I’m always looking for ways to improve existing recipes because I do not, under any circumstances, have a single creative bone in my body. But I am a menace with Google, and over the years, I’ve picked up some tricks that’ll seriously up your cake game. You’re welcome.

Say NO to water!

Some cake recipes will call for water.

YAWN.

Don’t. You deserve better.

Instead, spruce up your cake recipe with espresso or with dairy, depending on the kind of cake you’re making. If you’re making a chocolate cake, replace the amount of water with espresso or with brewed coffee. Coffee and chocolate share a lot of the same flavor compounds, so when you combine the two, coffee just amplifies the deep, rich, bittersweetness of the chocolate in a hurricane of flavor synergy.

Coffee adds a tiny bit of bitterness and a bit of roastiness that makes the chocolate taste even sweeter and more intense.

VANILLA IS A FLAVOR

If you're working with a subtle flavor like vanilla, reach for dairy. Milk, cream, butter — they’re not just here for moisture. They’re carriers for fat-soluble flavor compounds, which means they literally help unlock vanilla’s full potential. Dairy binds to those delicate aromatic molecules and lets them shine.

Basically, if coffee is chocolate’s ride-or-die, then consider dairy to be vanilla’s emotional support blanket. Quiet, dependable, and always making her look good.

Short on time?

If you’re anything like me - and I pray you aren’t - you have procrastinated until the very last minute and now you’re not sure what to bring for the party someone pity-invited you to. What to do?

CAKE MIX AND A CAN OF SODA.

That’s it. No eggs, no oil. Just vibes.

According to Eric Troy of Culinary Lore:

“The flavor of soda you choose will determine the flavor of the cake. You can have lemon-lime, orange creamsicle, strawberry, and even grape. People even make Dr Pepper cake and Pepsi Cola cake.”

If you’re new to the whole soda-cake situation, start with a basic white cake mix and a neutral-ish soda like lemon-lime. It's light, bright, and doesn’t overpower the mix.

If you’re vegan, then it’s all good: just be sure to use a vegan cake mix.

Mayonnaise

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH — I know, I know. It sounds absolutely unhinged, cursed, and maybe even vomit-adjacent.

But before you commit to the dry heave, just… breathe and hear me out.

Mayonnaise is literally just egg, oil, and vinegar — ingredients you’re already putting into cake batter. So adding a couple tablespoons of mayo? You’re not breaking the baking rules. You’re just skipping steps. Like a rebel with a whisk.

The oil in mayo gives you a cake that’s freakishly moist, tender, and hard to stop eating. You will go back for seconds.

History is fun

Mayo cake actually dates back to the Great Depression and World War II when ingredients like eggs and butter were rationed.

Enter: Hellman’s.

In the 1930s and 1940s, mayonnaise companies literally put out cake recipes as a clever way to sell their product and help home bakers make do with what they had.

And surprisingly, it slapped and stuck around for the long-haul.

Science is also fun

Thanks to the egg and oil combo, the emulsified fat in mayo disperses evenly through the batter, locking in moisture like your best skincare routine. The vinegar adds a subtle tang that enhances chocolate flavor and reacts with baking soda to help with rise. It’s weird, but it’s functionally weird.

Anyway.

According to Strive to Simplify, 2–3 tablespoons of full-fat mayo can replace one egg. I haven’t tested it with vegan mayo, but if you do — please report back. For science.

Pro tip: If you’re using mayo, skip the extra oil the recipe calls for. Or at least cut it down. Unless you’re baking a Slip-N-Slide.

Happy baking!

Cake tips that work for no good reason