5 Duncan Hines Cake Mixes To Buy And 4 To Skip

When it comes to boxed cake mixes, Duncan Hines is one of the handful of household names most people are familiar with. Interestingly, though, I haven't had much experience with the brand myself, having stuck primarily to other large brands like Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and King Arthur, or lesser-known brands like Krusteaz — when I'm not baking from scratch, of course. Since Duncan Hines is so popular, I began to wonder which of their cake mixes would hold up to my high standards, and which would prove themselves unworthy of their place in my shopping cart.

Thankfully, I was given the opportunity to take the brand for a comprehensive test drive and use my experience as a food industry worker to look at it critically. I bought and made nine of their popular boxed cake mixes according to the instructions printed on the package, with one small caveat — I made a 1:1 swap of water for milk. Not only is this a recommendation from Duncan Hines itself, but it's the way I would make these mixes in my personal time. You can find more information about my methodology at the end of this article. For now, let's see which Duncan Hines cake mixes are worth buying and which aren't worth your hard-earned money.

I suffered through two puzzling or outright bad cake mixes before reaching this one, so I was beyond thrilled when it performed to my standards. Granted, it wasn't as robustly buttery as my homemade butter cake (which is a personal specialty), but it's an excellent choice for a boxed mix, and I don't have any major complaints.

A moderate sugary starch took center stage, accented by balanced buttery notes and hints of vanilla. Although the cake didn't rise quite as much as I thought it should, it had a nice crumb with a soft texture that was still sturdy enough to not fall apart every time I touched it.

I could see myself buying this again when I'm short on time. If you do so, I recommend topping it with sour cream chocolate frosting for a nice flavor balance. A strawberry filling with chocolate ganache could also be good if you were craving something a bit more sweet-leaning.

A white cake is one of those varieties that seems simple and easy at first glance, but can be incredibly impressive if executed well. The best white cakes have a delicate crumb with a subtle flavor profile made of a sugary starch base and accented by subtle notes of vanilla, almond, or something similar. Unfortunately, that's not what this ended up being at all.

The best way I can describe this cake is to say it tasted like sweetened air. There were no subtle notes of vanilla or almond or anything similar, and strangest of all, the starch barely came through — if anything, the starchiness I'd expect from a cake was a bodiless specter that showed itself sometimes, but mostly stayed invisible. The texture also wasn't just delicate, but feeble. The crumb shredded anytime I cut into or handled the cake in any form instead of remaining soft but cohesive. Skip this and opt for the yellow or butter cakes instead if you want a subtler, less intensely sugary cake.

I'm a big fan of a buttery yellow cake, and I'll choose it over white cake mix any day of the week. One of my favorite ways to serve yellow cake is with chocolate buttercream, but caramel icing (made with homemade caramel, of course) is a solid runner-up. This time, though, I didn't use any icing, because I wanted things to remain fair, and this Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Classic Yellow Cake Mix turned out to be delicious all by itself.

A rich, buttery flavor profile took center stage here, accented heavily by robust vanilla notes. The texture was a bit denser because of the extra egg yolks — at least, I assume this is the reason, based on how I'd make one of these cakes from scratch. Despite the density, the cake was still soft, with a crumb almost like sponge cake but a little sturdier. This ended up being one of my favorite boxed yellow cake mixes. If you enjoy yellow cake, you'll definitely want to grab yourself a box.

Before I dive into all the things that were wrong with this Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Red Velvet Cake Mix, I want to offer a disclosure. I'm not really a big fan of red velvet cake to begin with. A well-executed red velvet cake can be a subtle, balanced thing of beauty, but 90% of every version I've tried just falls flat — this one included.

There was no subtle hallmark tang, and no hint of cocoa powder here. Instead, I got an intense sweetness that tasted like artificial sweeteners paired with a strong chemical flavor that entirely overwhelmed anything else. This was one cake I immediately threw in the trash because I'm not in the habit of eating metal sprayed down with diluted bleach, and that's exactly what the flavor profile reminded me of. One thing I will say is that the texture here was perfectly moist, soft, and sturdy. But that redeeming quality isn't enough to make this worth buying again.

If this were a ranking rather than a recommendation article, this Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Devil's Food Cake Mix would have easily secured the number one spot. Hands down, it was my favorite boxed mix from Duncan Hines. I'd even go so far as to say that it's in my top three favorite boxed mixes ever, from any brand (if you're wondering what my number one favorite of all time is, it's the Betty Crocker Super Moist Lemon Cake Mix).

