Every Single Recipe in This Cookbook Starts with a Box of Cake Mix

While we'll always love homemade cake, there are times when we don't mind leaning on a boxed cake mix. It can help even the busiest bakers whip up delicious treats with a little less time and effort, but still just as much flavor. That's exactly the concept bestselling author Anne Byrn had in mind when she released her first cookbook, The Cake Mix Doctor, in 1999. Byrn learned the art of doctoring cake mixes from her mother, which led to her developing the book and sharing her secrets with bakers around the world.

Byrn, who's now referred to as The Cake Mix Doctor, decided it's time for an updated version of her first book—more than 20 years after its debut. Released in November 2021, A New Take on Cake, was written from her kitchen table in Nashville, Tennessee, amidst the global pandemic. The new collection of recipes offers a fresh take on some of her classic recipes as well as 125 brand-new recipes. Byrn explains that the recipes take into account updated cake mix sizes as well as new flavors, pan sizes, and baking techniques.

Reviewers agree that they're happy to have a modern take on Byrn's classic recipes. "I have been using The Cake Mix Doctor for years and am glad to have this updated book. I never tell people it is from a mix and am told all the time to open my own bakery!" said one reviewer. Another shared, "Yummy cakes, pies, cupcakes, etc., made by using a cake mix. EASY AS PIE!"