I don’t know why I ever ask anything on Twitter when I know perfectly well I will never be able to find that information again and instead will be searching futilely in my blog archives for it, thinking “I KNOW I asked about chocolate cake mixes, I KNOW I did, so where IS it??”
And so I hope you will indulge me in a little time-travel. I am going to ask AGAIN here, and those of you who are willing to indulge this ridiculous ask are going to say your opinions AGAIN, and THEN it will be here as a reference later. We are going to pretend that I have not already chosen a chocolate cake option, and that the Hershey’s-chocolate-cake,-the-one-with-boiling-water-at-the-end is not in fact in the oven RIGHT NOW, looking and smelling delicious, and I am going to ask again as I asked on Twitter:
Because I REALLY DID/DO want to know your favorite chocolate cake mix! I am continually standing in the baking aisle of the grocery store, looking at cake mixes and remembering that I had a STRONG preference for either Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, but WHICH??? And/or should I take a chance on one of the third-party cake-mix options?
But ALSO, it turned out I had a STRONG spite urge to defeat Paul’s family’s “Crazy Cake” scratch-cake recipe. (If you are feeling a little defensive of the recipe, I think you might feel better if you read the posts I linked to, which go on and On and ON about how I DO understand about sentimental/family/traditional/hard-times recipes, and that this is mostly an issue not with disliking the actual cake but more with disliking my mother-in-law.) (Though for heaven’s sake, 2 T. of cocoa is not enough for an ENTIRE CAKE in times when we have the option to do more.) The Hershey cake, with SIX TIMES the amount of cocoa of the Depression Cake, seemed like a good candidate for the first round.
Now, with wide innocent eyes, I ask you as if for the first time for your favorite chocolate-cake CAKE MIX. (Or scratch recipe, if it isn’t made with hard-times rationing ingredients.) (But I REALLY want to know which mixes you like best.)
My grandma, born and raised in Kentucky, swore by Duncan Hines. Her recipe for her famous chocolate cake was, and I quote, “buy a box of Duncan Hines and beat the hell out of it.” By this she meant use an electric mixer and get it whipped up real good. It was really the only time I ever heard her curse. God, I miss grandma.
For a very good, simple, from-scratch recipe, I like this one by King Arthur Flour. Their recipes are always winners for me. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/king-arthur-flours-original-cake-pan-cake-recipe
I love this story so much, Katie. What a lovely and fun memory!
And Duncan Hines himself was also born and raised in Kentucky (Bowling Green)!
I too am from KY and both my grandmother and mother have trained me that when not able to make a cake from scratch, go with Duncan Hines. In fact, even when one can/wants to make a cake from scratch Duncan Hines is still the best. I honestly don’t know the validity of this as compared to store brand or Betty Crocker, etc. However, at the age of 41 I can say that I’ve only ever bought Duncan Hines box cake mix (no matter the flavor) and it’s always moist and light and fluffy. I will co-sign the original comment in that using the electric mixer (Kitchen Aid stand mixer if available) also makes a huge difference.
As an aside, my grandmother was born and raised in Montana and moved to KY after marrying. Therefore, it may not just be a KY thing?
I like Aldi cake mixes, plus they’re only like a dollar. :)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mbG9jvdG54yHcc1c0eJhhcRCVBi9TWErVhSY5Guu11A
I am done testing chocolate cake recipes. This is The One.
If you want to jazz up a box mix, I’d recommend The Cake Mix Doctor and the chocolate version of the same title cookbooks by Anne Byrn.
I swear it’s not nearly as time-intensive as it sounds, but “easy” might be a little way off. Mostly I’m sharing because it’s the best chocolate cake I’ve ever had, let alone made, and I’ve never made it for someone who didn’t love it. https://thisweekfordinner.com/chocolate-ganache-cake/ I get really decadent and do a thin layer of ganache and then (hear me out) a thick later of chocolate buttercream on top. An embarrassment of chocolate.
I am not a proficient baker, nor am I particularly patient, so I use a recipe from a book of kids’ recipes and it works just fine, even in my dying, highly unpredictable cheap-o oven, and even when multiplied up to make it a bit bigger…
125 g softened butter
125 g granulated sugar
2 eggs
125 g self-raising flour (hard to find here in France, so I use plain and throw in about half a sachet of raising agent)
2 big tablespoons of cocoa powder
2 tablespoons of milk
Set the oven to 180°C.
Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time and stir till smooth.
Sieve the flour and cocoa into the mixture, add the milk and beat everything together till smooth.
Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin (or two smallish ones).
Bake for about 20 mins, until the cake feels kind of “springy” to the touch.
When cool, cover in yummy chocolate butter cream and decorate away to your heart’s desire. (Oh, and if you make two smallish ones, obviously you put yummy buttercream in the middle too!)
Sorry I don’t have an imperial measurements version, and it’s almost 2 am and I’m too tired/lazy to convert right now…
Dead easy cake, works like a treat, even I haven’t screwed this one up yet! I admit, I usually do a 3-egg version (everything else being the snappy 187.5 g) and use a cake tin that’s about 25 cm in diameter. And cook for a few minutes more.
As I said on Twitter (once again, for those of you in the back)…I’m gluten free, and I always have wonderful success with King Arthur Flour mixes. I only use their GF mixes but I’m sure their “regular” mixes are every bit as good, and even BETTER because they’re, you know, not gluten free. Their recipes are pretty foolproof as well.
Literally the Hershey-boiling-water one. Best ever. So easy and people adore it. I have tried so many and that one is hands down perfect. What I need is the perfect WHITE cake mix. :)
Same!!! I love love love the Hershey’s boiling water cake, plus the matching frosting. It is my go to chocolate cake!!
Ditto!!
Here to comment that I, too, need a perfect WHITE cake recipe. Help!
I’m adding my ring to the hat for needing the perfect white cake recipe!
If you need a cake mix, I support what my fellow commenters said upstream, go with Duncan Hines, but if you want an easy, delicious recipe, the Hershey’s boiling water one is the way to go.
Will yellow do? https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-birthday-cake-recipe
The perfect white cake recipe is here: https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/new-favorite-white-layer-cake/
I like Duncan Devil’s Food over Betty and Pillsbury. Those are the only glutenous brands available at my local store, but I’m going to check out the Jiffy mix I read about on Twitter.
I’ve also found that subbing butter and milk in a recipe that doesn’t call for them is not always the best, but that might be my personal taste.
I definitely prefer Duncan Hines over Betty Crocker. But now I want to try this Hershey cake…
If you’ve never made a boiling water chocolate cake, it is the way to go. The boiling water blooms the chocolate, and the flavor is excellent.
Replace some of the liquid in a box mix with brewed coffee. It doesn’t taste like coffee, but tastes amazing!
Duncan Hines with an extra egg, melted butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. It’s perfect and makes any cake mix delicious.
However, this is makes just the right amount of cake for a weekday dinner with minimal extra work.
https://smittenkitchen.com/2010/08/everyday-chocolate-cake/
I used to be a baker (before I had 5 kids). I prefer Duncan Hines Devil’s Food. Hands down my favorite cake mix cake.
Betty Crocker’s Devils Food is the only one for me. And from scratch, Smitten Kitchen’s ‘I want chocolate cake’ cake. Easy. Delicious.
Duncan Hines Chocolate Fudge. I’ve been using it for birthday cakes for years now and it’s never let me down.
Scratch–I confess, I use Depression/Crazy Cake recipe. *ducks*
I mean to say, I use Peg Bracken’s Cockeyed Cake recipe, which I learned in junior high home ec.
It’s from scratch, but my go to. Made with either red wine or buttermilk. And I don’t frost it – powdered sugar is awesome on it. https://smittenkitchen.com/2011/09/red-wine-chocolate-cake/
I like the Betty Crocker mixes best, but I see I’m very much in the minority, which makes me think I should give Duncan Hines mixes a try again.
This may be more than you’re looking for, but I love it so I’m passing it on. You use a cake mix but add several things to it to make it especially moist and yummy. Super easy though; you basically dump everything in one bowl and mix:
https://www.mybakingaddiction.com/wp-json/mv-create/v1/creations/631/print
Also, I use Betty Crocker’s devils food.
I’m in the UK and haven’t seen Duncan Hines mixes here – so maybe I’m missing out hugely – but Betty Crocker Devil’s Food Cake mix is delicious and has never, ever let me down. I will never make anything else again!
