9 Chocolate Cake Mix Recipes for Delicious, Easy Desserts

Every day we see beautiful, decadent, rich chocolate cake recipes pop up on our social media accounts. With silky ganache dripping down the sides and buttercream frosting piped in the middle, our mouths start instantly watering. That is until we see the number of ingredients. A list of 10-plus and we're overwhelmed, so chocolate cake mix it is. Just because it's boxed doesn't mean it has to be bland, though. Here you'll find some seriously delicious desserts all made with a chocolate cake mix and just a handful of extra ingredients. With enticing flavor enhancers and easy slow cooker recipes, these upgraded chocolate cakes taste like they were made from scratch. So, feel free to browse, drool, and get baking!

Blaine Moats

1. S'more Cake

Think a semihomemade dessert can't get much easier? Think again. This chocolate cake mix idea "bakes" in your slow cooker! Top the ultrasimple cake with marshmallow creme, milk chocolate, and graham cracker pieces to bring your favorite summer sweet indoors. Plus, there's a surprise ingredient that makes it way easy to prepare: It's a chocolate cake mix recipe with sour cream.

Jill Budden

2. Creme de Menthe Cake

Want to know how to improve boxed chocolate cake mix? It doesn't get any better than this baked treat that is a flavor doppelg?nger for mint chocolate chip ice cream. Swap out some of the water called for in your boxed cake mix recipe with a splash of creme de menthe, then finish with green-tinted vanilla frosting and crushed chocolate-mint candies.

Blaine Moats

3. Chocolate-Marshmallow Ice Cream Sandwiches

Here's a different thing to make with chocolate cake mix. In this recipe, the shortcut ingredient gets transformed into soft, cakelike chocolate cookies. A spread of marshmallow creme and a scoop of chocolate ice cream takes them one step further and makes an utterly irresistible ice cream sandwich.

Jason Donnelly

4. Spicy Chocolate-Espresso Cake Pops

Spice up chocolate cake mix by turning them into a handheld treat. These cake pops feature chile powder in the batter and an espresso-spiked Mexican chocolate frosting. Store the cake mix pops in the fridge for up to a week for an easy on-the-go snack.

5. German Chocolate and Caramel Brownies

This chocolate cake mix hack takes the classic flavors of German chocolate cake and transforms them into a chewy, rich brownie. The easy dessert will feed a crowd of 36 and takes less than an hour from start to finish.

Scott Little

6. Surprise Cupcakes

Yes, these cupcakes are one of our recipes using chocolate cake mix, but that's not the surprise. Hiding under a layer of chocolate frosting and moist cake is a sweet cream cheese center scented with a hint of orange juice and zest. Each bite will remind you of those chocolate-orange desserts you ate as a kid.

Hannah Bigot

7. Chocolate Waffle Cake

Skip the waffle mix and use a chocolate cake mix instead. We add chocolate milk, eggs, butter, and peanut butter chips to the cake mix before cooking in a waffle maker. A sweet cream cheese-banana mixture is sandwiched between each layer before a chocolate ganache is drizzled over the top. Talk about decadent and delicious.

Blaine Moats

8. White Russian Cake

For a boxed chocolate cake mix hack the adults will swoon over simply add booze. This mash-up dessert replaces the water in the cake mix with coffee-flavor liqueur to taste strikingly similar to the famous cocktail. Fill the two-layer cake with frozen whipped topping and you've got one seriously delicious dessert ready to serve in no time.

Andy Lyons

9. Chocolate Cupcakes with a Kick

This boxed chocolate cake mix recipe has a hint of heat, thanks to a dash of ground chipotle chile pepper. Top these rich chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and a drizzle of melted chocolate. This is one dessert that gives new meaning to the term "hot chocolate."