Got a Box of Chocolate Cake Mix? Here’s What to Make With It
Got a box of chocolate cake mix? Turn it into brownies, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, cake bites, pound cake, bars, and more easy chocolate desserts.
Chocolate. C-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e. Ahhhhhhh. Is there another food that inspires quite the same reaction?
Chocolate is celebration food. It’s romance food. It’s comfort food. It’s I’ve had a day food. We put it in birthday cakes and Valentine’s candy boxes and Christmas stockings, and we drizzle it over perfectly good desserts because apparently we look at them and think, You know what this needs? Chocolate.
And when life gets stressful? Well, nobody has ever handed me a celery stick and said, “Here. This will make everything better.” Chocolate, on the other hand? Now we’re talking.
In fact, I ate fudge before bed last night because I was stressed. Was that a carefully considered nutritional decision? No. Did that little piece of chocolatey goodness understand the assignment? Absolutely.
I’ve even taken an entire chocolate excursion while on a cruise in Mexico. We learned about chocolate, tasted different kinds and flavors, and—as you might imagine—I came home with a stash. Apparently simply eating chocolate wasn’t enough. I needed a field trip.
And I think that says something about the way we feel about this particular ingredient. We don’t just eat chocolate. We experience it, crave it, give it as a gift, associate it with celebrations and people we love, and occasionally hide the good stuff so nobody else finds it. Not that I would know anything about that.
I can’t think about chocolate without picturing Willy Wonka and that glorious chocolate river, either. As a kid, I could hardly imagine anything better than an entire river of chocolate. Who am I kidding? I still can’t.
Give me a box of chocolate cake mix and I can at least pretend I’m dipping my toe into that river. That little box can become brownies, cookies, muffins, cupcakes, pound cake, cake bites, dessert bars, whoopie pies, petit fours, Black Forest cake, and German chocolate everything.
We can add caramel and pecans, cherries and strawberries, coffee and espresso, coconut, mint, or marshmallow fluff. Or—and stay with me here—we can add more chocolate, because sometimes the appropriate thing to add to chocolate is more chocolate.
So, if you’ve got a box of chocolate cake mix sitting in your pantry and you’re wondering what to make with it, bring it over here. We’re pushing the magic button.
Why Chocolate Cake Mix Deserves a Permanent Spot in the Pantry
I’ve talked a lot here at Out of the Box Baking about the versatility of boxed cake mixes. I love them because they’re affordable, dependable, and endlessly adaptable. My Ultimate Guide to Doctoring a Boxed Cake Mix explains many of the tricks I’ve learned over the years for taking an ordinary mix and making it something much more special.
Chocolate has one advantage over almost every other flavor, though: it already has a head start. Chocolate cake mix doesn’t need me to give it a personality. It has one. My job is simply to decide what kind of chocolate experience we’re having today.
Do we want rich and fudgy? Light and fluffy? Gooey? Nutty? Fruity? Minty? Coffee-infused? Covered in caramel? Stuffed with marshmallow? Chocolate is remarkably cooperative about all of these things.
That’s one reason I put together my Doctored Chocolate Cake Mix Recipes. It’s a great starting point if you want to see just how many directions a basic chocolate mix can go once you stop assuming you have to follow the picture on the box.
What Can I Add to Chocolate Cake Mix to Make It Better?
Oh, friend. How much time do you have?
If you want to make a basic chocolate cake richer, you can replace the water with milk or coffee in many recipes. Sour cream can add moisture and richness, pudding can help create a soft, moist crumb, and additional eggs can provide richness and structure depending on the particular cake you’re making.
Then we get to the fun stuff. Chocolate plays beautifully with vanilla, coffee, espresso, caramel, coconut, pecans, walnuts, cherries, strawberries, raspberries, mint, marshmallow, peanut butter, cream cheese, cinnamon, toffee, orange, and almond.
