Learn how to make your own Easy Bake Oven mixes from boxed cake mix... Yields 33 refills for under $4, making them just $0.12 each!
Easy Bake Oven - To Buy Or Not To Buy?
My oldest daughter turned 10 a few months ago - that precarious age where she's on the brink of leaving childish things behind but isn't quite ready to give it ALL up.
Her Christmas wish list was an interesting take on this, filled with clothing, a Beats Pill, a Vera Bradley purse, earrings, etc... but one item stood out:
An Easy Bake Oven.
I have to say I was torn... Would she actually use it? Or was it just a total waste of money? I added an Easy Bake Ultimate Oven to my Amazon cart but debated purchasing for days.
You see, we had one of these toys several years ago - but after it became the source of endless sibling arguments, it was promptly donated. Five kids all vying to bake ONE teeny cake that was little more than a bite for each? Yeah, not a good combination!
But being the lone toy in a sea of preteen dreams, I finally decided: "What could it hurt?"
And what do you know?! She has used it near daily since opening it Christmas morning.
She loves to make special cakes for everyone in the family. And I love to watch quietly from afar, as she carefully stacks layers of various cake flavors, frosting each to perfection, and finally topping them off with her favorite rainbow sprinkles.
I'm so glad that I caved, because I would have missed out on so much joy.
The down side to it? Those gosh darn Easy Bake Oven mixes are ridiculously expensive! I mean, we're talking $8 for a refill pack that makes just 2 cakes.
"YOU are a life saver!!!!"
Thank you so much for figuring out these recipes! I really couldn't believe how expensive these tiny boxes of mix were.
Make Your Own Easy Bake Oven Mixes
It took some research and a lot of trial and error, but my daughter and I hit upon just the right formula for using store-bought cake mixes to make our own Easy Bake Oven refills.
We tested several brands in the process. While the method I'm going to share worked reasonably well for all the brands we tried, we both agreed that the Duncan Hines Signature cake mixes consistently produced the best results.
Given that a box of this cake mix retails for around $1.38 at Walmart and we were able to get about 11 Easy Bake Oven mixes per box, you can easily see how the savings add up. That breaks down to just $0.12 per mix versus $4 for a single Easy Bake Oven refill!!!
I picked up three boxes of Duncan Hines Signature cake mix, one each of French Vanilla, Dark Chocolate Fudge, and Strawberry Supreme, which is enough to make 33 Easy Bake Oven mixes in under 15 minutes.
In addition, I recommend picking up a can of baking spray to prepare the pan, a couple of tubs of white frosting, and some rainbow sprinkles.
I also found this adorable mini turner and matching spatula that are the perfect size for smaller hands, so I grabbed them, as well. Unfortunately, they're no longer available online, but I just stumbled upon this adorable 5-piece set of silicone mini utensils that I love even more!
Setting Expectations For Easy Bake Oven Recipes
Before I share how to make your own refill mixes, I want to be VERY CLEAR about what you should expect from them...
Gourmet cakes? NO. A budget-friendly mix that will allow your child to bake a perfectly edible and tasty (enough) cake all on his or her own? YES!!!
Eggs and oil are not necessary to attain this goal. A little smear of frosting can up the tastiness factor, but I've eaten many, MANY plain cakes with ZERO complaints. :)
Also, it's important to keep in mind that this is a child's toy, not a calibrated oven. The baking time may need to be adjusted slightly to achieve desired results.
With this goal in mind, my girls can enjoy using their Easy Bake Oven whenever they want without emptying my wallet. They've been thrilled with these Easy Bake Oven mixes and have enjoyed hours of baking fun!
And THIS is my intent in sharing these Easy Bake Oven recipes with you.
How To Make Easy Bake Oven Mixes
Making your own Easy Bake Oven mixes is super simple when you follow these instructions. I recommend these Ziploc snack bags, because they're the perfect size to hold each mix.
Label each with these adorable Easy Bake Oven Mix labels I've designed. These are formatted to print on standard Avery 5160 peel-and-stick address labels. Of course, in a pinch, you could just print them on regular paper and tape them on.