The thing I loved most about this Devil's Food Cake Mix was how intricately nuanced it was. When I first took a bite, my taste buds were hit with a robust chocolate that was nearly overwhelming, but not quite. As I chewed, this mellowed out a little, and I caught espresso undertones that vastly leveled up this eating experience for me. This came with a slightly buttery finish with a deepening chocolate richness. Texturally, this was incredibly moist with a soft yet durable crumb.

If you're a big chocolate lover, I suggest pairing this with either chocolate buttercream or ganache. If you want to balance the richness, I suggest a caramel or peanut butter icing instead.

Homemade carrot cake is a relatively time-intensive recipe, compared to options like standard yellow, chocolate, or butter cakes — at least, it is if you shred your own carrots like I do. It also happens to be one of my daughter's favorite flavors, so I was hoping this boxed mix would pull through as at least a halfway-decent option. As you can probably tell from the "skip" recommendation, that's not how this turned out.

When I was dumping the cake mix into the mixing bowl, I immediately noted the carrots were small, thin, and sparingly included. During the baking process, these simply fell to the bottom, leaving the cake with a flavor profile that would have been great if this was just a spice cake. The warm spices came through, along with a brown sugar-esque deep sweetness, but it wasn't in line with what I expected from a carrot cake. Moreover, the cake turned out too dense at the bottom and a bit too fluffy on top. Overall, this cake was a flop and isn't worth your money.

While the Devil's Food Cake might have been my favorite overall, this Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist Spice Cake Mix would have won first place if I were ranking things on how they smelled. After only a few moments in the oven, it filled my kitchen with the delicious scent of warm spices and it only got stronger from there, until my whole house smelled like fall. The cinnamon came through strongest, and that was perfect for me because it's my favorite smell. Thankfully, that wasn't where the positive notes ended, either.

Once baked, this spice cake was moist, with an appropriately dense texture. The flavor profile was surprisingly not overwhelmingly spicy, but instead carried subtle notes of warmth against a balanced sweetness. Through this were faint earthy notes, and a caramel-esque undertone. The deep coloring of this cake was also aesthetically pleasing.

I'd recommend topping this with a rich cream cheese frosting if you're looking for a decadent dessert. If you're instead looking for something a little lighter to pair with your morning coffee, try a light dusting of powdered sugar instead.

Based on the flavor name, I was expecting a cake that was dense and fudgy with a rich chocolate flavor profile, with mild to moderate bitter notes. What I got wasn't anywhere near that expectation — in fact, it was one of the blandest, least fudgey cakes I've ever had.

The only hint of flavor in this cake was a faint chocolate so subtle I wouldn't have guessed this was dark chocolate, and there certainly weren't any bitter notes. I'm still confused and left wondering if the box was packed with the wrong flavor. The one and only "good" thing I can say about this cake is that it had a beautiful, somewhat fluffy crumb. Unfortunately, that's not what a "fudge" cake should have, so as fantastic as it was, it actually counted against the mix overall. Needless to say, skipping this in lieu of other options is in your best interest.

If you've read anything else I've written, you may know I'm a fan of richer, sweeter desserts and complex flavor profiles. But there's something to be said about well-done simplicity and a dessert that feels like it could be served at any time of day without being overwhelming. That's exactly what this Duncan Hines Perfectly Moist French Vanilla Cake accomplished.

A faint French vanilla scent perfectly represented the flavor profile, which was devoid of the artificial tones I've run into with other versions of this cake type. Paired with the vanilla were balancing notes of subtle sweetness and moderate starchiness. Texturally, the bottom part of the cake ended up a bit denser than the soft, airy top, but it simply felt structurally sound rather than gummy or overcooked.

I highly recommend this for fans of simple desserts that aren't too sweet. Honestly, I think this is delicious without icing, but a tiny smear of the best store-bought butter on a warm piece of cake would accentuate the natural French vanilla flavor profile. If you are going to use icing, I recommend a plain vanilla buttercream to complement the subtle notes of this cake mix.

I included Duncan Hines cake mixes in this taste test based on their availability to me near Vineland, New Jersey. Each boxed mix was baked according to the instructions printed on the box, with the sole exception of swapping the required water for milk in all recipes. This is the way I've always made boxed cake mixes, but it's also a recommendation from the manufacturer.

Once baked, I judged each cake on whether it had the taste and texture the flavor was supposed to embody — for instance, a carrot cake should have textural interest, spice cake should have a warm flavor profile, and butter cake should be softer and more buttery than a standard vanilla. If a cake flavor performed well, I recommended buying it, while if it performed poorly, I recommended it be skipped. Although personal taste and preference inevitably factored into these recommendations, I aimed to remain as impartial as possible when assessing product quality.

A food industry career spanning more than 15 years was the primary reason I felt qualified to make these assessments. In particular, my time spent in bakeries (including as a head baker) was most useful.