Learn how to make homemade cake mix so that you can save some money and enjoy fluffy cake whenever you like! From different cake mix flavors to how to bake it, I'm going to show you everything you need to know! You'll never want to use store-bought cake mix again!
Guide To DIY Cake Mix
Cake mix makes baking cakes extra simple and convenient. However, you definitely lose that homemade taste associated with baking a cake from scratch (check out my tips on how to make boxed cake mix better!)
Making your own homemade cake mix gives you the best of both worlds! It yields a cake that is tastier than one made from a boxed mix at a fraction of the cost and you get to keep all of the convenience!
Jump to:
- Guide To DIY Cake Mix
- Homemade Cake Mix Recipes
- 1. White Cake Mix
- 2. Yellow Cake Mix
- 3. Chocolate Cake Mix
- Adding Wet Ingredients
- Baking
- Frosting
- How To Store Homemade Cake Mix
- Gifting Homemade Cake Mix
- Tips For Making The Best Cake Mix
- 🧁 Homemade Frosting Recipes
- 📖 Recipe Card
- How To Make Homemade Cake Mix: Homemade White Cake Mix (+More Great Flavors!)
- 💬 Comments & Reviews
Homemade Cake Mix Recipes
A homemade cake mix is a mixture of dry ingredients used in baking a cake that can easily be stored and measured out when needed. To bake, all you have to do is mix in the necessary wet ingredients and you are good to go!
While all DIY cake mixes are similar, the ingredients do vary slightly depending on what type of cake you'll be baking. They all will contain some common baking staples like flour, sugar, and baking powder, as well as some ingredients that may be unique to the specific cake flavor (like some cocoa powder for a chocolate cake).
Regardless of which flavor you choose, making your homemade cake mix all follows the same steps. Simply whisk together the ingredients and then either use the mix immediately or store it for later (more on storage below).
1. White Cake Mix
White cake is a classic option that is loaded with vanilla flavor! It gets its iconic stark white appearance by omitting egg yolks from the recipe.
You'll need some cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt for this easy mix. The cake flour is key to getting a super soft and tender cake (learn how to make your own here!)
2. Yellow Cake Mix
Yellow cake is another classic option that is great for any occasion! It is also flavored using vanilla, but it features the whole egg instead of only the whites.
This recipe uses all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You might have these ingredients already in your pantry!
3. Chocolate Cake Mix
Everyone loves chocolate! This homemade cake mix will give you a rich and decadent chocolate cake. It's perfect for birthdays, celebrations, or just because!
You'll need all-purpose flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. You can also add in some espresso powder to make the chocolate flavor really pop!
Adding Wet Ingredients
When you're ready to bake your cake, you'll need to add some wet ingredients. Just like the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients will vary slightly for each variety of cake, so make sure you read the recipe you are following!
You will probably see ingredients such as eggs, milk, butter, oil, and vanilla. Simply dump your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients, and mix together until smooth!
Baking
Check your recipe to see how much batter you will have (and therefore, how much cake you can bake). For my recipes listed above, you can bake a bundt cake, a 9x13 cake, two 8 or 9-inch tiers, or 18-24 cupcakes.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). You can use the following times as a guideline for how long your cake will take to bake.
- 8 or 9-inch cake rounds: 20-25 minutes
- Cupcakes: 12-15 minutes
- 9x13 cake: 35-40 minutes
- Bundt cake: 45-50 minutes
Frosting
Don't add any frosting until your cake has completely cooled! You can easily mix and match cake flavors with your favorite varieties of frosting for a super delicious cake!
Take a look at my tasty homemade buttercream frosting recipes as well as my guide on how to frost a cake!
How To Store Homemade Cake Mix
Homemade cake mix should be stored in an airtight jar or container. It can be kept at room temperature in a cool, dry, and dark place (such as the pantry). When stored properly, your cake mix will be good for up to 3 months.
*If you have a cake mix that uses powdered milk, you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Gifting Homemade Cake Mix
If you want to make some homemade cake mix to give as a gift, I recommend layering each of the dry ingredients in the jar rather than whisking them together. It looks really nice and makes the gift extra special!
Write instructions on a tag, including wet ingredients needed, temperature to bake, and how long to bake the cake. Tie the tag to the lid and stick a bow on top!
Tips For Making The Best Cake Mix
- Anytime you are measuring flour, you should always use the spoon and level method. To do this, simply fluff up the flour and use a spoon to scoop it into your measuring cup before leveling off the top. If you scoop the flour out of the container directly with your measuring cup, you could be packing too much flour into the cup, causing dry cake.
- Baking powder and baking soda can lose their effectiveness over time, so make sure to use fresh ingredients!
- You can sift together your dry ingredients to ensure everything is well combined!
