Boxed Cake Mix Recipes: Turn This Staple Into 20 Desserts

While there are plenty of difficult but impressive desserts you can make, you don't need to invest a lot of time and money in order to make a superb sweet. These recipes use the common pantry staple boxed cake mix as a base to get something great on the table without a ton of effort.

Having an array of comfort foods on deck for fall is key. These cream cheese stuffed pumpkin muffins are perfect for colder weather. The addition of canned pumpkin complements the boxed cake mix, giving it a new yet familiar flavor.

For the Cream Cheese Stuffed Pumpkin Muffins recipe, click here.

Knowing how to improve boxed cake mix is one of the skills any baker should possess, and this recipe for Triple Chocolate Gingerbread is a great place to start. Chocolate pudding mix, sour cream and molasses are added to chocolate cake mix to make a rich dessert.

For the Triple Chocolate Gingerbread recipe, click here.

One Mexican dish you might not know about is flan. In this recipe, the traditional dessert is intricately layered with chocolate cake mix, dulce de leche and vanilla extract.

For the Chocoflan recipe, click here.

Not only does this recipe enhance the flavor of boxed cake mix by adding vanilla and lemon extract, but it also visually improves the cabinet staple. When you cut into this cake, a swirly tie-dye center reveals itself. The impressive treat will even give the best dessert shop in your state a run for its money.

For the Tie Dye Cake recipe, click here.

If you're celebrating your kid's birthday at home this year, one way to make them feel special is by making a great dessert. For this confetti party roll, white cake mix is rolled with whipped cream and topped with colorful sprinkles and cake crumble.

For the Confetti Party Roll Cake recipe, click here.

Start the day off with an iconic breakfast food — with a twist. These delicate morning rolls combine yellow cake mix with brightly colored sugar mix and a classic sweet glaze.

For the Birthday Cake Morning Rolls recipe, click here.

While cake mix isn't the most unexpected ingredient to mix with pancakes, it does leave room for creativity. In this recipe, confetti sprinkles are folded into a cake mix-based pancake batter before being cooked on a hot griddle.

For the Cake Mix Pancakes recipe, click here.

Looking for a new way to put the chocolate cake mix in your pantry to use? Make waffles. These chocolate waffles are topped with strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Pair them with a homemade coffee for breakfast or even enjoy them as dessert.

For the Chocolate Cake Waffles recipe, click here.

This cream cake is a great way to use leftovers. Have leftover oranges or cream cheese? It's time to make orange marmalade cream cake. White cake mix is baked with a cream cheese center and topped with homemade orange marmalade for a citrusy and sweet bite.

For the Orange Marmalade Cream Cake recipe, click here.

There are plenty of foods we won't apologize for loving, and cake is one of them. In this recipe, boxed cake mix is formed into mini-cakes that are infused with rum.

For the Rum-Glazed Dried Mini-Cakes recipe, click here.

One way to turn lemons into something that isn't lemonade? Cake. This lemon cake is made by enhancing a box of yellow cake mix with lemon gelatin and a tasty lemon glaze.

For Susan's Lemon Cake recipe, click here.

One way to take boxed cake mix to the next level is by adding a fruit-based filling. In this recipe, cherry pie filling is baked into French vanilla cake mix and drizzled with a smooth glaze. Believe it or not, there are plenty of ways to use cherries to enhance dessert.

For the Cherry Almond Coffee Cake recipe, click here.

The flavors in this aloha cake will transport you straight to some of the most beautiful islands in the world. Boxed cake mix is brought to the next level by coconut extract and crushed pineapple, two iconic tropical flavors.

For the Aloha Cake recipe, click here.

A great recipe to make with your kids, berries on a cloud cupcakes are so named because they taste like heaven. The angel food cake mix is baked, brushed with cream and dipped in sugar crystals. And, as if it couldn't get any better, the sugar-topped cupcakes are finished with a mascarpone frosting.

For the Berries on a Cloud Cupcakes recipe, click here.

Adding extra eggs to boxed cake mix is one way to elevate the pantry staple. Combined with a creamy mixture of condensed milk and eggs, fudge cake mix is made into a delicious and flavor-packed chocolate bundt cake.

For the Daredevil's Impossible Bundt Cake recipe, click here.

This peanut butter chocolate cake is a slow cooker recipe that will change your life and satisfy your sweet tooth. Boxed cake mix is mixed with mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and topped with creamy peanut butter to make for a smooth and rich after-dinner dessert.

For the Slow Cooker Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake recipe, click here.

This cinnamon sour cream coffee cake is similar to kuchen, one of the most iconic desserts in the country. Boxed cake mix is made new again by adding sour cream to the cake's base as well as a cinnamon crumb topping.

For the Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake recipe, click here.

Enhancing boxed cake mix doesn't have to be difficult. All it takes is some cherry filling and a whole lot of butter. This tart cherry cake is so easy. Not only is it a dump cake, but it's also one of those great dessert recipes that need just five ingredients or fewer.

For the Tart Cherry Dump Cake recipe, click here.

While traditional tres leches — a Mexican dish you can make at home — is made from scratch, this quick boxed cake recipe saves you steps and tastes just like the real thing.

For the Bunnies' Tres Leches Mini Cakes recipe, click here.

These chocolate peanut butter sandwich cookies are made by combining boxed cake mix with melted butter and eggs. The dough is then baked into cookies and spread with a fluffy peanut butter-based filling. And if you enjoy this recipe, you're sure to love more of our 50 best cookie recipes.

For the Chocolate Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies recipe, click here.

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