Level up Your Box Cake Mixes With These Vegan-Friendly Hacks
There are several plant-based tricks that will help your boxed cake taste like a homemade treat.
Published Oct. 10 2024, 10:51 a.m. ET
When prepping a quick and easy sweet treat, reaching for a box of cake mix is a typical go-to for many. But many boxed mixes can leave something to be desired for vegans and anyone opting to live a more sustainable lifestyle.
That's because box mixes often call for non-vegan ingredients, leaving home bakers scrambling to find the perfect solution to eggs, milk, butter, and more.
Fortunately, these folks won't have to scramble anything other than their vegan eggs (or egg substitute) if they opt to use some of these plant-based box cake mix hacks that everyone on the internet swears by.
Applesauce can be used as a sweet and sustainable swap for certain ingredients.
On Reddit, people swear by swapping the recommended eggs in a boxed cake mix for applesauce. Redditor @teatimefortim says two heaping tablespoons of the delicious fruit mash can replace a single egg.
According to Bon Appetit, this trick also works for those who want to swap their oil and butter out for more sustainable options, as well. That being said, the website notes that this only works in cases where the recipe calls for un-melted butter.
Aquafaba can be used instead of eggs in most recipes.
If you've never heard of it before, aquafaba is the water left in the pot when certain legumes (like chickpeas) have been heated up on the stovetop. The solution is not only viscous like the texture of traditional eggs, but the Go Dairy Free website says it's also chock full of proteins, which can help add a bit of a nutritional punch to your dish.
You can make your own version of this mix by cooking up your legumes in a pan alongside 3 cups of water.
After you've brought the water to a boil, you will need to lower the temperature on the stovetop and let the mix simmer for 45 minutes. Once your timer goes off, you'll need to let them sit again for an hour. Then, you can strain the leftover water into a container to set aside until it's cooled enough to move to the fridge.
This recipe is time-consuming and making the mix will take longer than baking the actual cake, so it's best to plan ahead if you're going this route.
Once it's been refrigerated you will start to see the liquid firm up a bit, recreating that classic egg texture. You can use 3 tablespoons of your mix to substitute one egg.
A can of soda can work as a substitute for eggs.
When you're making a vegan cake, you can do so with a Coke and a smile if you follow the tips from the Life Hacker website. This hack says that a carbonated (non-diet) beverage can make an excellent egg substitute.
Although, the website does warn that while this swap will give you a fluffy and sweet cake, it will not be as dense or large as you would get if you used eggs because of the volume of the soda that gets left behind once the cake is cooked.
No matter which boxed cake mix you try, you're sure to get a delicious treat when you try one of these plant-based alternatives.