And, naturally, chocolate chips. If you’re standing in front of the pantry holding a chocolate cake mix in one hand and another delicious ingredient in the other, wondering whether the two might get along, there’s a surprisingly good chance the answer is yes.
Sometimes You Actually Want Chocolate Cake
After all this talk about turning cake mix into everything except cake, let’s acknowledge something important: chocolate cake is wonderful. Sometimes the very best thing to do with a box of chocolate cake mix is make one spectacular chocolate cake.
https://outoftheboxbaking.com/2022/03/05/ultimate-chocolate-cake-recipe/If that’s what you’re craving, start with my Ultimate Chocolate Cake Recipe. This is the sort of cake I want when I’m not interested in subtlety: rich, moist, decadent, and unapologetically chocolate.
Another favorite is my Chocolate Velvet Cake with Mayonnaise. If the word mayonnaise gives you pause, remember that mayonnaise is largely made of ingredients cake already understands—eggs and oil. It produces a wonderfully moist cake, and no, you’re not going to take a bite and think, Mmm. Mayonnaise.
You can also visit my Doctored Chocolate Cake Mix Recipes for even more ideas. Think of that collection as another doorway into the chocolate wing of Out of the Box Baking.
We have a whole wing now. Apparently the chocolate river runs right through it.
Chocolate + Coffee = A Very Good Idea
If you’ve never added coffee to chocolate cake, this is one of my favorite little tricks. Coffee can deepen and intensify the cocoa notes, and when it’s used in the right amount, the finished cake doesn’t necessarily scream “coffee.” Sometimes it simply makes you wonder why the chocolate tastes so darned good.
And I put my money where my mouth is. Today, on the very day I’m writing this post, I delivered a three-tier wedding cake. The groom specifically requested chocolate for one of the tiers, so the bottom tier was chocolate—with coffee added to deepen the flavor.
As I’m writing this, there’s a very good chance the bride, groom, and their guests are eating it right now. So yes, I’m willing to stand behind this recommendation.
And if you actually want that coffee flavor to make itself known, try my Easy Espresso Cupcakes. These take the natural friendship between coffee and chocolate and let both flavors come to the party.
Sometimes Chocolate Needs More Chocolate
I realize that suggesting we add more chocolate to chocolate might sound excessive. I reject the premise.
My Double Chocolate Chip Cookies take chocolate cake mix and turn it into soft chocolate cookies, then chocolate chips make sure nobody misunderstands what we’re doing here. These are a great choice when a slice of cake simply won’t satisfy the particular chocolate craving you’re dealing with.
If you want something dense and substantial, try my Chocolate Pound Cake with Sour Cream. The sour cream brings richness and moisture while the pound-cake texture gives you a satisfying slice that practically begs for a cup of coffee alongside it.
And if cake isn’t what you’re craving at all, make my Easy Cake Mix Brownies. This is one of my favorite examples of what happens when we stop assuming the word “cake” on the box is an instruction. It isn’t. It’s merely a suggestion.
If You’ve Had a Day
This section really doesn’t need much explanation. I don’t know what happened today. I’m not asking questions. I’m just handing you the chocolate recipes.
Start with my Brownie Bottom Turtle Cheesecake Bars. You’ve got a rich chocolate base, creamy cheesecake, and those wonderful turtle flavors of caramel and pecans. This is not a timid dessert.
My Gooey Turtle Cake Bites take those same beloved chocolate-caramel-pecan flavors and shrink them into individual treats. They’re perfect when you want something party-ready that still delivers that rich, gooey chocolate payoff.
And then there’s my Dolly Parton Mississippi Mud Cake. Chocolate cake, gooey marshmallows, and warm chocolate-pecan frosting come together in one gloriously messy Southern dessert. This one is rich, chocolatey, and absolutely not trying to behave itself.
Had a day? There you go.
Let’s Talk About German Chocolate
Apparently, at some point I decided that one German chocolate recipe wasn’t enough. Or two. Or three. We have practically reached family-reunion status over here.
