Red Velvet cake is a dessert often requested in my household when guests come to visit…particularly when my brother in law stops by. The big secret to my red velvet cake is…drum roll please….

Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake Mix

That’s right, I use a cake mix to make my famous Red Velvet Cake. I make no apologies for it. In fact, most of my cakes are semi-homemade and baked using a mix.

To make my Red Velvet Cake taste homemade, I add the following ingredients:

• softened butter instead of oil
• buttermilk instead of water
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring

For even richer homemade taste, I top the Red Velvet Cake off with homemade Cream Cheese Frosting. For more ways to doctor up a cake mix, check out my post How to Make Cake Mix Taste Like Homemade.