Can I rescue an old cake mix?
I have some ~year out of date dry cake mix in a sealed bag.
According to Does it Go Bad it's still good to use, but it wont' rise the same.
The dry mix usually contains baking powder or some other leavening agents, and these gradually lose potency. So while an ancient one might be perfectly safe to use, the cake will most likely turn out flat.
Emphasis mine.
Would adding extra raising agents help? What can I do to 'rescue' it?
Best Answer
How something has been stored is almost as important as how long it's been stored. If the packaging is intact, and it was stored in a cool, dark place, odds are that it will still rise just fine.
If you want to take some extra precautions to ensure a rise, there are two simple things that you can do:
- Add a little extra baking powder (not baking soda) to the mix. Maybe 1/4 to 1/2 tsp, as it's not really all that old.
- Add extra air. If it's a cake mix that calls for eggs, separate the eggs, whip the egg whites (in a clean, non-plastic bowl), and then fold that into everything else (that's already been mixed together).
You do risk ending up with a cake that might be a bit too light -- more chiffon / souffle like, rather than the standard texture.
You can also use the cake mix as an ingredient in other dishes. Besides the various 'dump cake' recipes out there, as it's mostly sugar and flour, you can add oatmeal and butter to it to make a streusel topping.
It's also worth noting that a 'flat cake' generally isn't that bad. Forgetting to add leavening to a chocolate cake was supposedly the origins of the brownie. Even the worst cake can be used as layers in a trifle, be dried and crumbled over ice cream or a parfait, or used to make a bread pudding (but avoid sugar in the custard so it's not overly sweet)
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There is nothing harmful about using an outdated cake mix, but it may not taste as good as you want it to, or may not raise the way you would like it to.Is it OK to use a cake mix that has expired?
Although the company states that there aren't any safety risks if you do use cake mix past its use-by date, there could be changes in the taste and texture. Using cake mix past its recommended date may cause the cake to be less fluffy or even coarse in texture.Can I use out of date Betty Crocker cake mix?
The product is still safe to eat after the date, but the taste or texture might have diminished or the product might not have the full vitamin content indicated on the package. The most important date to consider before throwing an item out is the use-by date.Expired Cake Mixes - Prepper Pantry Pros Cons Tips Tricks
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