baking – Page 2 – A Home by the Sea

Who wants to spend too much time in the kitchen these days?

Even with Covid lockdowns, the easier and simpler the recipe, the better it is for everyone. Right?
This Chocolate Brownie recipe will be perfect to whip up for Afternoon or Morning Tea treats, school lunches, surprise gifts for friends and impromptu family visits.

In just 45 minutes you can serve up this mouth-watering delight.

The dark chocolate component of this slice makes it a healthy option, when eaten in moderation. Provided you use quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content, then it is actually quite nutritious.

It {Dark chocolate] contains a decent amount of soluble fibre and is loaded with minerals. 100 grams (3.5 ounces) is a fairly large amount and something you should consume in moderation. All these nutrients also come with 600 calories and moderate amounts of sugar. The fatty acid profile of cocoa and dark chocolate is also excellent. The fats are mostly saturated and monounsaturated, with small amounts of polyunsaturated fat.
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-health-benefits-dark-chocolate#section1

A 100-gram bar of dark chocolate with 70–85% cocoa contains:

11 grams of fibre
67% of the RDI for iron
58% of the RDI for magnesium
89% of the RDI for copper
98% of the RDI for manganese
Minerals: potassium, phosphorus, zinc and selenium

Chocolate Brownie Recipe

Ingredients

200 grams Dark Chocolate that has 50%- 70% Cocoa
250 grams (9 oz or 1 & 1/4 cups) Butter
200 grams (7 oz or 1 & 1/2 cups) Brown sugar
4 eggs, slightly beaten
150 grams (5 oz or 1 & 1/4 cups) Plain or All-Purpose Flour
1/4 teaspoon Baking Powder
30 grams (1 oz) Cocoa

Method

Preheat oven to 180 or 350 F and line a square cake or slice tin with baking paper.
Melt the butter and chocolate in a saucepan over low heat, stirring continuously till smooth. Once all lumps have melted, take off the heat.
Mix other ingredients together, adding the eggs last.
Mix in melted chocolate mixture and stir through.
Bake for 28 minutes.
Brownies may look slightly underdone, so allow them to cool in the tray.
Dust with Icing sugar and cut into small squares to serve.

Variation:

Add roughly chopped walnuts for a tasty and healthy variation.
Serve warm with ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

This is the recipe for this week’s #Onecakeaweek series.

Do you have a recipe you wish to link up?

Pingback to this post and I will come and visit your blog.

#Onecakeaweek. Are you tempted by any from previous weeks?

I will be making one cake each week and would love you to link up any cake recipes you have posted on your blog, so I have more recipes to try out.

Enticing Desserts – Strawberry Mint Sorbet
The New Vintage Kitchen:
- Lavender and Lemon Shortbread Cookies
- Catherine’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake

food, health

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake

August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 Forestwood

Cake with Cinnamon and White Chocolate Options

#onecakeaweek

This week’s Cake at the Home by the Sea is delicious served with tea or coffee or can be versatile enough for a dessert treat if served with some vanilla yoghurt, cream or ice cream drizzled with Raspberry Coulis.

Raspberry Buttermilk Cake Recipe

Ingredients

130g plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
55g unsalted butter, at room temperature
145g sugar, plus a further 1 1/2 Tablespoon sugar, divided
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest (optional)
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup (approx 140g) fresh or frozen raspberries

Topping:

1 dessertspoon butter, (melted)
1 tablespoon cinnamon (sprinkled over the top)

Method

Preheat oven to 205°C/400°F
Butter and flour a 20cm round cake pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.
Beat the butter and first measure of sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy.
Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest. Add the egg and beat well.
Switching the mixer to a low speed, mix in the flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Ensure that each time you only mix until just combined.
Transfer the batter into the cake pan and gently spread to fill the pan. Scatter the raspberries over the top and sprinkle with the final 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.
Bake until cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, which should take between 30-35 minutes.
Cool the cake for 10 minutes then turn out onto a rack to cool completely, then brush melted butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Variation: Add 100g white chocolate buds to the mix prior to adding the raspberries.

