Take Boxed Cake Mix From Dry To Delicious With One Everyday Condiment

Boxed cake mix is both convenient and delicious — provided you're using one of the Food Republic-approved mixes and not one of the entries that fell near the bottom of the list. However, a bad mix is still easier than making one from scratch, particularly if your baking skills are in development. That's because even a bad, dry mix can be made over with one everyday condiment that you likely have in your fridge right now — mayonnaise. And according to our expert, David Davidov, recipe developer and creator of The Cooking Foodie, "Mayonnaise might seem like an odd addition to cake, but it's actually rooted in solid baking science."

Davidov told Food Republic that when stripped down to its ingredients, mayonnaise consists of just oil, egg yolks, and sometimes a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice — all of which make up a from-scratch cake. "When you mix mayo into boxed cake batter," he said, "you're essentially enriching it with extra fat and emulsifiers."

The fat, Davidov explained, gives the cake a more tender crumb and moister texture, while the egg yolks, in their role as emulsifiers, help the water and fat to stick together, giving the batter improved stability. The result, he continued, is a cake that resists drying out better. Meanwhile, the acidity from the vinegar or lemon juice also works to balance against sweetness, while subtly enriching chocolate notes in darker cakes.

It's important to remember that baking is still a fairly exact science, so you don't want to just go slathering dollops of mayonnaise into your box mix (as you might your chicken), crossing your fingers, and hoping the bake works out. "For best results, use ⅓ cup of mayonnaise per standard boxed cake mix," David Davidov recommended. He suggested that this amount of mayo is enough to noticeably imbue moisture into the batter, but without giving the cake a condiment-tinged flavor or destroying the structural integrity of the dessert.

Davidov also advised that, for most cakes, you use the mayo in place of whatever oil amount is listed on the box. "So, if the box calls for ½ cup of oil," he said, "swap it out for ⅓ cup of mayo," and the resulting bake will be a bit more dense, but also much softer and more moist. However, Davidov amended that you might try using both ¼ cup oil plus ¼ cup mayo, if what you seek is a truly rich taste and tender texture, "but any more than that and the cake may become too heavy and not rise properly," he cautioned.