How To Whip Up A Boxed Cake Without Cracking A Single Egg

On any given night, a freshly baked, fudgy chocolate cake may call your name. Since we can't predict when the urge for an impromptu baking session will strike, we may not have everything we need on hand when it does. But as long as you keep a box of cake mix and a can of soda stocked in your pantry, you can get the job done.

Traditionally, eggs are used in cake recipes because when baked, the proteins create air pockets that help the cake to rise. However, this soda trick works well with boxed cake mixes since they already contain leavening agents like baking soda. Liquid is the only requirement for their activation. All you need to do is pour a 12-ounce can of your chosen soda into your cake mix and stir it together. The soda will take the place of the eggs and oil that most boxed cakes call for. 

Rather than diminishing the cake's ability to rise, the carbon dioxide in soda may even work to create a lighter and airier finished product. Opting to use soda in your cake batter is also a quick, easy way to make the recipe vegan — as long as you're using a cake batter that doesn't contain dairy ingredients. While it doesn't make an overtly soda-flavored cake, it can help you create some subtle new flavors that you wouldn't get with the traditional egg and oil add-ins. 

While adding soda to your cake batter may sound like some bizarre Willy Wonka creation, it's actually a time-honored tradition and popular in the South. As a matter of fact, Sprite is the secret ingredient in the Pioneer Woman's famous pound cake. The practice of incorporating pop in baked goods started in mid-century kitchens, when families were working against economic factors that left sweeteners in short supply. Soda worked as a quick fix for this while also providing carbon dioxide to help with leavening.

Aside from the convenience when you're in a pinch, the real reason you should add soda to your boxed cake mix is you can easily create some fun and interesting flavor combinations with them. Like 7Up cake, chocolate cake mix and Coca-Cola is a Southern classic. Although both add sweetness, the lemon-lime soda adds a citrusy element, while Coke adds a deeper depth of flavor to chocolate. Using ginger ale to flavor carrot cake enhances the dessert's spicy, earthy flavor. (Try it with ginger beer if you really want to kick it up a notch!) Cream soda makes a great addition to fruity cake mixes such as strawberry or lemon.