There are more cake recipes here: #onecakeaweek

food, health

Cinnamon Spice cake

July 21, 2020July 21, 2020 Forestwood

I do look for recipes that use cinnamon, as it is has so many health-giving benefits:

Cinnamon Spice

contains calcium, iron, vitamins, fibre
assists with a variety of digestive ailments such as gas and bloating
has a mild anti-inflammatory effect.

Studies have shown improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control by taking as little as half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day. Improving insulin resistance can help in weight control as well as decreasing the risk for heart disease.
[Source: cinnamonnutrition.com/ ]

Initially I adapted a Danish Spice cake recipe posted by Ted at Recipereminiscing, but halved the recipe as it makes quite a large cake, used butter instead of margarine, and replaced the cloves with mixed spice. Then I added a few currants, because I had a slight oversupply of currants in the pantry and I thought it might work will with the spices.

The cake turned out well but I preferred another version of the Danish spice cake, one that is evocative of Christmas and all those aromatic spices. I have posted both Ted’s and my recipe below.

Danish

Spice Cake

In Australia, we do not have easy access to the wonder that is a range of fermented milk products, so I substituted sour cream and plain probiotic yoghurt, in place of cultured milk.

Ted’s Danish Spice Cake

2,1 pint / 1 l flour
1,6 pint / 7.5 dl sugar
3 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
1 teaspoon cloves, ground
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 egg
1,6 pint / 7.5 dl cultured milk (see note below)
5,3 oz. / 150 g margarine

[1] Set the oven at 390 F / 200 C.

[2] Melt the margarine.

[3] Mix all the dry ingredients.

[4] Mix the eggs with milk and margarine, and stirred into the dry.

[5] Bake in pan for approximately 30 min.

Note:
Cultured milk or soured milk is a food product produced from the acidification of milk. It is not the same as spoiled milk that has gone bad, commonly but incorrectly called soured and which may contain toxins.

Acidification, which gives the milk a tart taste, is achieved either through the addition of an acid, such as lemon juice or vinegar, or through bacterial fermentation. The acid causes milk to coagulate and form a thicker consistency, and inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria and thus improves its shelf life. Soured milk that is produced by bacterial fermentation is more specifically called fermented milk or cultured milk.
Wikipedia

Amanda’s Danish Spice Cake

Ingredients:

2 dl Dark Brown sugar
0.5 dl White sugar
4.5 dl Flour
1 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp Ground Cardamom
2 tsp Cinnamon
2 tsp Ginger
2 tsp Clove
1 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
2 tbspn Cocoa Powder
Pinch salt
200ml Buttermilk or Yoghurt
2 Eggs
100ml melted Copha/Coconut oil/Vegetable oil

Method:

Mix all the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon.
Ensure melted Copha and buttermilk is at room temperature and add to the dry ingredients.
Mix well, but not too much. If the Copha solidifies, place the bowl over a hot water bath and gently fold until even.
Pour into greased cake tin, I used a ‘kugelhof’ or bundt mould.
Bake in oven 175° celsius (350°F) for about 40 minutes.
Cool 10 mins before turning out.

For extra decadence (entirely optional):

Drizzle melted butter over the top and sprinkle liberally with cinnamon sugar/dusting sugar.

Tips for measurement conversions:

American

1 cup = 8 fl oz = 2.4 dl = 24 cl = 240 ml

British

1 cup = 10 fl oz = 2.8 dl = 280 ml

Australian

dl – 1 deciliter = 6 (scant) tablespoons

Reasons to Indulge in this Cake:

It doesn’t require heavy lashings of icing, and the less sugar we eat, the better for us, right? (There is plenty of sugar in the cake itself, so why add more?)

While we are eating it, think of all the good things the spices are doing for our bodies!

Another tasty cake recipe using cinnamon is Apple and Cinnamon Bread.

Find more about the healthy benefits of Cinnamon.

#onecakeaweek

Have you posted a recipe for a cake? Post your link in the comments below.

food, health, home

To Sour A Dough

July 19, 2020September 19, 2022 Forestwood

The uptake of families using their pandemic down time to create things at home, has led to shortages of essentials, in some places.