My German Chocolate Cake is the natural starting point if you love that classic combination of chocolate, coconut, and pecans. There’s a reason these flavors have been hanging around together for generations, and this is the traditional cake that brings them all together.
But why stop with cake? My German Chocolate Pound Cake with Canned Frosting Inside takes that familiar coconut-pecan frosting and puts it right into the batter. The result is a rich, substantial pound cake with German chocolate flavor running through the whole thing.
My Simple German Chocolate Bars take German chocolate cake mix into an easy-to-slice bar format, complete with that coconut-pecan goodness we all love. They’re especially handy for potlucks, parties, and occasions where you need something easy to carry and share.
Then there are my German Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, which move the same beloved flavors into cookie territory. Apparently German chocolate needed to become handheld, and I was happy to oblige.
And my German Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies with Frosting Baked In take yet another approach. Instead of simply spreading frosting on a chocolate cookie afterward, the coconut-pecan goodness gets baked right into the experience.
And don't even get me started on my German Chocolate Cake Bites. They're over-the-top delicious!
This is what happens when I like a flavor combination. I keep messing with it.
Chocolate Loves Fruit, Too
Chocolate may be rich, but fruit knows exactly what to do with it. Cherries, strawberries, and raspberries bring brightness and a little tang that play beautifully against deep chocolate flavor.
https://outoftheboxbaking.com/2023/01/21/easy-black-forest-bundt-cake-doctored-cake-mix/My Easy Black Forest Bundt Cake takes the classic combination of chocolate and cherries and turns it into a beautiful Bundt cake. This is a great choice when you want something impressive without having to stack and decorate layer cakes.
Strawberries understand chocolate, too. My Chocolate Covered Strawberry Dump Cake takes that romantic chocolate-and-strawberry combination and turns it into an easy, scoopable dessert. It’s especially fun around Valentine’s Day, though I see absolutely no reason to restrict chocolate-covered-strawberry flavors to February.
And then there’s my wonderfully simple Are You Kidding Me Cake. The basic formula uses only cake mix, eggs, and pie filling, which means a chocolate mix can be paired with a complementary fruit filling for a ridiculously easy dessert.
Chocolate and fruit. See? Chocolate really does play well with others.
One Box, So Many Possibilities
This is where I really start having fun, because the word “cake” on the front of the box doesn’t have much authority in my kitchen. Once you start changing the ratios and ingredients, chocolate cake mix can become cookies, brownies, muffins, bars, pound cake, cake bites, petit fours, and all sorts of other treats.
My Easy Chocolate Muffins are proof that chocolate cake mix can wander right onto the breakfast table. These are simple, chocolatey muffins with a texture that feels right at home in a muffin wrapper, and I’m certainly not going to be the person who tells you chocolate doesn’t belong at breakfast.
If you want to understand how that transformation works, visit my How to Turn a Boxed Cake Mix into Muffins. Once you understand how to adjust the texture and ratios, you can start using the technique with other flavors, too.
Cookies are another easy transformation. My Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are a great place to begin, but you can also try my Dolly Parton Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies. Thumbprints give you that lovely little center just begging for a filling, turning simple chocolate cake-mix dough into something much more special.
For something warmer and spicier, try my Chocolate Molasses Spice Cookies. Molasses and spice give the chocolate a deeper personality, making these especially appealing when the weather cools.
And yes, chocolate cake mix can become cookie cups. My Mint Chocolate Cookie Cups combine two flavors that have been best friends for ages and package them in a fun little individual dessert.
A box of cake mix. Not a cake in sight.
I love my job.
Small Bites, Big Chocolate
Chocolate lends itself beautifully to little individual desserts, especially when you’re building a dessert table or need something easy to share. A small dessert also gives you permission to make it especially rich because nobody needs to know how many you went back for.
My Gooey Turtle Cake Bites combine chocolate, caramel, and pecans in a small package that’s perfect for gatherings. They have all the indulgence of a larger turtle dessert without requiring everybody to commit to a giant slice.
