1boxPillsbury or Betty Crocker White or Vanilla cake mix16.25 oz
1 cupgranulated white sugar
1 ⅛cupcake flourthis is one cup + 2 tablespoons
⅛tspsalt
1 ⅓cupwater
3eggs
½cupbutterI use lightly salted butter
1cupsour cream
1tspvanilla extract or almond extractoptional
Instructions
In a large bowl, put water, extract (if using), eggs, melted butter and sour cream. Mix well with paddle attachment.
Add cake mix, sugar, cake flour, and salt.
Mix with paddle attachment at medium speed for approximately 2 minutes, or until most lumps are worked out. It is not necessary to work out all the lumps.
Pour into prepared pans and bake at 325 until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a crumb or two clinging to it. For two 8" or 9" rounds this is around 40 minutes, but every oven is different. Your cake is getting close to done when you can smell it. If it looks close I like to give the rack a little shake. If the center jiggles at all, it's not ready. If it doesn't jiggle, go ahead and test with the toothpick.
Cool for 7-10 minutes in pan, then turn out onto cooling rack. If you experience problems with sticking, you may wish to line your baking pans with parchment paper.
Notes
Why do I bake my cake at 325 instead of the standard 350? I've found that a lower oven temperature leads to a more evenly risen cake and less "doming". When I began my cake career, some experienced bakers even suggested baking your cake by placing it in a cold oven, then beginning the preheating process with the cake already in the oven. This cake tends to bake very flat, which reduces waste in the amount that needs to be leveled off the top. Want to know how to assemble a perfectly flat and level cake? Check out our tutorial on how to prevent the dreaded "cake bulge".