You Only Need 2 Ingredients For This Easy Cake (That You'll Want To Make Every Week)

Cake from a boxed mix is an easy way to make a delicious treat for any occasion, but as good as it is, there are plenty of ways to make the result a bit better. It's incredibly easy to upgrade and customize boxed cake, as even just adding an extra egg to boxed cake mix can upgrade it dramatically. One hack for improving your boxed cake only needs two ingredients ... and it's so good, you won't want to put it down.

A simple combo of boxed angel food cake mix and canned crushed pineapple is all you need to make a pineapple angel food cake that will knock your socks off. Pineapple is an underrated ingredient to add to boxed cake mix that creates a sour tang with hints of extra sweetness. The result will make you feel like you're eating this dish on a tropical island. The best part is that it's incredibly easy to make. Just combine your canned pineapple (including the juices) with the cake mix and follow the instructions on the box.

The only thing you really need to remember with this recipe is to skip the water. Typically, you'll add water to boxed cake mix along with a couple of other ingredients, like vegetable oil and an egg. With this recipe, though, the canned pineapple and its liquid provide the necessary hydration without any extra help. If you add water on top of that, you'll have a goopy mess that won't cook right.

Though the result of this hack will be tasty as-is, don't think that there's no room for customization. Plenty of ingredients pair wonderfully with pineapple and will make your cake truly shine. For example, just a little fresh grated coconut can produce a piña colada angel food cake. Tropical fruits like mango, kiwi, or passion fruit are all fantastic pairings, as is citrus. Add some lime and orange to your recipe to create a tangy cake that makes your taste buds cheer, or zest the fruit for a more subtle addition.

You're not limited to just fruit, either. Add in a dash of vanilla extract for a bit of extra warm flavor, or a pinch of cream of tartar to help the cake rise and improve its fluffy texture. Remember, though, that angel food cake is meant to be light and airy, so using heavy ingredients like condensed milk can be a cake-baking mistake that will ruin the texture.

Additions don't have to stop once the cake comes out of the oven, either. Toppings and frostings can all enhance your pineapple angel food cake as well. Something as simple as some freshly whipped cream can make your dessert taste like you just brought it home from a bakery, for instance. Sliced strawberries or a strawberry sauce also go wonderfully on this angel food cake, especially since it's another fantastic pairing for pineapple.