My Hot Cocoa Cake Bites with Marshmallow Fluff Filling take chocolate in a completely different direction. These are inspired by a mug of hot cocoa, complete with that soft marshmallow component tucked inside.
And don’t overlook chocolate when you’re making petit fours. My How to Turn a Boxed Cake Mix into Petit Fours shows you how to transform cake mix into elegant little bite-sized cakes.
Chocolate petit fours can be dressed up for showers, weddings, holidays, or any occasion where a plain square of cake simply isn’t feeling fancy enough.
Cupcakes Understand the Assignment
There are times when I want chocolate cake but don’t want to deal with slicing and serving a whole cake. Cupcakes solve that problem beautifully, and they’re wonderfully practical for parties because there’s no cutting, plating, or arguing about who got the bigger slice.
My Hot Cocoa Cupcakes with Marshmallow Fluff Filling are cozy chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallow surprise inside. They’re especially fun during the cooler months when hot chocolate is already on everybody’s mind.
And those Easy Espresso Cupcakes I mentioned earlier are the choice when you want chocolate and coffee to share the spotlight. Think of them as the grown-up cousin at the chocolate-cupcake family reunion.
For the record, if we were serving cake instead, I would have gotten the bigger slice.
Chocolate Can Be Fancy, Too
Chocolate is perfectly comfortable being eaten out of a pan while you’re standing at the kitchen counter. It also cleans up nicely.
My Holiday Yule Log Cake (Bûche de Noël) is a wonderful example. This rolled chocolate cake becomes a beautiful holiday centerpiece, proving that boxed cake mix can go from grocery-store shelf to something genuinely impressive.
And those Cake Mix Petit Fours I mentioned earlier can be taken in an elegant chocolate direction, too. Petit fours look delicate and bakery-worthy, but starting with a dependable cake mix makes the process much less intimidating.
That’s one of the things I’ve always loved about doctored mixes. They don’t determine how fancy the finished dessert can be.
You do.
When Chocolate Dresses Up for Christmas
Chocolate doesn’t have a season, but goodness, does it know how to celebrate Christmas. This is when we start pairing it with marshmallow, peppermint, mint, and all those cozy winter flavors.
I've already shared my hot cocoa cupcakes and hot cocoa cake bites. But wait. . .there's more! When the holidays come around, chocolate is right at home!
My Candy Cane Whoopie Pies bring peppermint into the chocolate conversation. Soft chocolate cakes and festive filling give you that familiar chocolate-peppermint combination in a fun handheld treat.
My Mint Chocolate Cookie Cups are another fun choice for mint lovers. They’re small enough for cookie trays and dessert tables but rich enough to satisfy a serious chocolate craving.
And if you want the dramatic centerpiece, go straight for the Holiday Yule Log Cake. Nothing says Christmas quite like bringing a beautiful chocolate log cake to the table.
January through December. Chocolate never really clocks out.
What Goes Well With Chocolate Cake Mix?
This is one of those questions where the easier answer might be: What doesn’t? Coffee and espresso deepen the flavor, caramel brings buttery sweetness, pecans and walnuts add crunch, and coconut takes you straight toward German chocolate territory.
Cherries give you Black Forest possibilities, while strawberries and raspberries add bright fruitiness against all that rich cocoa. Mint gives you a classic holiday combination, marshmallow takes you toward hot cocoa and Mississippi mud, and cream cheese brings a tanginess that opens the door to all sorts of cheesecake possibilities.
Cinnamon and warm spices can make chocolate feel deeper and cozier. Peanut butter? Come on. Chocolate knew peanut butter was coming.
And then there are chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, ganache, chocolate frosting, chocolate curls, and chocolate drizzle. If you’re beginning to suspect that my philosophy is “when in doubt, add something delicious,” you are catching on.
A Few Easy Chocolate Cake Mix Hacks
If you have chocolate cake mix but don’t necessarily want to follow a specific recipe, there are several easy ways to play with it. Swap some or all of the water for milk when the recipe allows it, try coffee when you want to deepen the chocolate flavor, or add chocolate chips for little pockets of melted chocolate.