It is as if we have rewound the clock, to an earlier time, when takeaway was unknown and we prepared all of our own food. Which is such a better way to eat than packaged, pre-prepared foods that are preserved beyond comprehension and have a shelf life that Cro-Magnon man would envy?

Repressed Baker or Bakeaholic?

In my house, the baking frenzy – and the #onecakeaweek has been in full swing during the length of the Covid pandemic. Yet, I still bear the title of ‘Repressed baker.’

Or, perhaps it was likely that I was a baker in a former life?

I venture to say the joy of kneading bread dough, for me, borders on the therapeutic. Kneading, folding, creating and then of course the joy of eating. It is almost blissful.

It is not the first time, this lapsed baker has made bread, but it has been a while.

When I turned 21 years old, I had been baling bread with my own recipe half white/half wholemeal for about 2 years, when I decided it was time to hang up my bread-making apron for other pursuits. Not only was the process of making bread time-consuming, but good yeast, the fresh variety, was hard to find and quite expensive. As a 20-something, the novelty of making my own varieties of bread wore off.

Like others, the enforced leave the pandemic has brought from work, coupled with adult kids who have (mostly), left the nest, means the urge to bake all kinds of things has returned with gusto.

Sourdough Mother

Now in the midst of lockdown, I returned to the kitchen to make sourdough bread. I have already made loads of different kinds of cakes and sweet treats and was growing a sourdough mother under the expert tutelage of my blogger friends and bread-baking mentors, Sandy and Peggy.

Once I was able to secure some wholemeal flour, which was a feat in itself, given the shortages under Covid, I tended the sourdough starter lovingly for days and made a pancakes out of the discard.

The Final Result Sourdough Rolls

At the end of the week, I produced these wonderful Wholemeal Sourdough bread Rolls from Peggy‘s recipe.

I had enough to give some to my son and a friend. Surprisingly, the friend who happens to be Danish, is used to beautifully cooked bread, and she raved about my sourdough rolls.

I was a little surprised she liked them, as I found them quite dense in texture and sliced them thinly to toast them. But then compared to Rugbrød, the Danish Rye bread, they are most likely light and airy; given that the Danes like their bread really heavy and solid.

The Sourdough Mother has now gone, so I will have to start the process over again, which is a lot of fun.

Next time, it will be with Rye flour and linseed, just like the Danes, I think.

food, home

Not Your Average Carrot Cake

July 18, 2020July 18, 2020 Forestwood

I was racking my brains to find the location for a recipe for Carrot Cake I had saved somewhere. It has been sitting in my file notes for I think, several years.

Last week, I made it. The M.o.t.h. loves Carrot cakes as he figures as it is a vegetable, it is all healthy and he can have a larger helping! Although it doesn’t work like that, at least he is getting a bit more fibre in his diet!

The added bonus of cardamon gives it an aromatic hint of something more. Something a little Nordic.

Research online tells me that this recipe is adapted from the bakery of the iconic Rosendal trädgården (a horticultural garden in front of Rosendal Palace) in Stockholm.

I don’t ever ice my cakes, they are sweet enough, already – for me. And cake icing and a sub tropical climate doesn’t make a good marriage. It is melts everywhere and is so messy.

If you do want to ice the cake the cream cheese icing works really well and provides a slightly savoury and sweet combination, so popular in Scandinavian cuisine.

Carrot and Cardamon Cake Recipe

Ingredients

225 ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
310 g caster sugar
170 g grated carrot
3 eggs
240 g plain flour
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
40 g chopped walnuts

Icing

200 g unsalted butter
200 g cream cheese
180 g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Cook’s notes (Source: sbs.com.au)

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

Preheat the oven to 200ºC – (390º F) bit lower if using a fan-forced oven.

Beat the oil and sugar together in a large mixing bowl for 5 minutes, until light yellowish white.
Keep beating while you add the carrot and the eggs, one at a time.
Add the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. Mix for a few minutes
Stir in the walnuts with a spatula.
Using a greased 23 cm round cake tin or an 11 x 6 ” loaf pan, bake in the oven for 30–35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
Cool in its tin for 10 minutes then turn out. If using the loaf pan, you might have enough over to make a smaller friand loaf as well – (around 5″x3″) – good to pop in the freezer if needed later.

