Inside: This easy bundt cake recipe has been a family favorite for over a decade — It’s basically foolproof. no one will ever guess it came from a box!
While a traditional birthday cake is not usually my choice of sweet treats, I’ve made a few exceptions over the years. My From-a-Box Bundt Cake (as I call it) is one of those exceptions!
Simple enough for kids to help with, this easy bundt cake recipe is also “company approved” in my book!
It can be tweaked based on your personal preferences (or whatever ingredients you have in the pantry), it freezes wonderfully, and it’s an easy dish to bring to a potluck, holiday party, birthday celebration, or summer BBQ.
It’s basically the perfect sweet treat for any occasion!
I make some version of this cake at least once a month (keep reading below for some of our favorite flavor combos). Sometimes, I’ll even bake 2 different cakes at the same time, cut them both in half, put half of each in the freezer, and save half of each to eat right away.
As you’ll notice by the pictures below… anything with chocolate is a winner in our home!
If you’re looking for a simple and delicious dessert recipe for an upcoming event… or just a special weeknight treat, give my from-a-box bundt cake a try.
I promise, no one will ever guess you started with a boxed mix!
NOTE: I want to mention that I have made countless attempts to recreate this recipe using whole grain flour — it does not work! 🙂
Much to my dismay (and lots of “wasted” ingredients) I have yet to come up with a whole grain version of this recipe that’s even close to how light, fluffy, moist, and delicious this from-a-box recipe is.
That said… you should be able to substitute the boxed mix part of this recipe with the dry ingredients of your favorite from-scratch cake recipes (here’s an easy from-scratch chocolate cake recipe).
Our Favorite Ingredient Combinations:
Almost any cake mix + pudding mix combo could work for this bundt cake recipe so feel free to experiment. I’ve shared a handful of our favorite combinations below.
- Chocolate cake mix + chocolate pudding powder + semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Chocolate cake mix + butterscotch pudding powder + 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips + 1/2 c. peanut butter chips
- Yellow cake mix + vanilla pudding powder + semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Yellow cake mix + lemon pudding powder + 2 t. lemon extract + 2 T. poppy seeds
- Chocolate cake mix + butterscotch pudding powder + 1/2 c. chocolate chips + 1/c. pecans
- Red velvet cake mix + vanilla pudding powder + white chocolate chips
- White cake mix + vanilla pudding mix + 2 t. almond extract + slivered almonds as a garnish (on top of the already baked cake)
Easy From-A-Box Bundt Cake
This easy bundt cake recipe is simple enough for kids to help, it can be tweaked based on your personal preferences (or whatever ingredients you have in the pantry), and it freezes wonderfully.
It's basically the perfect sweet treat for any occasion!
Ingredients
- 1 pkg. any variety of store-bought cake mix (15.25 oz.)
- 1 pkg. any flavor instant pudding (4 serving size)
- 1 c. water
- 1/2 c. applesauce or oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 c. mix-ins (optional) -- chocolate chips, nuts, peanut butter chips, etc.
- optional frosting, glaze, and toppings
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Grease a 10" bundt pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix dry cake mix and dry pudding mix.
- Add wet ingredients and any mix-ins; stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.
- Remove cake from pan and cool on a wire rack.
- Frost if desired and add topping or garnishes (chocolate chips, peanuts, coconut, etc)
Notes
Our Favorite Combinations:
- Chocolate cake mix + chocolate pudding powder + semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Chocolate cake mix + butterscotch pudding powder + 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips + 1/2 c. peanut butter chips
- Yellow cake mix + vanilla pudding powder + semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Yellow cake mix + lemon pudding powder + 2 t. lemon extract + 2 T. poppy seeds
- Chocolate cake mix + butterscotch pudding powder + 1/2 c. chocolate chips + 1/c. pecans
- Red velvet cake mix + vanilla pudding powder + white chocolate chips
- White cake mix + vanilla pudding mix + 2 t. almond extract + slivered almonds as a garnish (on top of the already baked cake)
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Nutrition Information
Yield
12Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 337Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 47mgSodium 394mgCarbohydrates 56gFiber 2gSugar 34gProtein 5g
Nutritional information is approximate and does not account for additional ingredients or added toppings.
Want More Easy Cake Recipes?
The recipes below are all super simple with easy-to-find ingredients… and best of all, they get 2 thumbs up from our family!
What are your favorite from-a-box recipes?
Visit my virtual recipe box for more simple, delicious, family-friendly, recipes!