You can also fold in toasted pecans or walnuts, add coconut, pair the finished cake with berries, use a complementary pudding mix when appropriate, or add a filling between the layers. Even something as simple as turning the batter into cupcakes instead of cake can give you an entirely different dessert.
You’ll find even more ideas in my 12 Easy Hacks to Jazz Up a Boxed Cake Mix. That post is all about taking the convenience of a boxed mix and making the finished dessert feel much more special.
The point isn’t to hide the box. The point is to use it well.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chocolate Cake Mix
How do I make boxed chocolate cake taste more homemade?
Start by thinking about richness, moisture, and flavor. Depending on the recipe, replacing water with milk or coffee, adding pudding or sour cream, using additional eggs, adding vanilla, or incorporating chocolate chips can all take a basic chocolate cake in a more decadent direction.
My How to Doctor a Boxed Cake Mix: The Ultimate Guide goes much deeper into these techniques. It’s a good resource when you want to understand why these additions work rather than simply memorize a list of hacks.
Can I replace the water in chocolate cake mix with coffee?
In many chocolate cake recipes, yes. Coffee and chocolate are natural partners, and coffee can deepen the overall cocoa flavor without necessarily making the finished cake taste strongly of coffee.
Follow the particular recipe you’re using, especially if other ingredient ratios have also been changed. Once you start changing several things at once, it’s helpful to work from a tested formula.
Will adding coffee make my chocolate cake taste like coffee?
Not necessarily. A moderate amount can deepen the chocolate flavor without making coffee the dominant flavor.
If you actually want a noticeable coffee flavor, a recipe specifically designed around coffee or espresso—like my Easy Espresso Cupcakes—is a better choice. In those cupcakes, coffee gets to step out of the supporting role and share the spotlight with chocolate.
Can I use milk instead of water in chocolate cake mix?
Often, yes. Milk can add richness and a little more body to the finished cake.
Just remember that once you start changing several ingredients at once, you’re altering the cake’s formula. For important cakes or occasions, I prefer to work from a combination I’ve already tested.
What does sour cream do to chocolate cake?
Sour cream adds moisture, richness, and a subtle tang that can balance all that sweetness. It can also help create the soft, tender texture we associate with a really good rich cake.
My Chocolate Pound Cake with Sour Cream is a great example. The sour cream helps turn an ordinary mix into a rich, substantial chocolate pound cake.
Why would anyone put mayonnaise in chocolate cake?
Because mayonnaise is largely made from ingredients cake already likes: oil and eggs. It can help create an exceptionally moist, tender chocolate cake.
My Chocolate Velvet Cake with Mayonnaise puts this old-fashioned trick to work. And no, the finished cake doesn’t taste like a sandwich.
Can I add pudding to chocolate cake mix?
Yes. Pudding is commonly used in doctored cake-mix recipes to add moisture, flavor, and richness.
Just make sure you’re following a formula that accounts for the other ingredients you’re adding instead of throwing every cake hack you know into the bowl at once. More isn’t always better—except, perhaps, when we’re talking about chocolate chips.
Can I make cookies from chocolate cake mix?
Absolutely. By reducing the amount of liquid, you can turn cake mix into a thick, scoopable dough instead of a pourable cake batter.
My Double Chocolate Chip Cookies are a delicious example. Chocolate cake mix forms the base, and chocolate chips make sure we’ve fully committed to the theme.
Can I make brownies from chocolate cake mix?
Yes. My Easy Cake Mix Brownies turn an ordinary box of chocolate cake mix into a denser, fudgier dessert by changing the usual cake-mix formula.
This is particularly handy when the craving says brownies but the pantry says cake mix. I consider that a successful negotiation.
Can I make muffins from chocolate cake mix?
Absolutely. My Easy Chocolate Muffins do exactly that, turning the mix into an easy chocolate breakfast or snack.