Are you going to start making your own cake mix? Leave a comment down below and let me which flavor you are making first!
>>>>See all of my recipes here<<<<
🧁 Homemade Frosting Recipes
- Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting - This citrus-packed frosting would pair perfectly with white, yellow, or lemon cake!
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting - A sweet frosting that is made using freeze-dried strawberries!
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Buttercream - This irresistible frosting tastes great on any variety of cake!
- Oreo Buttercream - Add this buttercream to a chocolate or white cake for a cookies-and-cream vibe!
- Vanilla Buttercream - Vanilla frosting is perfect for any flavor of cake!
- Chocolate Buttercream - Use this rich buttercream on a chocolate cake for a dessert that is extra indulgent!
Do you love a recipe you tried? Please leave a 5-star 🌟rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page.
Stay in touch with me through social media @ Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter! Subscribe to the newsletter today (no spam, I promise)! Don't forget to tag me when you try one of my recipes!
📖 Recipe Card
How To Make Homemade Cake Mix: Homemade White Cake Mix (+More Great Flavors!)
Ingredients
Homemade White Cake Mix
- 2 ¾ cups cake flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 4 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup powdered milk (optional, or use buttermilk powder)
Wet Ingredients To Add
- 5 large egg whites
- 1 ⅓ cups milk (if powdered milk was omitted, *see notes)
- ½ cup butter (melted, or use shortening)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon almond extract)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
Homemade White Cake Mix
- In a medium to large mixing bowl, add all of the measured ingredients then whisk to combine.
- Transfer into an airtight storage container and store until you're ready to use the cake mix. *See notes for proper storage.
Adding Wet Ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer, make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Add all of the wet ingredients (egg whites, milk or water, melted butter, and vanilla extract) and combine.
- Baking times at 350°F (175°C): 8" or 9" round cakes, bake for 20-25 minutes18-24 cupcakes, bake for 12-15 minutes9x13 cake pan, bake for 35-40 minutesbundt or tube pan, bake for 45-50 minutesFor any of these baking times, check the middle of the cakes or cupcakes with an inserted toothpick. When it comes out clean with no clinging batter, then the cakes are done. They should also spring back to the touch when you gently press on the top.
Notes
- To use all-purpose flour in this recipe, decrease the amount of flour to 2½ cups per recipe or see how to make cake flour or my cake flour substitute guide here.
- The powdered milk is an optional ingredient. Use whole milk for best results, Nido is my favorite brand.
- Superfine sugar (like caster sugar) works best in this recipe. You can run the granulated white sugar through a food processor if desired.
- When combining your cake mix ingredients with wet ingredients to bake, use 1⅓ cups milk if the powdered milk was omitted. Use 1¼ cups water if the powdered milk was in the cake mix.
- 5 large egg whites = ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons of liquid egg whites. 2 egg whites = 1 large egg (yes, you can use whole eggs in the recipe but you will need 2½ eggs).
- To use powdered eggs, you will need 3 tablespoons of water + 1 tablespoon of powdered egg. Increase to make enough for 2½ whole eggs, so 7½ tablespoons water + 2½ tablespoons powdered egg.
- If using freeze-dried butter powder, you will need to rehydrate ½ cup of butter powder with 1½ tablespoons water. It can be mixed into the dry ingredients but remember to add a bit more water too.
- Use shortening to keep your white cake mix ultra-white.
- To store: If made with the core 4 ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder), the mixture can be stored at room temperature. If using powdered milk, store it in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Makes 2 8" or 9" round cakes, 18-24 cupcakes, or a 9x13 cake.
- If you've made this easy white cake mix recipe in bulk, you will need to measure out 4¾ cups per cake, or 4¼ cups of cake mix if the powdered milk was omitted.
Beth says
How could I make a lemon variation and a strawberry variation if I wanted to make cake mix cookies?
Angela Latimer says
I would add the fruit as your wet ingredients. Use pureed freeze-dried strawberries or a strawberry reduction with the base cake mix when mixing. For lemon, I would use lemon juice or extract with freshly grated lemon zest. I don't have base recipes for these cake mixes up yet, so this is where I would start if I were making cake mix cookies.
Audrey Knight says
If I made a really large batch of the mix, how much of it should I use to make a cake? Thanks!
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Hi there, the standard recipe Makes x2 8" or 9" round cakes, 18-24 cupcakes, or a 9x13 cake.
If you've made this easy white cake mix recipe in bulk, you will need to measure out 4¾ cups per cake or 4¼ cups of cake mix if the powdered milk was omitted.
Hope that helps!
Kim Pippin says
Why does the batch with powdered milk have to be refrigerated.
Angela Latimer says
It's best to keep it in a cool, dry, and dark place (like a basement or fridge) even when in the powdered form since it is a dairy product. Thanks for asking!