OK, let’s all agree that baking in a crunch is rough.

The second round of midterms are fast approaching and you need stress relief, but you also need an ample amount of time to study. In my opinion, midterm season is the perfect excuse to treat yourself.

So why not make yourself a cake? Yes, a whole cake just for yourself (don’t share with your friends, it’s no fun that way). Also, why make an untextured cake when you can add in everything your parents said you shouldn’t have?

Here are some fun(fetti) ways to spice up your boring boxed cake recipe.

For the sake of the pun, I used funfetti cake mix, but this “hack” works with any boxed mix.

The process 

Follow your recipe to the T. The funfetti mix says to use beaters or a hand mixer and to not mix it for more than a few minutes. Otherwise, the consistency of the cake will be less fluffy. Here’s more information on where to get a hand mixer.

After that, you can unleash your inner child. For my cake, I used peanut butter M&M’s and semi-sweet chocolate chips, but feel free to be more creative than that.

First, I put the M&Ms into a bag and used all of my frustrations and pent up anger to crush them with the bottom of a cup.

Other tasty mixes: 

1. A tablespoon of cinnamon and white chocolate chips
2. Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s and chocolate chips
3. Crushed Oreos and pieces of cookie dough (I’m not recommending you consume raw cookie dough but I’m also not not recommending you consume raw cookie dough)
4. Crushed pretzels and chocolate chips
5. Crushed potato chips (What?! Yes, I repeat: Potato chips), crushed pretzels, chocolate chips, Reese’s Pieces, M&M’s and Oreos
6. Melted peanut butter (this works best with either chocolate or vanilla cake)
7. Tears and shredded up pages of your textbook.

Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, depending on what size pan you use. Also remember to spray your pan before you put your batter in, otherwise the cake will stick.

To ensure your cake is baked all the way through, stick a fork or toothpick in the middle of it and, when you pull it out, if nothing comes off then you have successfully made a cake! Decorate and enjoy!

The last step of enjoying your cake is to make sure you hog it away from all your friends and roommates. What’s a good cake if you have to share it with other people?