Before we hop into the taste test, let's make sure we're all clear on what dessert we're talking about. According to Bobbie Lloyd, CEO and chief baking officer at Magnolia Bakery, “Vanilla flavored cakes are referred to as white cake or yellow cake. The color is due to the eggs used in the recipe. White vanilla cakes use egg whites only, while yellow vanilla cakes use the whole egg and sometimes additional yolks to create that yellow hue and have a richer, eggier flavor." She notes that Magnolia Bakery uses egg whites in their classic vanilla cake, adding butter, sour cream and vanilla extract to achieve a “delicious buttery vanilla flavor.”Pastry chef Casey Doody, the director of pastry for the BOKA Restaurant Group in Chicago, also draws a bold line between yellow and other vanilla-forward cakes: “Yellow cake is not vanilla cake whatsoever.” She describes the flavor profile as deeply nostalgic—“like a childhood birthday”—and remembers yellow boxed cake cupcakes with chocolate frosting making a regular appearance at every party growing up. “We used to call my mom Betty Crocker because she’d use the boxed mix,” she recalls. “It almost has this vanilla pudding/mild custard-like flavor. I don’t think it tastes anything like vanilla extract.”Related: The British Way to Make a Boxed Cake Mix 10x Better
What's the Difference Between Yellow, White and Vanilla Cake?
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This distinction comes down to two things: the eggs and the fat. Yasmin Gutierrez, executive pastry chef and partner at Beatrix Restaurants in Chicago, puts it like this: “Vanilla cake is your traditional cake with vanilla flavor, whereas yellow cake is also vanilla in flavor, but it includes eggs and egg yolks, which makes the cake richer and denser.” Meanwhile, she says, white cake skips the yolks altogether—“making the batter much lighter, like an angel food cake muffin.”Tiffany Christiansen, pastry sous chef at Miru and Tre Dita at The St. Regis Chicago, agrees. “The main difference is the eggs and fat used. A yellow cake contains whole eggs and butter, giving it rich flavor and yellow/golden color. A white cake uses just egg whites and oil. So, it has light fluffy texture and bright white color perfect for funfetti cake.”Doody offers her own spin on the contrast: “Yellow cake is yellow cake—its color is a deep rich yolk-like color that tends to be more flavorful than white cake. White cake reminds me of angel food cake, sponge-like, think of Genoise sponge cake. White cake is very egg-white light crumb-focused, where yellow or vanilla cake tends to have a richer, dense yolk/custard flavor profile.”
The yellow cake mix contendersCourtesy of Jessica Wrubel
How I Tested These Boxed Yellow Cake Mixes
Taking samples of cakeCourtesy of Jessica Wrubel
After conducting numerous blind taste tests for Parade, I feel I've gotten this formula down. I shopped at nearly every major grocery store in Chicago that had yellow cake mix on the shelves—Whole Foods, Jewel-Osco, Aldi, Mariano's and Walmart—and picked up as many brands as I could find. I ended up with nine boxes, ranging in price from 88 cents to $4.99. (In my retail research, I also found that Krusteaz, Trader Joe's and Annie's, who all once had boxed yellow cake mixes, have since discontinued them.)Baking the cakes was easy—most were baked at 350° for around 22-29 minutes. Each one was baked to the lower end of the suggested cooking time (or until just done in the middle), cooled for 10 minutes in the cake pan, then inverted onto a plate, cooled fully and wrapped in plastic for tasting the next day.Next, I invited my eager panel of taste tester friends over—Cherie, Samantha, Jen and her boyfriend Patrick—and got to work. The taste test was blind, so I numbered samples and had everyone rate and comment on a Google Form without knowing which brand they were tasting. (I later revealed the brands and we went in for a second taste.) We rated the unfrosted, baked cakes on taste, texture and mouthfeel before choosing our top three, which helped to shape this ranking.Related: How to Make a Boxed Cake Mix 10x Better, According to Food Network Star Duff Goldman
Parade
9 Boxed Yellow Cake Mixes, Ranked Worst to Best
9. Jiffy Golden Yellow Cake Mix
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The underdog with old-school branding (and the cheapest of the bunch at a mere $1 at Jewel), drew mixed reactions. The added ingredients were the simplest of them all: 1/2 cup of water and 1 egg (most included oil, but not this one). Samantha said it was “structurally good.” Cherie wasn’t a fan: “This tasted like a ladyfinger...soooo dry. Needs a ton of icing to offset the lack of moisture.” Jennifer was even harsher: “Dry. I would not eat it without icing.” Patrick summed it up as “Crumbly mouth feel, low sweetness and low moisture.” In short: sweet intentions, but a cake in dire need of a soaking syrup, which is not the goal when making a boxed mix.
8. Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow Cake Mix
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Betty, who is usually pretty darn reliable, gave us mixed signals this time. This one ($2.29 at Mariano's) had the standard mix-ins of water, oil and eggs but the flavor wasn't 100% there. I found this one too artificial and too oily for my liking. Samantha agreed and said it had an “Oily aftertaste, good balance of moist and dry. Flavor is okay, but sort of lacking. Very basic.” Cherie agreed: “This one is drier than I’d prefer. Very vanilla-y and buttery. Has a chalky aftertaste.” Jennifer didn’t mince words: “Moist with medium density. This one would not be good without frosting.” Patrick liked it most of all: “Preferred moisture level, good density… almost tastes like pancakes.”
7. Whole Foods 365 Classic Yellow Cake Mix
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Samantha cut right to the chase: “Cornbread. This is not cake, this is cornbread. Not [as] good as cake." Cherie doubled down: “I would buy this as cornbread, not cake. I love it and would add corn kernels to it.” Jennifer called it “Least sweet of all the cakes. Would make an ok cake with a well-balanced frosting that matches the style of cake.” As a Whole Foods fan, Patrick was surprised, saying it had “no moisture, no flavor.” This one fell in the middle, price-wise at $3.50 per box.
Related: 18 Delicious Cakes Made with Cake Mixes
6. Dolly Parton's Perfectly Moist Yellow Cake Mix
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Samantha was blunt: “Not my favorite, very dry. Grainy consistency, flavor missing.” Cherie offered a bit more grace: “This is fluffier and denser. This one might be better with icing. OK but not my fave. Flavor was a little blander.” Jennifer didn’t sugarcoat it: “Spongey, dense bites, and lacks in flavor. Not my fav.” Patrick agreed, saying it was “Plain, lower sweetness and on the drier side."
5. Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Classic Yellow Cake Mix
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This classic brand came out just ahead of the Dolly mix, which is also made by Duncan Hines. It had the requisite ingredients of oil, water and eggs and baked up without any issues. Samantha gave it a “Good, but doesn’t stand out. A bit dry.” Cherie saw potential: “This is a good, solid cake. The flavor isn’t too strong and would be very versatile with various fillings/frostings. Strong base.” Jennifer compared it to Walmart’s (see below): “Similar, flavorful and moist. Would make a good delivery device to eat the frosting ?.” But Patrick was not on board: “Too airy and not dense enough, no sweetness, no substance.” This one was $2.99 at Jewel.
4. Bob's Red Mill Classic Yellow Cake Mix
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Samantha said it was “Moist and delicious, the flavor is missing a bit but very delicious.” Cherie gushed: “Reminds me of a Bundt cake. I love this one. Would also eat this plain but would be great with frosting. The flavor and sweetness are well-balanced.” Jennifer agreed: “Moist and has more density than some of the other ones. It could stand alone.” Patrick agreed: “Well balanced, good density and moisture. Not too sweet with good secondary flavors.” This one was the most expensive at $4.99 at Mariano's.
3. Great Value Deluxe Yellow Moist Cake Mix
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Samantha said: “Very regular stereotypical cake...good flavor.” Cherie said: "Solid standard cake. Holds up well texture-wise. Maybe a touch too sweet for my preference.” Jennifer called it “Flavorful and moist without being too much. Well balanced.” Patrick agreed on the nostalgia front: “Good moisture, aromatic flavor in there somewhere.”
Related: The Super-Simple Way to Make Boxed Chocolate Cake Mix 10x Better
2. Baker's Corner Extra Moist Classic Yellow Cake Mix
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Aldi entered my kitchen with simple packaging but stellar results. It was pretty similar in ingredients to Walmart's cake (minus the artificial colors) and it was very affordable, at $1.25 per box. While it did have an artificial vanilla cake scent, Samantha praised it with “Yummy! A good balance of flavor." Cherie raved: “Very vanilla forward, moist and airy/light. I would eat this entire cake in one sitting. Doesn’t even need frosting.” Jennifer said it was “moist, airy and light. You could eat it plain,” and Patrick called it “Good moisture, good flavor.” Aldi might not be flashy, but their pantry basics prove hit time and time again.
1. Pillsbury Moist Supreme Yellow Cake Mix
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Samantha was all in: “So moist and delicious, probably my favorite. Great flavor, not great structure but probably the most delicious.” Cherie said: "Loved the flavor, very vanilla-y.” Jennifer wasn't sold on the texture, but was won over by the flavor: "It was hard to take a piece out of the pan without it falling apart but the vanilla flavor was tasty.” Patrick echoed her sentiment: “Very moist (too moist?)," but we all know the biggest enemy of any cake is it being dry, so we agreed to give the doughboy the number one spot.
Related: How to Make Boxed Funfetti Cake Mix 10x Better
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