Oh! I’d forgotten all about Paul’s Crazy Cake! I enjoyed re-reading that entry!
Ah, just went back and re-read the crazy cake posts. Classic! I don’t have a recipe for chocolate cake but you mentioned in one of those posts that it’s criminal to use so much expensive vanilla in those recipes when you can’t even taste it. I wanted to chime in (and you may have already gotten this tip from Catherine Newman, which is where I got it) to say that it’s super easy to make your own, excellent vanilla. Buy vanilla beans off amazon, split about 4 of them them open lengthwise, and put them in a bottle of vodka. That’s it. Let it soak for several months, giving the bottle a good shake whenever you remember to. Strain it through cheesecloth when it’s nice and dark brown, and voila! Excellent, real vanilla.
Pick a box, any box, Devil’s Food is my favorite, do everything the box says (milk instead of water), and then add an extra egg, a BIG dollop of sour cream, a double handful of chocolate chips, and a small package of jello chocolate pudding powder. Presto. Perfect chocolate cake. In my family we refer to this as Death by Chocolate Cake. No frosting, but a little chocolate glaze is perfect.
JINX. OMG, you and I posted the same recipe at the same moment.
Duncan Hines Devil’s Food. Hands down.
To get it even MORE chocolate-y add a box of instant MyTFine chocolate pudding to the mix, use 4 eggs, and 8 oz of sour cream. Substitute coffee for the water called for. Add chocolate chips to the pan after you’ve put in the batter. Works well in a bundt pan
I have a few From Scratch recipes that I like, including the vegan one from one of the Moosewood cookbooks, that you mix all in to the pan, but it’s not conducive to, you know, layering and being fancy. Also there’s one in Sky High Cakes that’s delicious, but I’ve never been able to decide if it’s really better than Duncan Hines.
I mostly bake from scratch when I’m doing something that you just can’t get a boxed mix for, like a really good banana cake (not banana bread, mind you); or a lemon blueberry cake.
So, this recipe fails to answer your question on two fronts: it’s a scratch recipe and it’s NOT EVEN CALLED CHOCOLATE CAKE. Ahem. But, it’s a one-bowl recipe, and no fussing around with melting anything. I recommend it.
Black Midnight Cake (from the 1975 Betty Crocker cookbook)
2 1/4 c flour (can use ~1 c whole wheat)
1 2/3 c sugar
2/3 c cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 c water
3/4 c shortening (or coconut oil)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour either one large rectangular pan or two round pans. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl by hand or with a mixer until combined. Pour batter into pan(s) and bake 45 min (large) or 30-35 min (small), until a toothpick/knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
I have no helpful recipes; I just have to share how delighted I am any time crazy cake comes up, since it gives me the opportunity to revisit this line from the original blog post that SLAYS me: “It’s funny how one’s OWN handed-down family recipes carry generations of meaning, tying us to our ancestors through simple rituals—whereas the family recipes of one’s greatly-disliked in-laws are a burden and also stupid.”
snort!
This one is great:
https://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dessert/cake/marges-never-fail-kahlua-cake.html
Betty Crocker, always. I hate Duncan Hines– too dry and not chocolatey enough. Substitute milk for water in the Betty Crocker recipe and throw in a dollop of sour cream (ok, 1/4 cup if you’re the measuring type) in addition to all the other add ins for moisture.
I don’t have the recipe or a link handy, but it’s Miracle Whip cake. You use actual Miracle Whip and YES I KNOW THAT SOUNDS GROSS but it’s super moist and the best chocolate cake ever.
I have a standard “recipe” I use for cake.
Take any mix, follow directions on the box, then add 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sour cream, and a box of instant pudding mix (whatever matches the flavor of your cake). This makes a box cake taste dense like a homemade cake. And bonus, it makes more cake than the usual recipe. I usually make cupcakes or split it into 3 round cake pans (do not use 2, it will overflow or not bake up correctly).
From your prior blog post as I opted to respond here after seeing your tweet — Ghiardelli brownie mix in a cake pan (you can make a 1- or 2-layer cake with the stuff, depending whether you use 1 or 2 bags of mix — can you tell I shop at Costco? — and of course the size of the pans) is THE BEST. The best. OMG, so, so, so very rich.
