Can I fix a box cake recipe where I added oil instead of water?

I screwed up and put 1 1/4 cup veg oil instead of water in my box cake recipe. Is there any way to fix this? Can I add flour or something? Or is it doomed for the trash can?

Best Answer

If the recipe calls for oil, butter, or any other fat, then you can try to scale the other quantities to match it.

If not, there's still a chance you can salvage it. The oil doesn't actually chemically react with the mix at all, it just "coats" it; in fact, most cake recipes use some amount of fat in order to slow gluten formation (i.e. stop the cake from getting tough and chewy).

However, if the recipe called for 1 1/4 cups water and you used the same quantity of oil instead, then that is going to be way too much oil for a single serving.

What I would do is double or maybe even triple the cake mix, make sure it's very well mixed with the oil, then add however much water you needed in the first place.

If you realized your mistake early (i.e. if the original recipe called for a lot more than 1 1/4 cups of water) then you might be able to just proceed as normal and end up with a very moist cake, but more likely you'll still need to add some more cake mix (and the corresponding amount of water) to compensate. I'd still double it, because otherwise you'll be stuck trying to figure out how to use the leftover mix.

Don't just add flour; the amount of water that the recipe calls for is proportional to all of the other ingredients in the mix, and it's virtually impossible for you to know how much extra water you'll need to compensate for the added flour. Besides, you'd only end up with a bland, flavourless cake if you did that.

If none of these options appeal to you then I'm afraid it's destined for the trash, unless you want to prepare your own cake mix from scratch and combine the two recipes.

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What happens when you add oil to cake mix?

If you've added to much oil or water to your mix then you'll need to compensate with extra dry ingredients. You'll need to add some additional flour to even out your mix. Just eyeball how much you need or add it by tablespoons to be cautious until the texture is right.

Can I use oil instead of water in cake mix?

Most cake mixes call for water and oil as the primary wet ingredients, but this deprives you of the chance to add extra flavor and richness.

Does adding oil to cake mix make it moist?

Add Vegetable Oil While butter will give you the best flavor, vegetable oil will make your cakes moister. I use a combination of salted butter and vegetable oil in all my cake recipes to get the most flavorful and moistest results. Vegetable oil stays a liquid at room temperature, while butter solidifies.

How do you fix a boxed cake mix?

Instructions

The only directions to note are that whatever the back of the box directs you to use, you have to:

Add an additional egg.

Replace the water with milk, same amounts.

Replace the oil with melted butter. DOUBLE the amount.

Cook with the same directions that are printed on the box.

EASIEST CAKE MIX HACK || Betty Crocker \u0026 Can of Soda Vegan Cake Hack

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Rachel Claire, Rachel Claire, Patrícia Paixao, Eva Bronzini