I normaly make from scratch but have a request for boxed mix. Whats the best? BC, DH, PLS?

Anything Helps, and for any of these do you add any extras for moistness?

The term "best" is subjective based on too many variables. One person will swear by DH and another will stomp the box and not allow it in their kitchen.

I have read on here that Pillsbury mixes do not yield as much batter as the other two.

OK, the better of the 3....lol

I would like to stomp on them boxes myself, but would like the challenge to do the order....I have found BC to be ok, but you read so much of DH being the fav's out there....

But thanks for the reply!

You might get more responses if we know what flavor you're trying to make. I actually like Pillsbury's white cake, but not chocolate.

My problem is that the selection of flavors that I hear of here are never in my grocery store. I've never, ever, seen a red velvet

Eek, hit send too soon, I've never seen a red velvet or orange mix.

Choc. and White

I'm a big fan of DH...I like to use the Cake Doctor's recipe that uses sour cream...makes a super rich chocolate cake!

I prefer BC. DH doesn't come out as good for me. I don't like Pilsbury although I love the doughboy!! Lol

I think DH has red velvet and orange mix.

I prefer BC. DH doesn't come out as good for me. I don't like Pilsbury although I love the doughboy!! Lol

I think DH has red velvet and orange mix.

No fair onceuponacake you can't vote twice. What do you think this is the presidential election.

DH all the way. But, I do have to admit when doing a tiered cake it is too moist I have to add something or use another brand.

My favorite is Pillsbury. DH doesn't do very well for me usually and I'm not sure I've ever used DH.

So, it looks like everyone has a different favorite.

My #1 go-to is BC. I am starting to use DH more. It is correct that DH has red velvet and orange. I don't like DH red velvet that much, but I just made the orange and it was good!
As far as PLS, I made their dark chocolate cake one time, and that thing was dry the next day! Only some of their flavors are O.k.
I NEVER have problems with BC.

lol Janette!!

What do you add to it to make it more firm? (If you don't mind me asking?)

I am off to the Super Market to get some mixes, and am going to try a few!!!!!



THANK YOU!!!!!!!!

I've used DH Chocolate and added a box of pudding into it and omg was that thing good!!! i didn't find it to moist for my stack (2 tiers) and it got rave reviews. i was scared to try it because of all the neg reviews but the chocolate did well. That's the only dh i've used. i used to use BC supermoist until i started decorating adn found it was... super moist. lol but hadn't done any doctored recipes on it yet.

Betty Crocker for me. I love the Golden Vanilla. Also today I made a Chocolate Fudge and used the extender recipe found here Extender Cake Recipe #2.

I'm making a raspberry filled chocolate cake and instead of using the 1 tsp of vanilla I used 1 tsp of raspberry extract. OMG it's devine. And I don't like raspberry.

I'm going to try and substitute vanilla pudding and orange flavor the next time so I can make a golden vanilla/orange cake.

LOL this one always cracks me up. Because everyone truely does have their own fave. I like to spread the love around. I use exclusively Pilsbury white, BC yellow, and DH dark chocolate fudge makes me dance. I use DH red velvet and substitute 1/2 the water for buttermilk.....mmmmmm. Pilsbury definitely yields less batter, but I find it very moist and the cake has a nice consistency. But it's definitely just a personal preference thing. I think it's what you're use to.

I personally like BC. I have a friend who wanted me to use DH for her cake, I found it very crumby. I did not use an extender or the WASC for it, maybe it would have been better...
Overall I am a scratch girl though.