To make the icing by beating together all the ingredients until smooth.

Recipe originally from The New Nordic by Simon Bajada

Linking to the Trent’s Weekly Smile and Curl’s and Skirls Tea Party

food, home

Forget the Banana Bread

May 8, 2020July 16, 2020 Forestwood

Forget the Banana Bread, that is so yesterday! The new kid on the block at the Home by the Sea, is a breakfast Fig and Walnut Loaf.

Never having with Figs before, I was convinced to give it a go when my local cafe shut down. One of their signature breakfast dishes was a delicious Fig and Walnut Loaf. Not to be defeated, I decided to replicate this delight on my own.

The recipe was simple and straightforward, however I recommend exercising restraint with the quantity of figs. 250 grams of Figs constitutes a a whole packet and I only added half of that amount to this mix. That was more than enough and still leaves you with a very figgy loaf, which is fine, but I would suggest reducing the figs to 100 grams and adding a tad more walnuts.

But that is just my personal taste.

Suggested Variations

A nice variation would be to substitute a blend of Dried Apricots and Figs, or a mix of nuts. I suggest hazelnuts or pecans as well as walnuts.

I am sure you will absolutely love this dish for breakfast. As it takes 90 minutes to cook a deep loaf, I used two small loaf tins and a long 20 x 10 cm pan. The smaller pans were done in 30 minutes, whilst the larger took 75 minutes at the recommended temperature.

Fig and Walnut Loaf Recipe

Ingredients

125 grams or 1/2 cup unsalted Butter, chopped
1 1/2 cups Water
1/2 cup Buttermilk or Kefir
250 grams or 1 cup Dried Figs**
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups Brown Sugar
2 cups Wholemeal Spelt Flour, sifted
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Mixed Spice
1 cup Walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup Dessicated Coconut

Method

Grease and line a large Non-stick Loaf Tin
Place butter and water in a large saucepan and heat over medium heat.
When butter is melted, add figs. Bring to the boil and remove from heat.
Transfer figs and butter mixture to a large bowl and allow to cool.
Add buttermilk, eggs, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and mixed spice to bowl and stir to combine.
Add walnuts and coconut and stir one last time.
Pour into prepared tin.
Bake in 160c oven for 90 minutes.
Slice and serve with butter, and Garnish with mint, strawberries and dusting of icing sugar.

Original recipe from newideafood.com.au

food, home

Walnut Streusel Cake

April 16, 2020April 17, 2020 Forestwood

Finding an energy-dense food that is not only rich in fibre and omega-3 fats but also contains higher amounts of antioxidants than most other foods and could improve brain health, sounds like a valuable addition to our diet. If we aren’t allergic, we can gain these benefits by adding walnuts to our diet.

Even though walnuts are rich in calories, studies indicate that they don’t increase obesity risk when replacing other foods in your diet… [and they] are the only nuts that contain significant amounts of Alpha Linoleic Acid or ALA. ALA is considered especially beneficial for heart health. It also helps reduce inflammation and improve the composition of blood fats.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15514264

If you don’t like simply snacking on Walnuts, and there is only so much Waldorf Salad you can eat, incorporate walnuts in a sweet baked delight such as Streusel Cake.

Streusal Cake Recipes

113g Butter
198g Sugar
2 Eggs
240g Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
227g Yogurt
2 tsp Vanilla

Streusel Mix Topping

100g Sugar – I used a mix of brown and fine white sugar
2tsp Cinnamon
Minimum of 1/2 cup of Walnuts, chopped

Prepare a 8 inch bundt pan or 9″x9″ pan and pre-heat oven to 350F – 175 C
Cream together room temperature butter with the sugar, eggs and vanilla.
Mix together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

Fold flour mixture into the creamed butter, alternating flour and yogurt until well mixed.
Spoon half of the batter into a prepared pan, sprinkle with half of the streusel and cover with remaining batter.

Sprinkle remaining streusel on top. *(I omitted this step)
Bake at 350F for 30 to 40 minutes or until cooked through.

Cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.

Variations to the Recipe:

I am going to increase the ratio of brown sugar to white sugar in the streusel topping mix and put in a thin layer in the bundt pan first, before adding the cake batter. That way, the cake will turn out with a streusel topping insitu.

I used a mix of fermented kefir and vanilla yoghurt, and it worked fine, so I am pretty confident any yoghurt, or even sour cream, will work with this recipe.

Here is how my variation turned out. Simply Delicious.

For full enjoyment, break out a gourmet leaf tea to accompany like this Royal Ritz flavour from The Tea Centre.

Thanks to Sandy for her recipe which was originally sourced from King Arthur’s Flour.

Linking to a Virtualteaparty over at Su’s blog

food, home

Pumpkin Scones!

April 11, 2020April 13, 2020 Forestwood

They’re healthy, contain a vegetable and decadent with jam and cream:

They are Pumpkin Scones.

For Americans, do you call them Pumpkin biscuits?

The following is not my usual recipe.

But it is a great way to gain some of the benefits of eating pumpkin, particularly if you don’t like it or have children who dislike it.

Pumpkin is a great source of potassium and beta-carotene, which is a carotenoid that converts to vitamin A. It also contains some minerals including calcium and magnesium, as well as vitamins E, C and some B vitamins.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/health-benefits-pumpkin

The following recipe comes from a controversial figure – a wife of a highly conservative politician, known for Electoral Gerrymander, who became a conservative Federal Senator herself, Lady Flo Bjelke-Petersen. The recipe is good, but I do prefer my recipe for Pumpkin Scones.

She could make a good pumpkin scone apparently, but the higher oven temperature on the following recipe, is way too high and will result in burnt scones. I would err on the lower recommended temperture rather than the highest.

Tip: I also pat a little milk on the top of each scone so that they brown up nicely. There is nothing worse than a pallid scone – it looks uncooked.

Here is a link to my usual scone/biscuit recipe:

Pumpkin Scones

Multiple Scone Recipes

Something nice for morning tea whilst we are cooped up.

building, food, home

Ju-Lyn’s Orange and Blueberry Cake

March 15, 2020March 23, 2020 Forestwood

Firstly, this is not a post about Corona, so if you want something a little juicier, you might check out some recent posts on StPA.

Ju-Lyn’s wonderful Orange and Blueberry Cake

Truthfully though, I have to admit that I was tempted to call this Corona cake, not just because I cooked it for the first time, in these panic-ridden days, when the Corona virus is causing havoc around the world, but primarily because of the stunning way my blogger friend, Ju-Lyn presented it. There are several layers to this cake and it is decorated with blueberries like a crown – (hence the reference to ‘Corona’, which means ‘Crown’). But then, I was worried that Ju-Lyn might take offence at my referencing something like that, so I will call it- Ju-Lyn’s Mini Cakes.

Ju Lyn blogs at All Things Bright and Beautiful and very kindly shared her recipe for this delicious sounding cake with me, before it was posted on her own blog. That is a measure of her kindess. Thanks, Ju-Lyn!

Cake Recipe

I have to admit that I changed the original aesthetic slightly, as I was a little pushed for time, and I am not a big fan of butter cream icing, even though the Moth, (the “Man of the house”), just loves it. [He does better to watch his calories, you see.]

Ju-Lyn’s Orange Blueberry Mini Cakes

Ingredients

130 g Self Raising Flour
110 g Caster Sugar
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Zest of one orange and a little juice
Pinch of Salt
150 g Sour Cream
40 g melted butter
50 g fresh blueberries
Few extra blueberries for cake toppers

Method

Mix flour sugar and baking powder together in a bowl
Mix together eggs, the zest of orange and a little juice – I used a teaspoonful
Add wet ingredients to dry and mix throughly
Mix in melted butter and sour cream.
Gently fold in the blueberries
Place in muffin trays, lined with paper cases, if you wish.
Scatter a couple of extra blueberries on top of each cake.
Bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes
Testing with a skewer to see if the cake is cooked.
Allow to cool and serve with a dusting of icing sugar if desired.