Sofia says
Delicious but I substituted the water for coffee, the applesauce for peach jam, I used 2 eggs instead of 3, I substituted the store bought cake mix for 2 cups of flour and 1/2 a cup of coco powder, and I substituted the chocolate chips for pistachios. I also baked it at 320 degrees for 50 min. It turned out delicious as you mentioned in your original recipe!
Just kidding…don’t you hate it when people rate these recipes and change the recipe?
Andrea says
haha — I laughed out loud when reading your comment. Love this!
On a side note, I do often substitute coffee for water in chocolate cake and brownies!
Jan Holder says
Hi Andrea! I just found your site and would like to make this Bundt cake, but I want to add chocolate syrup into the mix to give it that marble look. Any recommendation on how much syrup to use?
Thanks,
Jan
Andrea says
Hi Jan,
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by “syrup” — are you thinking something like Hershey’s chocolate syrup? Or something else?
I personally haven’t tried this so I’m not sure how to speak on it or give any recommendations that aren’t just a stab in the dark! My best suggestion is always just “try it and see what happens”. Yes, you might waste a few ingredients, but then you’ll know for next time 🙂
Jan Holder says
Hi Andrea, yes I want to add Hershey’s chocolate syrup. My goal is make a chocolate marble Bundt cake, using a yellow cake mix with chocolate swirls.
Wasn’t sure how much chocolate syrup to use… going to start with 1/4 cup and see what happens.
Andrea says
oh ok — if you want to use a yellow cake mix, all you need to do it reserve about 1/4th of the prepared cake mix and add a couple of Tablespoons cocoa powder to the reserved mix. Pour the yellow cake mix into the pan, then drop the chocolate mix by Tablespoon throughout the yellow mix and swirl with a knife.
You could also try the syrup, but I’ve personally always done it with cocoa powder.
Tara G says
I made this today with a triple fudge cake mix, butterscotch pudding, brewed cherry berry tea and added in fresh raspberries. So, so good and it was my first bundt cake ever and I made it with my thrift store find, a Nordic Field of Violets bundt pan. I am hooked!
Andrea says
oh wow — that sounds AMAZING! Thanks for sharing your success! And SCORE on the Nordic pan from the thrift store!
Gail Hanson says
So when you add pudding to the cake mix are you talking about instant pudding or cook and serve pudding
Andrea says
It’s the instant pudding powder… not cook and serve 🙂
Karen Fluetsch says
Can I bake 2 of these Bundt cakes at the same time?
Andrea says
sure — but if it were me, I’d mix them separately. Also, you’ll probably need to increase the baking time by 5-10 minutes and then you might want to cover the tops with foil if they are getting too brown.
Jan Keller says
Sure wish that when printing the recipe the instructions were included in the document!
Andrea says
sorry for the issues — it’s a problem with the recipe care plugin I use and the company has assured me it will be fixed by the end of this week!
Kate says
Love this recipe! It’s so simple and delicious. Everyone loves it and it’s easy to throw together. I used a yellow cake mix with vanilla pudding, a teaspoon of Fiori di Sicilia, and baked for 30 minutes in a Nordic honeycomb pull apart cake pan. Drizzled it with marmalade glaze (melted marmalade with butter & powdered sugar). It came out perfect and was SO EASY! Thank you for sharing this!
Andrea says
Thanks for sharing Kate! Your spin on this recipe sound AMAZING (and so fancy!) I love that this one simple “base recipe” can be tweaked to create so many new concoctions!!
Tom says
This cake was a giant success. Easy to make, and best for me completely dairy fee. I used chunks of semi-sweet chocolate as my add in. When I served it I put a scoop of vanilla ice cream and some chocolate syrup on top. Easy and totally delish!
Andrea says
yay — glad you enjoyed it!
LucyLu says
Im in a independent retirement facility and the past year has taken up baking cakes for my neighbors. Thank you for the bundt cake from mix recipes. They are so easy and good. When I knock on a neighbors door with a piece of cake their face lights up and they are so happy to receive this wonderful no stress gift.
Andrea says
This is such a fantastic story! Thanks so much for being an inspiration to your neighbors (and for sharing your story with us!) Glad you enjoyed the cake!
tammi gaea says
I make 1 with white wine instead of the water, & vanilla pudding mix. Then sprinkle powdered sugar on top! We call it wine cake!
Andrea says
yum!