Personally I am a fan of chocolate sour cream icing, which is a real (and delicious) thing but which seems to have to be made from scratch. However, doing so is not hard, and when I need to I just google for a recipe and have not had any trouble (I cannot even tell you what recipe, I just grab whatever shows up).
I was going to mention the Ghiardelli cake mixes-I used to be able to buy them, but now can’t find them in my grocery store. I liked them so much I bought some from amazon. They are really good, and the ones I was able to order were dark chocolate, which I am usually not a fan of. I put homemade buttercream frosting on them, and they were delicious!! Watch the pan size though…
King Arthur Flour mixes as well as recipes. Their recipes always seem to turn out great, without the complications of America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated/Cook’s Country (who I will always love, but on a regular basis don’t really want to put in the effort). Their mixes are great too.
I don’t care what brand of mix I buy. Sometimes it’s the cheapest one, other times I decide to go for the one that costs 10¢ more than the other one, because that must mean it’s better?! But if I do use a box mix, I definitely do the “cake hack” thing where you make it differently. I got it from a review on a cake pan on Amazon, but I think this is the same, as this is the one I pinned:
https://spoonuniversity.com/recipe/cupcake-recipe-from-box-will-turn-heads
If you don’t want to click:
“This helpful hack can be also be applied to any box mix. All you need to do is:
Replace water 1:1 with milk (ideally whole milk, but you can use any kind you want)
Replace oil with melted butter and double the amount (1/2 cup becomes 1 cup, etc.)
Add an extra egg (or two if you want the cupcakes to be very rich, or if you’re using medium eggs)”
I haven’t read the other 40+ comments to see if this was alrady posted.
The other chocolate cake I do like to make is in the slow cooker:
https://eatathomecooks.com/chocolate-cobbler-in-the-slow-cooker/
And that one even has 7 TBsp of cocoa in it. :)
Just in case anyone here also has to deal with an egg allergy, this is my recipe for chocolate cake in my house…
https://tastykitchen.com/recipes/special-dietary-needs/egg-free-chocolate-cake/
When I want to recreate memories of my childhood, I’ll bake a chocolate box cake. The brand doesn’t matter so much (Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker, I’ve never tried any other), but I tend to look for the words “moist” or “extra moist” or “fudge” or “pudding mix.” And I have a weakness for using the store bought, canned frosting, even though as an adult I can now taste the shortening they use.
For a from scratch cake, Pioneer Woman’s Best Chocolate Sheet Cake ever is amazing and will feed many:
https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/the_best_chocol/
Smitten Kitchen’s Chocolate Olive Oil Cake is my go to. One bowl, allergy friendly (made gf by subbing cassava flour), riiiich, delicious.
I tend not to like box mixes, so my favorite chocolate cake is from scratch. It’s this double chocolate layer cake – https://smittenkitchen.com/2007/07/double-chocolate-layer-cake/ It’s a very a rich, moist, dark chocolate cake. My kids prefer a more traditional chocolate cake, but this one is mine and my MIL’s favorite.
I feel like box cakes (at least for me) are one thing that tastes better from the box than scratch. The only exception, a Texas Sheet Cake. I’ve made homemade apple, banana, chocolate- and nothing ever tastes as good as the box cake!
Betty Crocker knew what she was doing!
Swistle I need an update! How was the boiling water cake? I want to make it but need your seal of approval!
It was good!! We had my parents over, and everyone kept saying “Wow, this is a really good cake.” I think in general I prefer the lighter/springier texture of a box cake, but on the other hand the next morning I was digging into cake leftovers before I’d even had my coffee.
HA! That’s my fear. I’m an equal opportunity cake eater. Any leftovers go in my belly!
Wow, it’s like we were eating cake for breakfast at the same time!!! It was my first try at the boiling water recipe and my first try with sour cream chocolate icing. Great recs. :)
Swistle, I love your blog, but somehow fell 3 MONTHS BEHIND??? on reading it!? (I would swear I only had a couple to catch up on.) So now I am catching up and just re-read the Crazy Cake post from 2011 and it is bringing me so much joy (“First of all, GROSS” is killing me).