Sure, you could follow the recipe on the back of your box cake to a T, and it would likely be perfectly fine. But life is short. Why not make that box cake the “best cake you could ever make in your life?” One that “literally melts in your mouth”?
This is the result promised by baking enthusiast Kendric Jacobs, who’s taken TikTok by storm with his now-viral box cake hack.
Simple swaps make all the difference
The hack, which now has over 3 million views, can be summed up with this sentence: “Don’t listen to that box, listen to me.” The “box” being for a “yellow”- or “butter”-flavored cake that you can find at pretty much any grocery store.
Jacob’s hack is all about being indulgent. Where the box says use 3 eggs, he tells you to use four. Instead of the 1/3 cup of oil recommended, he says “you gonna do a stick of melted butter.”
He also says to swap out the one cup of water for one cup of milk, then add a generous amount of vanilla extract.
Plus a few baking tweaks complete this viral cake hack
But it wasn’t just the ingredients that got an adjustment. Jacobs warned folks to “set that oven to 315,” even though “That box gonna say 350,” and bake for about ten minutes longer than the instructions say (37 vs 27) in a 9×11 pan instead of the 9×13.
As the cake cools, Jacobs suggests popping your chocolate frosting (specifically, Betty Crocker Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Frosting) into the microwave for 20 seconds. Just enough to make it “pourable” so that it doesn’t “tear up the top of that cake.” Cause, as he rightly put it, “We don’t want that.” Spread it with a butter knife, let it set, and voilà, “the best little box chocolate cake you could ever make in your life.”
Not only did Jacobs’ delivery make this incredibly fun to watch, but his hack also seems to have merit! Plenty of folks who tried the recipe came back with high praise.
“Made it your way! It was delicious!”
“Don’t listen to that man that gave the recipe for chocolate cake.”
“This is the type of journalism we need.”
One person even wrote, “I listened to you and will continue listening going forward,” with an image of their picture-perfect cake attached.
Why savvy bakers ignore the box directions
Jacobs is far from the only at-home baker who warns folks not to trust the cake box instructions. Online, you’ll find a slew of similar advice to make box cake denser, more moist, and ultimately taste like actual homemade cake (though not with his signature sense of humor).
It all goes to show that while baking might be known as a precise art, there is certainly some room for personal interpretation once you understand the basic mechanics.
Of course, none of this means the directions on the box are “wrong.” They’re designed to produce a consistent cake using ingredients most people already have on hand. But if you’re willing to splurge on a little extra butter, milk, and an additional egg, those small changes can have an outsized effect on texture and flavor.
At the very least, Jacobs has inspired millions of people to rethink what’s possible the next time a sweet treat craving strikes. Which will likely be immediately after watching his video.
Be sure to follow him on TikTok to see even more delicious box baking hacks.
