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!
Maribeth says
Does the Duncan Hines cake mix have to be specifically the SIGNIATURE kind? Can it be the regular Duncan hines cake mix?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Maribeth! You can pretty much use any brand/type of cake mix. I just felt like the Signature variety turned out the best, but honestly, my kids didn't care a bit what brand they used.
Cindy says
I'm using Betty crocker pizza crust mix for EBO . MEASURED 1quarter cup ea. In baggie. How much water for each guarter cup crust mix. And how long to bake it? My granddaughter loves pizza. And I'm a a lost stand. Can anyone help me with this one?
Sandra says
Hi ! Thank you so much , but I tried a blueberry muffin mix and it would never get totally done or brown on top. How come the cake mix will get done?? I’m definitely a beginner!
Tara Kuczykowski says
I'd imagine it's because the muffin mix is a thicker batter, while the cake mix is a lighter consistency with a thinner pan. Please do keep in mind, though, that nothing baked in an Easy Bake Oven is going to "brown" like in a traditional oven. The bulb just is not strong enough for that.
Bruce says
Thanks Tara for this. I just made a bunch for my granddaughter for Christmas to go along with her oven she received last year. The labels were perfect and I just changed the wording on a couple to match the cake mix I had.
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy I could help, Bruce. Hope she loves them!!
Susan F says
Can I use this same recipe for boxed cookies and brownies
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Susan! You can find recipes for cookies and brownies in the comments. I still need to compile them into a post.
Kim says
Thank you so much for figuring out these recipes. I really couldn't believe how expensive these tiny boxed of mix were. YOU are a life saver!!!!
Tara Kuczykowski says
Happy to help, Kim!!
Stephanie says
I can't get the labels to pull up. Are others having issues with this? It keeps giving me an error about permissions.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Stephanie! I just tested it in Chrome, and the labels automatically downloaded to my downloads folder. When I tested it in Safari, I did receive a message that said "Do you want to allow downloads on “unsophisticook.com”?" In that case, I clicked allow and they downloaded to my downloads folder. Are you getting a different message? If you can't get it to work, I can email them to you.
Kelley says
Will your recipes work with the vintage 1988 easy bake oven?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Unfortunately I haven't tested them with that version, Kelley. I'd imagine they should work, but you will probably need to increase the cook time. If you try it, please let me know how it goes!
Dianette Griffin says
I just brought Easy 2 Bake Oven for my granddaughter Christmas gift super excited to try it out. I too didn't see any baking mix in box. Thanks you very much for the cake mix information. Now we have several different cakes to make.
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy I could help out, Dianette. Have fun!!
Jeanne says
Does the brownie mix get divided and cooked the same?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hi Jeanne! I haven't written up the post yet, but you do divide the brownie mix up into 1/4 cup portions, as well. When mixing them, however, you will want to use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of water. Bake them for 12 minutes.
Donnell says
My granddaughter is getting an oven for her birthday and I couldn't believe the price of the mixes. I'm so glad I came across your site to save us all a bunch of money. Have you come up with a brownie recipe yet? I think I'm on an old post and I'm sure you have been working on other ideas. I'd love to see them. Thanks so much for going above and beyond to help us all out.
Tara Kuczykowski says
So glad you found this, Donnell! I don't have a brownie recipe yet, but I bought several brands recently to test it out with my girls. Check back soon!
Alister says
My grand daughter just coming into the age that this is interesting and fun. I remember my older sister having one when I was very young and in the end, I turned into the recipient of some very small but, to me, delicious cake and cookies for a wonderful few months.
I too at first blush thought that there must be some mistake in the pricing of the ingredients. Then is the next stage sticker shock, I thought it must be some gimmick.
I was on the very path when I stumbled upon your blog that so eloquently details what in my mind, makes this toy quite viable once again.
Right this moment, we are assembling a pantry to go along with the oven that should keep her cooking for months to come. Love the little snake bag idea and the labels were just a really smart move.
So good on you Tara Kuczykowski! You have done a wonderful service to others by putting this all together and releasing it for everyone to enjoy.
Take heart in knowing that for one little girl and one old man, so many, giggles, laughs, pride and self-esteem will have a little piece set aside for you.
My sincerest thanks.
Tara Kuczykowski says
Aww, I love this so much, Alister!! May you and your granddaughter create many fun memories with the Easy Bake Oven. I'm so happy I can play even a small part in them.
Rosario Holguin says
love your easy recommendations. I'm so grateful I found you, after wanting my daughter to continue baking cakes with her easy bake oven, without the added costs of refill cake mixes. Thank you.
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy I could help out, Rosario!
Stephanie says
Have you gotten anywhere with the gluten free cake mixes?
Tara Kuczykowski says
Hey Stephanie! I'm so sorry I missed your comment. I've tried it using the King Arthur gluten-free chocolate cake mix, and it was passable but not amazing. There wasn't much rise, so the cake was flat and a little chewy and gooey with a brownie-like texture. One note: when I sifted, I was left with all of the granulated sugar in the sifter, so I just stirred it back into the other dry ingredients.
Going to try a few more brands/flavors to see if there's another that produces a better result! In fact, I think I'm going to go back and test a number of regular mix brands, as well. My girls tested the Duncan Hines Signature mixes that I've always recommended, and they've definitely changed the mix over the years to where I don't think I can even recommend them anymore. My plan is to share a new post that breaks down the brands/flavors that work best, so please subscribe if you don't want to miss it!
Stephanie Arrowood says
This is amazing! Thank you it works perfectly and after several failed attempts with scratch recipes I found online they were terrible! Do you have a box mix recipe for cookies and brownies for the easy bake oven?
Tara Kuczykowski says
So happy to hear this, Stephanie! I don't have a brownies recipe (yet), but for the cookies you can use one teaspoon of water mixed with 1/4 cup store-bought cookie mix. Form the dough into 6 round patties and bake for 6 minutes. Hoping to get the cookies recipe typed up into a blog post soon!