Better Boxed Vegan Cake – Big Box Vegan (2024)

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Piggybacking on the success of my better boxed vegan brownies recipe hack, I decided to turn my attention to boxed cake mixes as they have been hit or miss over the years for me. They often have come out crumbly or dry just using an egg substitute and the same measurements for the other ingredients (oil and water) so I knew I could crack it so after over a dozen attempts, I’ve come up with what I think is the perfect texture and taste for a boxed cake mix!

I tried over a dozen boxed cake mixes from traditional yellow and devil’s food to fun flavors like orange and strawberry and tried various different egg and fat substitutes and discovered a lot along the way. First off, no offense to the “just use applesauce or a can of soda!” folks but those results were not great. The cakes were too crumbly and off in texture and were not the cakes I remembered as a kid and I wanted to recreate that perfect mouthfeel.

First hurdle as with any vegan baked item is what to use as an egg replacer. Many things will work but the trick is to find the ideal substitute. I went through flax eggs, powdered substitutes, vegan sour cream and finally settled on vegan plain yogurt because it produced the best texture and flavor. Ideally, a thicker vegan yogurt was best (I used Forager Project unsweetened plain) but any plain vegan variety should work.

Next was figuring out the measurements for the oil and water all of the box instructions use. Most if not all of the boxed mixes I used had the same amounts of added ingredients listed. Three eggs, 1/2 cup oil and 1 cup of water. Three eggs is tough to substitute and normally the threshold for how many eggs can be successfully switched out. I figured that out but just using the recommended 1/2 cup oil and 1 cup water just wasn’t working. Then it hit me. Eggs have more fat so I bumped up the amount of oil to 2/3 a cup. Better, but still wasn’t perfect though. Something was off so I tried using vegan milk instead of water. That helped but the texture was still not exactly right for me. I then realized eggs also give lift so adding a little acid to the vegan milk to make a vegan buttermilk and reducing the amount a bit to 3/4 cup was the ticket. The cake was exactly how I remembered and my childhood memories came flooding back.

The batter can be made into a sheet cake, layer cake or cupcakes just like you would make a traditional cake. Just check the back of the box for the various baking times. Frosting and toppings are up to you. I made so many cakes testing this recipe that sometimes I glazed, sometimes I frosted and sometimes it was just a dusting a powdered sugar. I gained weight during this taste testing so I do this for you. You’re welcome!

I tried a number of brands (including store brands) and since most had the same list of ingredients to use to make a cake, my substitutions worked. Homemade cakes are definitely amazing but sometimes you want a quick easy cake to make and now you can make pretty much any boxed mix vegan and I guarantee no one will know!