There’s No Shame in Using a Boxed Cake Mix—and Here's Why
There’s no shame in using a boxed cake mix. There. We said it.
Was that an audible gasp? Surely no one fainted? Now, before you start fanning yourself and bringing out the smelling salts, hear us out. Boxed cake mix is pure convenience. Buying a boxed cake mix at the store is an investment in your future self. It’s patting future you on the back and saying, “You deserve a break.”
And don’t we all?
Boxed cake mix has a special place in our hearts…right beside that other special place in our hearts that is reserved for cakes made from scratch. Some of our all-time favorite recipes start with boxed cake mix. Don’t believe us? Try Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting, Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cake, Brown Sugar-Cinnamon Pound Cake, and Chocolate-Butterscotch Lava Cake, for starters. Each of those delicious recipes starts with a box of mix from the store.
Why do we love boxed cake mix so? Reason one is that it’s timesaving. Pure convenience, remember? When you can cut down on prep time (including mixing and sifting all those dry ingredients), you’re already so much closer to enjoying a slice of freshly baked cake. While boxed cake mix is not the be all and end all of baking, it is a reliable shortcut, and we all need a kitchen shortcut on occasion. It’s so easy to dress up a boxed cake mix or use said mix as the foundation for a fancier cake (or cupcake!).
Reason two is scale. If you want to make lots of cakes, whether for a bake sale, a church social, a friend in need, or a series of holiday meals, you need to make the most of your time. You want the most bang for your buck as well as the best result from the time you’ve spent in the kitchen. By using a boxed cake mix, you can have both quality and quantity in one fell swoop. You can have your cake and eat it too.
That’s not to say we don’t also love a cake made from scratch. (Because we do. We really do.) Just thinking about Lemon-Orange Chiffon Cake, Hummingbird Cake, and Strawberry Dream Cake has our mouths watering.
WATCH: Strawberries and Cream Sheet Cake
Do you use boxed cake mix, or are you from-scratch all the way? With all this talk of cakes, if you can’t find us for the next few hours, be sure to check the kitchen.