Kathleen

I caught an episode of America's Test Kitchen (on PBS) and they were testing cakes. They put out several different mixes and homemade, all were yellow. Here are their conclusions:

~~~~~

Yellow Cake Mixes
from the Episode: Lemon Layer Cake

Can any come close to homemade?

While we here at Cook's Country prefer the rich flavor of a homemade cake, we know that many cooks invite
Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker into their kitchens to help speed up the proceedings. But does it matter which cake
mix you buy at the supermarket? Can any compete with homemade? We bought eight boxed yellow and gold cake
mixes and headed into the test kitchen to find out. We served the plain, unfrosted cakes to 22 tasters, who rated
each cake for flavor, texture, and overall appeal.

Our tasters weren't fooled by these mixes. All eight cakes had an unnaturally uniform crumb and extremely light, fluffy
texture. Cake mixes are formulated to maximize the volume of air and moisture the batter can hold, which results in a
very moist, tender, and delicate cake. Ingredients such as shortening, emulsifiers (mono- and diglycerides as well as
lecithin), xanthan gum, and cellulose gum give cakes made from boxed mixes their distinctive texture.

Without these ingredients, a from-scratch cake doesn't rise as much and you end up with a tighter, more irregular
crumb, which is able to withstand a heavy coating of frosting. Fluffy boxed cakes almost collapse under the weight of
a rich frosting. Several of the cakes in our tasting were particularly fluffy (more like cotton candy than cake) and were
downgraded by tasters.

The flavor of a boxed cake mix, even one that calls for the addition of butter, won't fool an observant taster, either-
but some came surprisingly close. Tasters said that the cakes made from top-rated mixes tasted like butter and
vanilla. Other mixes had an obvious artificial smell and flavor, which landed them at the bottom of our ratings.

The four top-rated cakes (three Betty Crocker mixes and one Pillsbury) all fall under the umbrella of General Mills; the
two Duncan Hines mixes followed, with the two "independents," the Jiffy and King Arthur Flour mixes, bringing up the
rear. Our conclusion: Betty Crocker knows how to make an appealing cake mix, Duncan Hines less so, and forget
about the "alternative" brands you might find at the supermarket. The mixes are listed below, with tasters' comments,
in order of preference.

Recommended

1. Betty Crocker Super Moist Butter Recipe Yellow Cake Mix $2.49
This cake, which calls for a stick of butter, was praised for its "rich butter flavor" and "moist and tender"
texture. Very "vanilla-y."

2. Betty Crocker Super Moist Golden Vanilla Cake Mix $1.69
Tasters appreciated the "very smooth," "nicely spongy" texture of this cake. Its flavor was deemed "mild but
very good."

3. Pillsbury Moist Supreme Classic Yellow Cake Mix $1.39
This cake was "extremely tender and moist, with a very even crumb." So sweet "there's no need to add icing,"
quipped one taster.

4. Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix $1.69
With its "nice flavors of butter and vanilla," this cake was deemed the best-tasting. However, some tasters
complained about the "chalky," "mushy" texture.

5. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Butter Recipe Golden Cake Mix $1.79
Some tasters detected hints of "coconut and lemon," while others complained about a "chemical"
aftertaste. This cake was substantially darker than the others.

Recommended with Reservations

6. Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Classic Yellow Cake Mix $1.69
One taster likened this sample to a "spongy Twinkie," while other panelists were more generous and praised
its "nice and light" crumb.

Not Recommended

7. Jiffy Golden Yellow Cake Mix $.89 (makes only one 9" cake)
"Tastes like the box it came from," said one taster. Overall, this cake mix was panned for its insipid,
stale flavor and "dry and terrible" texture.

8. King Arthur Flour Vanilla-Butter Cake Mix $4.95
This mix contains fewer additives than the rest, but tasters were not impressed by the cake's
"grainy,""crumbly" texture and strong "almond extract" aftertaste.

I am a scratch girl myself because I am more likely to experiment with just about every aspect of a recipe, but what's cool is I have some recipes where the batter tastes like boxed, and I LOVE cake batter! My mom and gramma always made boxed, so I like the flavors of both. I just don't use boxed that often. Usually the scratch recipes with buttermilk come out tasting more like boxed batter, but the baked cake result is different altogether.
When I do use boxed, I like DH, but I have used them all with no issues. I like to add soda flavors to the boxed yellows as the liquid Kids love that!

I prefer the taste of Pillsbury's Golden Butter Recipe. Use 1 stick butter melted, 1 cup milk and 4 eggs...yummmm. Has a hint of coconut flavor in it. Also, I use Pillsbury's Devil's Food in which I use the same formula as above but also add 1 cup mayonnaise. Makes it super moist.

Oh, I wish they had made some scratch cakes to compare those too.

I use DH, BC & PB... whatever's on sale. Today I purchased 10 for $10 on DH, but Pillsbury will normally go on sale for about $0.70/box about once per year. I think those are GREAT prices & keep them in stock for last minute orders or odd flavors, as I try to mix all my scratch recipes once. (Yes, I am a "both" girl!)

When you say "powdered creamer" or "powdered pudding mix," How much?
Someone recently told me about mixing the DH cake mix into pudding that's already made. She swore it would be the most moist cake I'd ever eaten. Well, I don't know if I did something wrong, or not, but the cake came out rubbery, and I did not like the taste at all!