing your desserts to rise more. This helps give that airy, light texture that soda cakes are known for.
Choosing a Soda to Add to Your Cake
Before you pour a can of soda into your cake mix, it’s important to think about how the flavors of the drink and dessert will pair together. For example, a chocolate cake might benefit from the sweet and slightly spicy flavors of Dr. Pepper. While Dr. Pepper’s 23 flavors are a proprietary blend, there are notes of clove and nutmeg, which deepen the natural chocolate flavors in your cake. Another good choice for chocolate cake might be Coca-Cola. This drink has similar flavors of nutmeg and vanilla as well as cinnamon, which can also complement the cocoa in your dessert.
If you have a vanilla cake, this boxed mix can serve as a blank canvas. Use 7Up in your cake to transform it into a slightly lemony dessert, for example. You can also use a fruity flavor, like with blood orange soda cake. You can also enhance the vanilla flavor by adding cream soda, which gives your dessert a bit of sweetness and a hint of caramel flavor. Or, if you want a light, fluffy dessert with no added flavor, you can use sparkling water as a substitute ingredient for your boxed cake mix. Get creative and come up with soda and cake mix combinations that create a delicious marriage of unique flavors.
Read the original article on The Daily Meal.
