Since it was first invented in the 1930s, boxed cake mix has revolutionized home baking. Making a cake from scratch requires meticulous measuring and a long list of steps. Cake from a box, on the other hand, couldn't be simpler, making it the easy choice when you're hosting any kind of party.
We love using cake mix as the base of some of our favorite desserts (especially ones with elaborate decorations). You can even repurpose a cake mix to make an entirely different dessert, like cookies or fudge. But with so many brands and formulas on the market, it's difficult to decide which one you should buy.
A handful of brands dominate the cake mix game, but the category has expanded to include options in every flavor. Our team wanted to find the best of the best in four major categories: vanilla, chocolate, confetti, and red velvet. We rounded up two dozen cake mixes and put them all head to head in a taste test.
To make sure our results were as objective as possible (or as objective as they can be in a subjective taste test), our tasters went in totally blind. Some of our winners were exactly who we expected, but there were also a few surprises.
Best Vanilla: Williams Sonoma Madagascar Vanilla Cake Mix
The vanilla cake mix category is broad and vast. There's light and spongy white cake, moist and rich yellow cake, and plenty of other varieties in between. The cakes we tested spanned the entire spectrum. But our favorite from Williams Sonoma was the clear winner of the group.
Their Madagascar Vanilla Cake mix was the most expensive at nearly $20, and required two whole sticks of butter, extra egg whites, and milk in lieu of water. But the extra cost, ingredients, and effort are worth it once you pull this cake out of the oven. The consensus among our tasters was that this cake had the best texture by far. It's moist, dense, and tender—almost like a pound cake. Unsuspecting guests probably wouldn't be able to clock that it came from a box (it's that good).
Best Chocolate: 365 Classic Chocolate Cake Mix
365 by Whole Foods Market Classic Chocolate Cake Mix
We'll be honest: we walked into this taste test expecting one brand (that rhymes with Schmuncan Schmines) to sweep the chocolate category. But the cake mix that ended up on top was, surprisingly, from Whole Foods. The chocolate flavor is rich and pronounced, with many tasters even going so far as to call it fudgey.
The 365 Classic Chocolate Cake Mix yields a finished product that's soft, moist, and not too sweet. One of our staff members said that it doesn't even require frosting. Its versatility and quality (especially for the price) makes it a solid choice for any baking project.
Confetti: Pillsbury Funfetti Cake Mix
Are we surprised that the OG Funfetti ended up being our favorite sprinkle-studded cake mix? Absolutely not. But even up against upscale competitors, Pillsbury beat out every other brand in our blind taste test. One of our tasters noted that it's "exactly the texture and flavor you'd want from boxed cake."
Funfetti is airy and fluffy while still retaining plenty of moisture. It's a combination not often found in cake mix—especially with brands as accessible and affordable as Pillsbury. It's a classic for a reason, after all.
Red Velvet: Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Red Velvet Cake Mix
Red velvet cake is technically made with chocolate, but its taste and color distinguish it from your standard devil's food cake. Out of all of the brands we tried, the Super Moist Red Velvet from Betty Crocker hit every benchmark we expect from this type of cake. It's light, soft, and delicate—the perfect vehicle for a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