Ang says
Thanks for this recipe. I tried it but unfortunately, my Bundt came out super dry! Were we supposed to prepare the pudding per the pudding box instructions with milk, or use the pudding powder (dry)? I just used the dried pudding powder, boxed cake mix, three eggs, a cup of milk instead of water and 1/2 a cup of applesauce. Any suggestions are welcome!
Andrea says
Hey Ang… you use the dry pudding mix (not prepared pudding) so you did that correctly!
As for the dryness, I’m honestly not sure. I’ve made this exact recipe dozens of times and have never had a dry bite of cake (and I’m not a huge cake fan — so that’s saying something!)
My only thought is that it was potentially over-baked… or that your cake mix was more than 15.25 ounces.
Angela Godhwani says
Thanks for your reply Andrea! I used a 10 cup Bundt pan and “cook and serve” pudding mix, maybe that variety of pudding mix was the culprit!?
Andrea says
That was the issue — you need the INSTANT pudding mix — the cook and serve is totally different!
Rachel says
So many boxed cake mixes already have “pudding in the mix” these days… do you add your pudding mix to those or just make sure to buy the plain kind?
Andrea says
true — I still add pudding (or just buy the kind without pudding in the mix!)
Rachael says
Do you have a bundt pan you recommend?
Andrea says
Hi Rachel,
yes, I link to my recommended USA brand pan below the recipe!
Katie says
We’ve always called this “cheater’s pound cake” and my favorite combo is using yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding, and orange juice.
Andrea says
haha — I love that name! and the OJ sounds like a great addition. I often use coffee for the liquid when I make chocolate cake!
Annette B Silveira says
I’ve made your cake mix recipe over and over and it’s always fantastic. I use milk instead of water and butter instead of oil. I’ve been guilty of trying to make sweet treats more healthy too. I finally decided they are TREATS and left them alone.
Andrea says
yay — so happy you have enjoyed this cake many times over the years!
Sometimes I use cooled coffee instead of water for chocolate cake — SO yummy!
And yes, I learned that it’s not always worth it to try to “healthify” desserts — just enjoy the treat and accept it as that… a TREAT!
Melissa says
I’ve made various versions of this multiple times. When baking for a cake sale, mine were some of the first to sell! Easy and delicious!
Andrea says
that’s awesome!!! And no one knew it came from a box! Love it!
Karen A Hanzel says
I tried the version with the chocolate chips–I used a yellow cake mix. I think it will be tasty but I just dropped it out of the pan and a few places stuck : (
Andrea says
I’m sure it will still taste great — maybe next time grease the pans a bit more to hopefully prevent sticking!
Mary says
I always grease (or spray with Pam) and then dust with flour. My mother always did this and I’ve never thought to try it. Cake sometimes has a less attractive look. Might have to try it without dusting.
Rose says
Try dusting your pan with powder sugar in place of the flour …
Andrea says
good tip!
Phyllis says
Hi Andrea! I just found your site and can’t wait to try this recipe (even though I’m not what you’d call a “baker.”) I wanted to try a Bundt cake with strawberries. I have a strawberry cake mix, non-instant vanilla pudding, butter, eggs and about 2 lbs of fresh ripe strawberries. What I’m not sure about, and I hope you will help me with are the following: 1-Do I need to adjust any of the other ingredients because I have the cook and serve pudding instead of instant. 2- Is it OK to use butter instead of oil and half & half or milk instead of water. 3-Do I need to add or adjust ingredients in order to add a cup or so of fresh minced/diced strawberries to the mix? I know I’m asking a lot and would love, love, love to hear from you about my idea – even if you say it just won’t work! My son and I love chocolate, so we’ll be trying your recipe next month. It’s just so HOT here in NC, we thought…FRESH STRAWBERRIES! I’ll be using a buttercream/strawberry icing/glaze with sliced strawberry garnish. Thank you so much!
Phyllis
Andrea says
hi Phyllis! Welcome to my blog 🙂
The strawberry cake sounds AMAZING!
My answers to your questions… yes, you can use melted butter instead of oil and yes, you can use half & half instead of milk.
However, you can not use the cooked pudding and get the same results. It has to be instant pudding as you only add the powder to the cake mix. I’m always in favor of trying new things, so you COULD make the pudding (and cool it) ahead of time, then reduce come of the liquid called for in the cake recipe — but I still don’t think you’d get the same results, and I’d personally be leery of trying it for company!
