Find the Best Boxed Cake Mix

There is an easier method to create a cake than from scratch, whether you want to make a classic layer cake, sprinkle-studded cupcakes, or an elegant bundt cake. The best-boxed cake mixes only need a few ingredients from your cupboard, like eggs, oil, and water, but the results are so delicious that you won’t believe you just poured and mixed. Mixes are available in almost any flavor, so options aren’t limited either.

We enjoy boxed cake mixes since most days there isn’t enough time to make a lavish cake. You can make a real, authentic cake that everyone will love by combining a few ingredients and baking it (without a trip to the bakery or several hours in the kitchen). Additionally, since you technically prepared it at home, you can still claim it is handmade.

What is Boxed Cake Mix?

What is superior—baking from scratch or using a box mix—is the subject of continuous discussion. There will be a war to the death between so many individuals over this. You are free to use a box mix. It’s undoubtedly a shortcut, but it’s also frequently the better choice. Many skilled cake designers out there make all of their cakes with box mixes that have been altered. It’s a simple mixing process that yields consistent results.
Over the years, boxed cake mixes have developed a terrible reputation for producing bland, dry cakes. After taking a piece of one of these delectable and moist sweets, you’ll be left wondering why you ever thought so.

The Best Boxed Cake Mix

Here are some of the best-boxed cake mixes:

Miss Jones Baking Organic Yellow Cake and Cupcake Mix

Features:

• Contains: 1 Box of Organic Cake Mix
• Moist & Delicate – Bake up this fluffy organic yellow cake mix for an amazing taste like it was made from scratch
• Organic, Non-GMO – Made with only the best ingredients to make for the best, from-scratch taste
• Vegan-Friendly, Dairy-Free, Soy-Free, Nut-Free – All our products are made from sustainable ingredients in a tree nut and peanut-free facilities (except for coconut oil)
• No hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial colors, or flavors

Simple Mills Almond Flour Baking Mix

Features:

Features:

• Bake a delicious dessert with this white cake mix that makes a moist, mouth-watering lemon cake; includes pudding in the mix
• Make cake mix without the mess; add water, oil and egg for a sweet treat that’s the bowl to oven in minutes
• Bake life sweeter with Betty Crocker brownie mix, promising a delicious, homemade taste every time
• One bag of 15.25 oz cake mix; An everyday pantry staple

King Arthur, Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix

Features:

• We’ve created a gluten-free mix that makes the best yellow cake every time you bake. Turn it into a tender, golden layer cake or make a batch of moist, finely-crumbed cupcakes. You pick the frostings and fillings (sprinkles are highly recommended)
• Our mixes are carefully crafted in our test kitchen through meticulous taste-testing and blending to replicate our favorite recipes. This gluten-free mix can make two 8″ or 9″ round layers, one 9″ x 13″ sheet cake, or 24 cupcakes.
• King Arthur Gluten-Free Yellow Cake Mix is Non-GMO Project Verified; Certified Gluten-Free by The GFCO, a program of the Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG); Certified Kosher and Non-Dairy
• King Arthur Baking Company is a 100% Employee-Owned Company and a founding B Corporation.
• We are King Arthur Baking Company. Our name and logo reflect who we’ve always been and always will be: bakers committed to spreading the simple joy of baking.

Krusteaz Meyer Lemon Pound Cake Mix 

Features:

• This lemon pound cake is so unbelievably tasty that you’ll want to eat a pound of it, but you may want to pace yourself and save some deliciousness for everyone else.
• Add water, eggs, and melted butter to your mix, and bake. Let your cake cool completely, add a lemon glaze and enjoy.
• This mix is the starting point for an array of lemony treats. Try other pound cake recipes like Lemon Blueberry or Lemon Almond Pound Cake. Or take this mix a step further by making a bundt cake, cupcakes or even cake truffles.
• Krusteaz Meyer Lemon Pound Cake includes a lemon glaze pack with no artificial flavors.
• Each order includes two 16.5-ounce boxes with a shelf life of 548 days. This 2-box pack is great for buying to keep a Krusteaz mix on hand for when you crave it!

What to Look for When Buying a Boxed Cake Mix?

Here are some important factors that should be considered while buying a boxed cake mix:

Ingredients

In general, the same basic ingredients are found in most cake mixes. In practically every box of cake mix, you’ll discover ingredients like sugar, flour, a leavening agent, flavoring (such as vanilla, cocoa powder, or a specialty flavor), oil, salt, and food coloring. A non-fat milk product, egg products, or stabilizers are frequently added to mixtures. All of these ingredients combine fast to form a cake and are none of them unusual.

However, you must pay close attention to the ingredients list if you’re seeking a cake mix customized to your preferences or dietary requirements. These days, many mixtures are offered to accommodate almost every purpose. Almond, rice, oat, or any gluten-free flour can be used instead of typical wheat in gluten-free cake mixes. Additionally, there are options for cake mixes that are sugar-free, keto, and vegan.

Most boxed cake mixes also need a few additional wet ingredients to make the cake mix come to life. Eggs, oil, water, butter, or milk are frequently found among these items. Check the box and ensure you have everything you need to finish the cake because different mixes call for different combinations of components.

