Instant Pot Cake Recipe - Make the PERFECT cake using a box mix (2024)

FAQs

What is the cake setting on Instant Pot? ›

The Cake Maker setting on the Instant Pot is not “baking” by circulating dry, hot air around the food to cook it. Instead, it is utilizing the same function as Pressure Cook by heating water past its boiling temperature and using the resulting steam to cook the food.

Both sizes are too large to fit in a standard 6-quart Instant Pot. You'll need a 6-inch round cake pan like this one. Six-inch cake pans are available in many baking stores, online here, and you can use them for far more than Instant Pot recipes! I actually love this smaller-size pan.

Add Milk, Coffee, or Soda

Boxed cakes often call for water, but swapping it out for equal amounts of milk, coffee, or even soda will give you a moister, more tender, and flavorful cake. For white cake mix, you can use whole milk or your favorite non-dairy milk.

(160–180C) If you've got the ingredients and the equipment, but don't know the temp off the top of your head, that'd be the place I'd suggest you start. For baking cakes, the most commonly used oven setting is conventional baking (also known as conventional heat or bake).

Use the bake mode, which heats the oven from the bottom, ensuring even cooking. Always place the cake on the middle rack for optimal heat distribution.

To make a box cake mix rise higher, try using a smaller pan, adding an extra egg, using milk instead of water, adding baking powder, mixing for longer, using room temperature ingredients, baking at a higher temperature, or using cake strips.

The average cake mix calls for the most boring of liquids: water. Instead of using water, substitute whole milk or your favorite non-dairy milk (almond, oat, and coconut milk work especially well). The milk adds fat, which results in a better flavor and density in your cake.

In order to bake cake evenly, you have to insulate its edges. Preventing the temperature of batter at the edge from increasing quickly allows the cake to rise longer before it sets. A cake whose edges rise at nearly the same rate as its center will remain flat across the top — no dome, perfect for stacking and icing.

Because eggs help build the cake's structure (don't use them and you're looking at a gooey mess), adding an extra egg yolk makes the cake batter denser. Translation: you'll have a moister confection.

What is the most moist box cake mix? ›

I tried 3 boxed white-cake mixes to see which is the best. I'm a baker and I made white cake using boxed mixes from Pillsbury, Duncan Hines, and Betty Crocker. The Duncan Hines cake was moist, not overly sweet, and the fluffiest of the three.

Martina says, “Late in the mixing stage, eggs will incorporate better if you lightly beat them before adding to the batter. The finished cake may be slightly shorter than expected, but its flavor and tenderness shouldn't be affected.” For egg-leavened cakes, the eggs are crucial.

Step 1: Look at the directions on the cake mix. Step 2: Add one more egg (or add 2 if you want it to be very rich). Step 3: Use melted butter instead of oil and double the amount. Step 4: Instead of water, use whole milk.

Put some pudding in the mix: Add a small box of pudding mix in with the cake mix. (Don't make the pudding.) The mix adds additional flavor, moistness, and a denser texture.

Why are eggs so important in a cake? Eggs, much like soy are emulsifiers and they help to hold the rest of the ingredients together. This creates more structure in your cake or baked goods. Adding an extra yolk will only help to hold the batter together better.