As for adding the strawberries, I’ve rarely ever add fresh fruit to cake mixes as we are more chocolate people, so I don’t know for sure, but I think adding the strawberries should be fine. If you wanted to sprinkle them with sugar and let them “drain” in a colander for a bit before adding, that would cut down on the potential sogginess. You could also coat the strawberries in flour before adding them (so they don’t all stick together).
Hope this helps!
Claire says
When it comes to box mixies i usually doctor them by replacing the water with whole milk, oil with melted butter, and adding one more egg than the box asks for. When doing your bundt cake method, would doctoring the box mix work? Has anyone tried it? TIA
Andrea says
give it a try — what’s the worst that can happen!
Bev Miles says
Thanks for the many recipes. We use to be able to buy bundt cake mixes in the 50’s and 60’s and I loved the Chocolate one with the cocoanut center filling. I have the recipe for the filling and
now I will be able to make that cake again. Thanks so much!
Andrea says
glad to help. We love this cake!!
Karen A Hanzel says
Bev,
I remember those mixes!!!
As a kid in the 70’s I made them from those mixes all of the time, and I completely forgot about the cocoanut center. I wish there would be a revival of this product.
Judy says
Please send or post the recipe
I’d love to try that My husband love Really love love coconut
Connie says
This is the best cake ever. I am not sure how many times I have made different versions but each time they work out great. Thank you for the great recipe….easy as it is
Andrea says
thanks so much Connie — we LOOOOOOOVE all the variations of this cake too. It’s a recipe I make VERY regularly all year long!
Linda says
LOVE. . . .LOVE. . .your from-a-box bundt cake recipes. . . .sharing with my knit group. Thank You!
Andrea says
thanks Linda — we love it too!
Marilyn Stinson says
This is a GREAT recipe. Love it! Question: it seems all the cake mixes come in 15.25 oz (not 18.5 like they used to). How do I need to adjust your recipe for the new size mixes????
Andrea says
I use the same recipe even though the cake mixes are sometimes smaller. It still works perfectly for me!
jean m griffin says
“Hi” This looks like the perfect recipe being able to pick and choose what you would like to use. age 76yr F Thank-you Your family looks lovely. Jean
Heather says
Made this cake for a church pot luck on Saturday, with no leftovers. So delicious! I just made cake # 2 for us to enjoy at home. Question: How do you freeze this cake? Wrap in aluminum foil or just bag it up in a freezer bag? Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Andrea says
yay — glad you liked it! We LOVE LOVE LOVE this cake!
As for freezing, you can do either — zip top bag or wrap in plastic wrap + aluminum foil. I’ve done with with very delicious defrosted cake each time 🙂
Patti says
Just tried this cake – the chocolate flavors – and used caramel ice cream topping drizzled over the top. Everyone LOVED it! Thank you for the recipe. Can’t wait to try other flavors, but I’ll bet the chocolate stays our favorite! 🙂
Kristen says
Do you ever have trouble getting your cake out of the pan when using chocolate chips? I’ve made this twice and even though I grease and flour the pan I still get chocolate chips that stick to the pan. Any advice?
Andrea says
Yes Kristen, sometimes the chocolate chips do stick to the bottom — but it’s usually just a few so I don’t worry that much. However, I have found the greasing the pan with Crisco (oleo from a can, not the oil) and no flour works the best for this cake. I just made one again yesterday and only had 2 or 3 chips stick to the pan.
If you continue to have problems, you might consider borrowing a different pan from a friend to see if it could just be your specific pan!
Connie says
Make sure the chocolate chips are coated in the dry ingredient well before adding to wet mixture. Keeps Chios from all going to bottom of cake pan and evenly out thru to cake mixture… same with fruit and nuts.
Andrea says
great tip — I often do this too!
Kristen says
Well, frustration got the best of me today with the potty training of my almost 3 year old. I sorta promised him we could make a cake if he went #2 on the potty. Let’s just say, he held me to it and we just enjoyed the chocolate version with semi-sweet and butterscotch chips. Win some, lose some! lol I can’t wait to try the Red Velvet, sounds so good!