If you want to understand the broader technique, my How to Turn a Boxed Cake Mix into Muffins explains how to adjust the batter for a more muffin-like result. Once you understand the method, you can experiment with all sorts of cake-mix flavors.
Can I use devil’s food cake mix instead of chocolate cake mix?
Often you can substitute one chocolate-style cake mix for another, but the flavor, color, and richness may differ depending on the particular mix. For a specific recipe, check its instructions and package size before substituting.
The good news is that these variations still leave you firmly in chocolate territory. That is not a bad place to be.
What about German chocolate cake mix?
German chocolate has its own personality and works especially well with coconut and pecans. If that’s what you’ve got in the pantry, I certainly wouldn’t leave it sitting there.
My Simple German Chocolate Bars are an easy place to start. They take those familiar German chocolate flavors and put them into an easy-to-share bar.
Can I freeze chocolate cake-mix desserts?
Many chocolate cakes, cupcakes, cookies, brownies, bars, and cake bites freeze beautifully. The exact method will depend on the particular dessert and especially its filling, frosting, or topping.
For best results, check the individual recipe for storage and freezing instructions. That way you’re accounting for everything in the finished dessert, not merely the cake-mix component.
How Do I Decide Which Chocolate Dessert to Make?
Here’s my advice: don’t start with the box. Start with the craving.
Do you want something warm and gooey? Make brownies or Mississippi mud cake. Need something portable? Cookies or cake bites. Taking dessert to church, a potluck, or a party? Bars are hard to beat.
Want something beautiful for Christmas? Make the Yule log. Need something elegant? Petit fours. Want chocolate for breakfast? Muffins. I’m not judging.
Had a day? We’ve already covered that.
The beauty of chocolate cake mix is that the decision doesn’t have to begin with cake. It begins with what sounds good, what ingredients you have, where you’re going, who you’re feeding, and how much effort you feel like putting into it.
Some days we’re making a wedding cake. Some days we’re eating fudge before bed.
A baker contains multitudes.
About the Baker
Hi, friends! I’m Janice, the baker behind Out of the Box Baking, and if you’ve made it this far you’ve probably figured out that I’m not exactly indifferent to chocolate.
I’ve spent years baking cakes, cupcakes, cookies, bars, and desserts for weddings, birthdays, church gatherings, ministry events, family celebrations, and ordinary days when somebody simply needed something sweet. I’ve also spent a ridiculous amount of time asking one particular question: What else can I do with this box of cake mix?
Chocolate makes that question especially fun. I’ve doctored chocolate cake mix into rich celebration cakes, added coffee to deepen its flavor, turned it into cookies and brownies and pound cakes, paired it with fruit and caramel and pecans, tucked marshmallow into it, and rolled it into holiday desserts.
I’ve even devoted part of a Mexican cruise excursion to learning more about chocolate itself. And on the very day I wrote this post, I delivered a wedding cake with a chocolate-and-coffee bottom tier specifically requested by the groom.
Apparently chocolate just keeps following me around.
I’m okay with that.
Thanks for Stopping By!
Chocolate isn’t really the answer to all of the world’s problems. I know that. You know that. But every now and then, when life has been a little much and somebody slides a warm brownie across the table? It certainly doesn’t hurt.
Maybe that’s why chocolate feels a little magical to us. We celebrate with it, give it away, bake it for people we love, and reach for it when we need comfort.
We build fountains out of it, take tours devoted to it, tuck it into stockings, put it into heart-shaped boxes, and—in my imagination, anyway—occasionally dive headfirst into a river of it.
C-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e. Ahhhhhhh.
So keep a box of chocolate cake mix in the pantry—for birthdays, holidays, company, experimenting, wedding cakes, and those days when you’ve simply had a day.
Because sometimes you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
Sometimes you just need to push the magic button. Chocolate.
Before you go, why not pin some photos to your Pinterest boards? I love it when folks share my recipes. . .especially when they're. . .chocolate!
