Dolly Parton is not only a country music legend; she’s also known for her Southern hospitality and her delicious, down-home cooking. So when it comes to upgrading something as simple as a boxed cake mix, you’d expect her answer to be nothing short of iconic—and it is.

Parton’s approach to spicing up a boxed cake mix involves both flair and flavor. With an aura that radiates both warmth and creativity, she suggests going beyond just adding an extra egg or swapping out oil for butter. Dolly Parton recommends infusing your cake with a spirit of delight—quite literally.

“Sometimes I like to add a little bit of good ol’ Tennessee whiskey into the mix,” she chuckles. “It gives it that southern charm and oh boy, does it moisten the cake!” But she doesn’t stop there. Parton advises utilizing the zest and juice of fresh citrus—it’s her secret to turning a boxed cake into something that tastes homemade.

“I often throw in a cup of sunshiny lemon zest or sweet orange—it’ll make your cakes sing like one of my ballads,” she says with a wink. Decorating the cake is also part of the fun for Dolly. She loves using fresh fruits, homemade whipped cream, or even crushed pineapple for topping off her creations.

But perhaps what makes her advice as iconic as her music is her emphasis on baking with love. “No matter what you put in your cake,” Dolly imparts with earnestness, “make sure you’re putting in some love too. That’s the real ingredient that’ll make folks come back for seconds.”

So while whiskey may not be in everyone’s pantry, Dolly’s reminder about love being the key ingredient surely is a universal take-home message. And maybe that’s what makes her suggestion not just iconic but utterly timeless—like the star herself.