Andrea says
Well, at least you got cake out of the deal! The chocolate version is our favorite too 🙂
shelly says
Thank you for all the recipes you post. I try most and they are all easy and wonderful. This cake recipe is a keeper for sure. I bought a cute bundt pan on QVC.com from the Temp-tations line in teal and it comes with a serving platter and a clear lid if you want to use it for other things which I will. Would be nice for fruit and such. You can watch the video presentation to see the other uses. Just wanted to share this with everyone because I love mine~They call it a fluted tube pan.
http://www.qvc.com/Temp-tations-Old-World-Fluted-Tube-Pan-With-Serving-Tray-Search-Results.product.K36058.html?sc=K36058-SRCH&cm_sp=VIEWPOSITION-_-1-_-K36058&catentryImage=http://images-p.qvc.com/is/image/k/58/k36058.001?$uslarge$
shelly says
Made your recipe today for a chocolate bundt cake, chocolate with mini choc.chips~
For the Glaze on top I found this easy recipe and it worked and tasted fabulous. Sprinkled a few multi colored sprinkles on top. Going to take it to Church tonight!
1 Can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 cup choc. chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
Put milk in microwaveable bowl add c.chips and microwave 45 second. Enough to warm it up to melt the chips. Becareful to not get it too hot. Take out of microwave and continue to stir to help the chips melt completely. Add the vanilla and pour over cake. This will not harden but remain tacky. Tastes wonderful!
Andrea says
Sounds yummy — I’ve made a similar glaze before and can attest that it’s fabulous!
Shelby says
Wow I never knew there were so many variations to this cake. I have used this same recipe only yellow cake mix , butterscotch pudding and then mix cinnamon, pecans and brown sugar together and sprinkle on cake. It is always a hit whereever I take it. I will be trying some new variations soon!
Ann says
I want to see a picture of your bundt pan. I have 3 different sizes, some metal, some ceramic. I have NEVER been happy with how things bake in them so I always avoid bundt recipes. How would I know what size, etc. to use?
Andrea says
Hi Ann. My bundt cake pan is a 10″ pan. Here is the link to the exact pan I use — and I’ve always been happy with how my cakes turn out!
Laura says
You can also do a version of this with a box of any kind of cake mix and any kind of pie filling, no other ingredients needed!
Natalia says
Thank you for these ideas, Andrea!!! I’ll try some of the combinations, soon, starting with the chocolate flavors! 😉
My “go-to-dessert” I make pretty often is “Apple Blossoms”. (A cute version of home-made apple strudel). It’s using store bought puff pastry (that I buy in bulk and keep in the freezer) and apples.
I prepare the apples by coring and cutting into small pieces, then I cook them with just a little sugar and cinnamon, until they become soft. I mash them with a wire wisk every now and then. When most of the juices have evaporated, I let it cool down while I prepare the dough: roll it out and cut into 3″x3″ squares, then place a dollop of “chunky apple sauce”. I pick up the squares by their corners and place in a muffin tray, arranging the corners to look pretty. Bake @ 400 for 20 minutes. Dust with sugar powder when cool.They look fancy to take to parties or potlucks, but I never tried freezing them for later. (I never had a problem with leftovers, either…:))
Thanks for the Blundt Cake (with-a-twist or two) recipes!
I’ll try at least one version this week-end!
Anne says
Reading your post today brought back a childhood memory I have not thought of in a very long time. My mom use to make your triple chocolate bundt cake recipe. It was our household favorite, too! Thank you for the memory. 🙂
Sher says
My family’s favorite “go to” dessert is variations on “Trifle” but it usually ends up being called “Birthday Bowl”. Cake layered in a big glass punch bowl with other ingredients such as chocolate pudding, whipping cream, crumbled up Skor bars…you get the idea. Have also done “Black Forest” bowl…can of cherry pie filling instead of skor bars! My youngests favorite involved fresh strawberries, chocolate cake and whip cream, with chocolate covered strawberries on top 🙂
Lissa says
I do this all the time but also add sour cream to make it even more moist
Amy says
We love and use this method for doctoring up a box mix also. Our favorite is lemon with poppy seeds.
Kayla H says
We do lemon with lemon pudding and a lemon juice/powdered sugar glaze. It is sooo moist! I’ve never thought to change it up, I will definitely have to try other flavors!
Andrea says
Yes Kayla — try the chocolate for sure!!
Kimberley says
Hm, looks delicious! Can’t wait to give it a try! Have you thought of trying the idea of using milk instead of water, butter instead of oil and adding an additional egg? This is an idea that I got off of pinterest when making a cake using a box cake mix. It works extremely well! I have made 2 cakes this way since finding it and I have to say, it really tastes bakery fresh! Thanks for sharing this post…I love bundt cakes! And they are perfect for portion control because like you stated, you can freeze half!
Barb says
Kimberley: do you use melted or just soft butter? i am making this today. thanks if you can help.
Jane says
This cake is a family favorite. It freezes great.