Red Velvet Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and Buttercream Flowers

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Sometimes when you’re baking, you need to use a box mix. Either you’re short on time, you don’t want to try a recipe from scratch or you just like they way they taste. Whatever reason, you find yourself in the baking isle, picking up a box.

Well, there are ways to make a box cake mix taste delicious and look great!

1- Never use water in the recipe. I always use milk or buttermilk or a combination of both. Water makes the cake taste like it is on the dry side.  I really do not understand why the cake box companies direct people to use water in their recipe.

2- Add a box of instant pudding.  I learned to do this when I was in junior high school.  One of my classmates brough cupcakes to school for their birthday and they tasted so moist.  I asked her how her mom made them so moist and she told me that her mom added a box of instant pudding.  That charged the way made box cake for life.  i immediately told my mom that that is how we have to make boxed cake now.  I often use instant pudding in my scratch cake recipes too.

3- Add some extract.  Extract should be used in ALL cake recipes, regardless of if it is boxed cake or from scratch.  It just adds that extra bit of flavor.

4- Add an extra egg.  The extra egg will make the cake mix a little more rich.  There is a rum cake recipe that calls for 4 eggs.  The cake is really moist and dense due to the eggs.

5- Some people like to substitute butter for the oil for the taste.  I do not do this only because i like the texture of cakes baked with oil than cakes baked with butter.  To me, oil based cakes are more moist and stay moist longer than butter based cakes.  I sometimes use a teaspoon or two of butter extract with the oil to get the butter taste.  This is a personal choice.  Both ways will taste good.

6- Decorate it beautifully as if it was from scratch.  Don’t just spread a little frosting on the cake.  Make it look beautiful.  Make buttercream flowers, add fresh flowers, or add the frosting in a pattern.  You want your cake to make a beautiful presentation.

7- Make your own frosting.  There’s nothing wrong with can frosting.  I like to use it when i’m making a snack cake for dessert. But you can tell that it is can frosting. If you are making it for a party or an event, make the frosting from scratch.  It will make the cake taste that much better.

This recipe is for a box Red Velvet Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and buttercream flowers.
See, box cakes can be pretty!

I used 3 eggs, oil, vanilla, instant pudding, whole milk and buttermilk in the cake recipe.  I also made the buttercream with cream cheese, butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and a little heavy cream. This rich and creamy frosting is the perfect accompaniment with the moist red velvet cake.

Topped with buttercream flowers, this cake came out beautiful and delicious!