A Few Tips For Best Results
These simple tips will help you get the very best results with your homemade Easy Bakes mixes:
- Measure the mixes precisely using the method described in the "recipe". If you pack the mix too densely into the measuring cup, your cake will rise too high and stick to the inside top of your Easy Bake Oven.
- Cooking spray is a MUST to help the cake release easily from the pan. As I mentioned, I like this baking spray for its effectiveness and flavor. Be sure to check out this quick tip for applying cooking spray with less mess!
- DO NOT pre-mix the cake batter while waiting for the Easy Bake Oven to preheat. This can also cause it to rise too high and stick to the inside of the oven. Mix it up after preparing your pan and place it in the oven right away.
- Add sprinkles! For a fun change of pace, sprinkle the prepared batter with sprinkles once it's spread in the cake pan. This creates a "funfetti" style cake without muddling the bright colors!
So there you have it - 33 Easy Bake Oven refill mixes for under $4!
These would be an awesome gift idea for any little girl who loves to bake with her Easy Bake Oven. Just package up the mixes with a can of baking spray, frosting, and sprinkles. Toss in some super cute mini utensils, and you've got hours and hours of baking fun for well under $20 (not including the oven, of course).
Printable Recipe ↓
How To Make Easy Bake Oven Mixes
Key Equipment
Ingredients
For making the Easy Bake Oven refill mixes:
For preparing the mixes:
- 1 refill mix bag
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- PAM baking spray, or similar
Instructions
To make the Easy Bake Oven mixes:
- Sift each cake mix into a large bowl. There will be small bits of dried strawberries in the Strawberry supreme cake mix - these can be discarded.
- Measure each mix into precise ¼ cup portions by spooning the mix into a ¼ cup measuring cup, and then leveling it off with a knife. Place each portion in a Ziploc snack bag and label. You should end up with at least 11 refills per box of cake mix, but more than this is possible with the recent updates to the mixes.
To bake each refill mix:
- Heat your Easy Bake Oven for 20 minutes. Lightly spray the Easy Bake cake pan with baking spray. Check out this easy no mess baking spray tip!
- When the oven is done heating, mix the contents of one refill bag with 2 tablespoons of water. Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan.
- Bake the cake in the Easy Bake Ultimate Oven for approximately 17 minutes.
- Cool for 5 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Frost and decorate with colorful sprinkles, as desired.
Recipe Notes
Featured Products
Is your child ready to graduate to baking with a real oven? These brownie mix cookies, made with boxed brownie mix, are perfect for kids to start out with! With just 3 ingredients, it's an ideal recipe for beginner bakers (as well as busy moms)...
More Recipes Made With Boxed Cake Mixes
If you like these Easy Bake Oven refills, you might also enjoy these other EASY boxed cake mix recipes:
- Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake Recipe (made w/ yellow cake mix!)
- Layered Boston Cream Pie Recipe (made w/ angel food cake mix!)
- Birthday Funfetti Cake Mix Cookies (made w/ yellow cake mix!)
- Cupcakes In Ice Cream Cones (skip Olympic torch instructions and frost!)
Did you make this recipe?
I'd love to see how your Easy Bake Oven refills turn out... Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
Audrina says
Can you use any brand of cake mix?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Audrina! Yes, it should work with any brand of cake mix — but we found that the Duncan Hines Signature cake mixes seemed to have the most consistent results.
Chelsa says
This maybe a silly question but... how do you store the ziplock bags?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Not silly! We just kept them in a cute plastic storage bin on a shelf in our pantry. There's no need to refrigerate or freeze them, if that's what you're wondering.
Laura says
Has anyone tried the Duncan HInes Mug Cakes for the microwave? You just add water to these and there are four individual servings that I'm sure would need cut down. They only cost about $2.50 each. Lots of flavors and some with sprinkles and icing. I bought one, but my oven is a gift for my granddaughter so it will be a few weeks before I can try it out.
Diana says
Hello Tara, Thank you for the great ideas. Have you tried making muffins? Do you have a recipe for that.
thank you
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Diana! I have not tried making muffins, but I'm going to make a note to myself to explore it after the holidays. Is there a specific kind of muffin you're looking for?