Insider Tips:

You can make one large cake with this mix but bake for 40 – 50 minutes.
Double the ingredients for a layer cake and ice all over with buttercream.

More Cake Recipes

I have previously posted another of Ju-lyn’s wonderful recipes for Honey Spice Cake, which is now a staple on Sunday mornings, at the Home by the Sea.

building, food, home

Size Does Matter – Eggs in recipes

March 9, 2020March 13, 2020 Forestwood

Recently, I wanted to make one of Ju-Lyn’s fabulous cake recipes and only had jumbo sized eggs that I had purchased at a farmer’s market.

Would it matter if I used them? I was making a cake, after all and I didn’t want it to flop as our new neighbours were coming over, for morning tea.

After a little research, it seems that size does matter, when it comes to using eggs in cooking.

Substituting Eggs in Baking Recipes

If you are using Jumbo eggs and the recipe calls for large or extra large:

Break the eggs into a bowl and lightly beat until both yolk and white is combined. Measure off the amount of the egg mix that would equate to the volume of egg the recipe requires.

1 large egg, beaten = 3-1/4 Tbs.
2 large eggs, beaten = 6-1/2 Tbs.(1/4 cup plus 2-1/2 Tbs.)
3 large eggs, beaten = 9-2/3 Tbs.(1/2 cup plus 1-1/2-Tbs.)
4 large eggs, beaten = 12-3/4 Tbs.(3/4 cup plus 1 tsp.)
5 large eggs, beaten = 1 cup

Eggs in Non Baking Recipes

In non-baking recipes, if you’re substituting only one, two, or three extra- large or medium eggs for large eggs, simply make a one-to-one direct substitution. Beyond that, use these equivalents:

• in place of 4 large eggs, use 4 extra-large or 5 medium
• in place of 5 large eggs, use 4 extra-large or 6 medium
• in place of 6 large eggs, use 5 extra-large or 7 medium
https://www.dvo.com/newsletter/weekly/2015/5-15-224/cooknart9.html

View this post on Instagram

Orange and blueberry cake. Recipe coming soon to Ju-lyn's and my blog. Forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.com #recipe #cake #healthy #blueberries #oranges #morningtea

A post shared by Forestwood Designs (@forestwood.designs) on Mar 8, 2020 at 9:05pm PDT

Altering Ingredients in Baking and Cooking

Eggs + yolks: Extra YOLKS means more fat which gives the cake ultra moistness! Add the amount of eggs called for in the recipe but add two extra egg yolks. The extra yolks add the density and moisture you’d find in a bakery cake!

Egg WHITES: Not adding the yolks to the cake makes the cake fluffy and whiter!

To clarify: Eggs + yolks: Extra YOLKS means more fat which gives the cake ultra moistness! Add the amount of eggs called for in the recipe but add two extra egg yolks. The extra yolks add the density and moisture you’d find in a bakery cake!
https://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/18513_cake_over_how_to_make_boxed_cake_mix_better

Milk: Add MILK, not water, when your mix calls for liquid. The milk adds density, fat and, most importantly, extra flavor to your mix. So add extra tablespoon or so of butter if you are short on milk.

Egg WHITES: Not adding the yolks to the cake makes the cake fluffy and whiter! But taking out the egg yolks removes fat so add an extra two tablespoons of butter above (or, one tablespoon of melted butter per each removed egg yolk).

Vanilla: Freshen up the cake mix with a dash of VANILLA EXTRACT! Add 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract for enhanced flavor. I feel the cake keeps better with vanilla in it, but that could be false.

Melted Butter: Use BUTTER instead of oil. They’re both fat but butter has better flavor! Muffin recipes call for vegetable oil. Melting butter in the microwave, as this adds a richness and depth of flavor.

Sprinkle with Sugar: Sprinkling the top with SUGAR not only gives it a sweet crunchy texture to yoru cake, but the weight of the sugar prevents the cake from rising too much while it bakes.

You can even make a layer cake or one for now and one for later. Pour the cake batter into two cake pans and sprinkle the top with sugar. It’s important for your cake to rise but you don’t want it to rise too much or you will have to cut off a lot of it if you layer it.