A Magical DIY Cake Mix That Turns Into 100s of Different Recipes

As a person who loves to write recipes, Cake Magic! was a study in working with a master recipe and variations with some ratio work thrown in.

Here’s how it works: You make a big batch of mix comprised of flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt during a quiet moment and then scoop out what you need per recipe. (There is a separate, carefully balanced gluten-free mix that begins the same way, totally from scratch.)

The Cake Magic! cake mix:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt

That very mix works as a foundation for every cake—over one hundred—in my book. But even though each one starts out the same and shares the same base ingredients, the recipes diverge in flavor and application in a way that’s left up to the person who’s baking.

I think of the finished cakes almost as cocktails, taking a few different components that can be remixed in many ways to produce very different results. The recipes that are attached to this post show a small sample of how to work in this cake universe.

1. First, pick a cake batter—vanilla or chocolate, though in the book there are also Citrus, Brown Sugar, Fruit and Veggie, Nutty, Coconut and Mocha cakes, too.
2. And then choose where you want it to go by picking a soaking syrup and a frosting. (In the book, these assembly instructions are at the bottom of the photos of each cake, telling you how to assemble it.)

A few sample recipes:

Vanilla Cake (+ Confetti Cake Variation)

View Recipe

Darkest Chocolate Cake + Cola Cake Variation

View Recipe

Malted Vanilla Frosting

View Recipe

Vanilla Syrup (+ Mixed Berry Syrup & Sweet Cream Syrup Variations)

View Recipe

Mix and match them to create these 5 cakes:

For a base of Vanilla Cake...

• Boozy Berry Cake = Vanilla Cake + Bourbon-Berry Syrup (make the Mixed Berry Syrup and stir in 1 tablespoon bourbon with the vanilla extract and cherry liqueur) + Malted Vanilla Frosting

• Confetti Cake = Vanilla Cake (with 1/2 cup sprinkles stirred into batter) + Vanilla Syrup + Malted Vanilla Frosting

• White Russian Cake = Vanilla Cake + Milky Vodka Syrup (follow Sweet Cream syrup, but add 2 tablespoons vodka along with the vanilla) + Malted Vanilla Frosting

If you feel like a Chocolate Cake, then…

• Hostess Cake: Darkest Chocolate Cake + Coconut Syrup (follow Sweet Cream syrup, but sub full-fat coconut milk for cream and add 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut to hot syrup and steep it together) + Malted Vanilla Frosting

• Soda Fountain Cake = Darkest Chocolate Cake + Cola Syrup (same as Vanilla Syrup, except sub non-diet cola for water) + Malted Vanilla Frosting

What's the most creative cake flavor combination you've tasted (or thought up)? Tell us in the comments!