Diana says
Hi Tara, I was thinking about any muffin or cookie mixes. Also, have you tried Pillsbury ready made cookie dough? Was wondering if that would work. thanks
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hmm, I never even considered trying the ready made dough! I would assume it should work — it's just a matter of getting the cooking time figured out. As I mentioned, I have not tried any muffin mixes, but if you want to give the cookie mixes a try, we've used one teaspoon of water mixed with 1/4 cup cookie mix successfully. Just form the dough into round patties and bake for 6 minutes.
Angie says
My granddaughter is celiac and cannot have the gluten. Does your recipe work with gluten free cake/cookie box mixes as well? She’s seven years old and really wants to bake with her oven but easy bake doesn’t make gluten free versions of their products. Please help this grandma out.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Angie! I have not specifically tried this recipe with gluten-free cake mixes, but I'd imagine they should work just fine. I'll try to remember to grab a box next time I'm shopping to test it out. If you should happen to give it a try before then, I'd love to hear how it turns out for you. I didn't realize that Easy Bake doesn't offer gluten free mixes. That would be such fun for your granddaughter!
Bethany says
We haven' baked these yet, but we did make our bags according to the directions. Sifting, spooning and leveling have us 15+ bags of mix. This worries me a little that the consistency will be off. I'm thinking that to equal your 11 bags the mix south's not be sifted and spooned, but rather one our the other.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Thanks for commenting, Bethany! Did you use a different brand of cake mix? And if so, how many ounces does it contain?
Sarah says
Thanks for posting this. I had to adjust for high altitude (we live at 6500ft). So i added 1tsp flour to each 1/4c bag of cake mix, and it worked perfectly.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Thanks so much for sharing, Sarah! I will add a note to the recipe card for other high altitude readers.
Meaghan says
I just tried this and was able to get 13-15 portions per box. My 6yo can't wait to start baking.
If you find a cookie recipe could you please share it?
Sandra Ellis says
Can I make easy bake oven sugar cookies from the mix bag? Or do you have a recipe I can make?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Sandra! The good news is I just found my notes for making cookies in the Easy Bake Oven. The bad news is I somehow didn't write down what brand I tested it with... If you want to try it with whatever brand you have, what I have is one teaspoon of water mixed with 1/4 cup cookie mix, form into round patties, and bake for 6 minutes. I'm going to play around with it in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, please let me know how yours turn out!
sinraven1642 says
I got my twin girls an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas this year, and this looks great! I will be trying my hand at putting these together!
The cookies that they made that came with the oven were okay, but the pizza thing was scary LOL. I am sure these will be 300x better than the branded mixes!! ^_^
Thanks!
Casey says
Thank you so much for doing all the leg work for these recipes and sharing it with others. Santa brought my daughter an EBO for Christmas and I was dreading having to shell out all that money for mixes! This is perfect!
Karen says
Thanks for sharing! Do you have an easy bake oven cookie recipe as well? Can't wait to try the cakes!
Tara Kuczykowski says
I do, but I don't think I've ever posted it. Let me see if I can dig it up for you!
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Karen! Wanted to let you know that I just found my notes for making cookies in the Easy Bake Oven. Unfortunately, I somehow didn't write down what brand I tested it with... If you want to try it, what I have is one teaspoon of water mixed with 1/4 cup cookie mix, form into round patties, and bake for 6 minutes. I'm going to play around with it in the next few weeks, but if you give it a try, please let me know how they turn out!
Cheryl says
I got 13 pkg. out of the chocolate, measured carefully- did I do something wrong?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Cheryl! If you measured carefully, it should be fine. It's been awhile since I made these, but I know we sometimes got more out of a box, too. It varies slightly by mix.
Amanda Leyte says
Can it be Betty Crocker mis instead of Duncan Hynes? (Duncan Hynes is currently having a recall)
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Amanda! Yes, you can certainly use any brand of boxed cake mix. I just found the Duncan Hines Signature mixes provide the most consistent results. I checked out the recall, and there are only four varieties included, all of which are Classic mixes (which are different).
Becky Hardin says
Such great ideas! I have to try them.