Make Box Cake Super Moist With An Applesauce Ingredient Swap
Most box cake mixes call for a few key ingredients: Namely, eggs, water, and oil. Though these ready-to-bake mixes are engineered to come out nice and tender every time, there are plenty of ways to make your box cake mix even better. Hacks for these mixes abound, from adding instant pudding to the recipe to cracking in an extra egg. If you have a jar of applesauce around, you're well on your way to another hack to ensure your finished cake is exceedingly moist and tender.
Instead of drizzling in the oil that your box mix calls for, skip the oil and instead add an equal amount of store-bought or homemade applesauce — and enjoy a cake that certainly won't be dry. Applesauce saturates the dry ingredients and provides moisture in the same way that the oil would. Though it doesn't contain the same level of fat that oil does, this sweet and tangy apple puree still makes for a satisfying swap, and one that will ensure your cake stays hydrated even as it bakes in the oven.
What applesauce adds to a box mix
Applesauce's high water content makes it a great substitute for oil, as it provides a similar level of hydration for the cake, ensuring that it doesn't dry out during or after the baking process. But swapping in applesauce also lowers the cake's fat content and provides a host of nutritional benefits as well. Applesauce is high in dietary fiber, which helps the digestive system, lowers cholesterol, and assists in keeping blood sugar stable. Applesauce also provides Vitamin C and antioxidants, infusing the cake with additional nutrients.
Another reason to add applesauce to your box cake mix is that it imparts extra flavor. While adding in oil doesn't add much by way of taste, applesauce is rich with that sweet and slightly tart apple flavor that provides a depth of flavor and roundness to the sweetness of a cake. Apple flavor mixes particularly well with cakes that have a delicate and light taste, or that use warm spices.
The challenges of using applesauce in cake
Swapping in applesauce for oil can add plenty of moisture to a box cake mix, but making this swap is not without its consequences. Cooking with applesauce can change the texture of the cake, causing it to become dense and giving it a much more chewy texture. If you're looking for a light, tender, airy cake, using applesauce in the recipe may not give you the consistency that you're looking for.
There are ways to combat this, however: Using a combination of applesauce and oil can be a delicious compromise, and the cake's texture will be much closer to the standard. Simply use half the recommended oil and substitute the other half with applesauce; you'll get the benefits of the applesauce's moisture with the lighter mouthfeel that the oil provides. This substitute will work for not just box cake mix but for any cake recipe calling for oil or melted butter.