Price

One of the main benefits of purchasing a box of cake mix over creating a cake entirely from scratch is the cost of a box. A box of cake mix can occasionally be found for less than $2, but a recent trip to the grocery store revealed that the typical cost of a box of cake mix is between $2 and $3. Most people already have eggs, oil, and water on hand, so they only need to buy frosting; the other components can be found in their kitchens. Buying each ingredient separately for a baked cake would be more expensive, and if you don’t bake often, those ingredients would only take up valuable cupboard space.

Specialized and gluten-free cake mixes are often more expensive than regular cake mixes, starting at roughly $6 per box and going up to $20 if bought from a high-end specialty merchant. Depending on if you have a trustworthy recipe and the necessary components on hand, it can be worthwhile to think about baking the cake from scratch the more expensive the boxed mix becomes.

Brands

Numerous popular cake mix brands, such as General Mills Gold Medal, Krusteaz, Pillsbury, Jiffy, Betty Crocker, and Duncan Hines, are easily recognizable in grocery stores. Numerous companies offer cake mixes in a huge selection of flavors that smaller companies might not always be able to manufacture, as well as mixes for special diets like gluten-free, sugar-free, and keto.

But other companies, like Simple Mills, Bob’s Red Mill, King Arthur, and even Williams Sonoma, have created high-quality cake mixes ready to compete with the major brands. While many of these companies don’t specialize in cakes, they sell dependable baking supplies and have developed cake mixes that are intended to be as similar to made-from-scratch as possible.

Flavors and Textures

Each person has a favorite cake taste, so you should order that flavor for your special occasion. More varieties than ever are available in cake mixes, including chocolate, vanilla, yellow, white, strawberry, coconut, red velvet, devil’s food, pineapple upside-down, angel food, spiced, banana, funfetti, marble, lemon, and others. Not to mention the numerous modifications you may make to a cake mix to make it uniquely yours.

However, you also want your cake to have a great texture, regardless of the flavor. Due in large part to the water and oil added to the cake mix to make it moist, boxed cake mixes are renowned for producing wonderfully moist cakes. However, you don’t want the cake to be mushy or slick from being too wet or oily. Additionally, you want a cake that is not dense and crumbly but rather pleasant and springy with a soft crumb. The majority of cake mixes have through arduous testing to ensure satisfaction, so if you follow the recipe, there’s a high chance you’ll produce a delicious cake. To discover the texture and flavors you prefer, it can be necessary to try a few different brands.

Yield

It would be best to know how much cake you’ll need and what format you’ll bake it in before buying a boxed cake mix. For a bake sale, do you need 48 red velvet cupcakes? Most likely, you’ll require more than one box of mix. You can find the precise amount of cake the cake mix will create on every box of cake mix. Other mixes are adaptable and provide yields and cooking times for various cake styles, including 13×9-inch pans, sheet and half-sheet cakes, 8 to 9-inch round cake pans, bundt pans, and loaf pans, and cupcakes. While some mixes are very specific (like one 8×4-inch loaf pan or two 9-inch cake rounds), others are very flexible (like one 8×4-inch loaf pan or one 8×4-inch loaf pan). You can ensure there is enough cake for everyone with a little preparation and careful attention to the yields.

How can you Improve a Boxed Cake Mix?

The beauty of boxed cake mixes is that they’re consistent and can be altered in various ways. The easiest ways to alter or improve a boxed cake mix include:

• Add a half or full teaspoon of an extract. Almond, coconut, lemon or citrus, or even maple or cinnamon extracts can deepen the flavor of your cake.
• Instead of water, add another liquid. Some people reach for the milk, sour cream, or buttermilk, while others reach for coconut milk, coffee, juices, or even ginger ale.
• Add some mix-ins, whether it be chocolate chips, citrus zest, shredded coconut, sprinkles, cookie crumbles, or fresh fruit — mix-ins instantly personalize a boxed cake mix.
• When you’re ready for some deeper experimentation, consider adding an extra egg or egg yolk to the mix for a more rich and moist cake. Alternatively, consider adding powdered pudding mix to the cake mix for an ultra-moist and densely fudgy-textured cake (whichever flavor you’d like).

How do you Make a Cake Roll with Boxed Cake Mix?

With just a few easy steps, you can make cake rolls out of most boxed cake mixes. You’ll start by using more eggs. A boxed cake mix often calls for three eggs, but you’ll need six for a roll cake, which will help your cake be more elastic. Before adding the remaining ingredients, you must beat these six eggs until they are a light lemon color and are aerated. To further modify a boxed cake mix’s contents, Betty Crocker advises modifying the amount of water and vegetable oil you use and mixing powdered sugar with cornstarch to assist the cake in softly settling for rolling.

Finally, you will only use half to three-quarters of the batter if you use a whole box of cake mix and a standard jelly-roll pan (10×15 inches). If baking the cake in a half-sheet pan (13×18 inches) or two jelly-roll pans, use the entire amount of batter. Although baking times will vary, the cake should spring back when touched.

Conclusion

Box cakes are very easy to make because you must mix the dry cake mix from the package with some wet ingredients. The good news about the box cake mix is that all the components, except for (often) water and eggs, are already premixed inside the sealed, airtight bag inside the box, making it incredibly simple and convenient to use.

However, it also means that some of the typical wet ingredients included in cake mixes are dried out or replaced with dry alternatives, such as palm shortening in place of butter. A handcrafted cake would never contain additives like corn syrup, dextrose, or propylene glycol esters of fatty acids, but some store-bought cake mixes do.