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I just read a whole blog (at Duncan Hines) from bakers complaining that box mixes are smaller and not rising in a 12" pan like they did before.

What do you add to a box mix to make it raise higher and lighter? I think pudding (instant) but what else?

THank you guys so much for all your help!

I'm a pretty good cook but only a "so-so" baker so I don't have a suggestion for additions ~ myself, I would simply use a smaller pan!

The size reduction is not surprising as most products in the grocery stores have shrunk. You COULD use a smaller pan OR buy another box of cake mix. I'm sure the bake mix companies are banking on the latter option.

They think we are not smart...smaller packaging, less mix...same or greater cost.

At least with homemade from scratch...a cup is still a cup!

You got THAT right! Another good reason to bake from scratch and no preservatives or artifical anything.

I use only jumbo eggs when I bake anything. They tend to help things rise lighter.

IMO, the smaller amount of mix only produces so much batter. Adding stuff to it to increase the air space around the cake crumbs changes the texture and doesn't fix the basic problem. I used to bake mixes in either two 8-inch or 9-inch pans. Since they shrunk the product, I only use 8-inch pans so the cake layers will be thick enough.

So... For me, the answer is to use smaller pans, or split a second box of mix in half and add one half to a full box. A kitchen scale makes it a cinch to divide a mix into parts and is useful for many other kitchen tasks as well. If a scale is not an option, you can measure the mix in cups and divide by two. That's not as accurate as a scale, but works pretty well.

The new size cake mix has more leavening in it which makes for a higher and lighter cake and can use the same pans as the bigger size.

And with less flour and more leavening -- you have a cake that has less calories!

Martha

quote:

Originally posted by Linderhof:
The new size cake mix has more leavening in it which makes for a higher and lighter cake and can use the same pans as the bigger size.

Interesting, but I don't find that's the case. Before I knew about the change, I was making the smaller mixes in 9" pans as always, and finding them coming out so thin they couldn't be split to make a 4-layer cake. I complained to a personal friend that I thought I was losing my baking edge because of it. Then she told me it happened to her and only then discovered the product shrinkage.