6 Krusteaz Pound Cake And Quick Bread Mixes, Ranked

Recently, I found myself strolling through the baking aisle at my local grocery store, and the bright pink boxes of Dolly Parton's new line of baking mixes caught my eye. I love Dolly Parton, and while I didn't really want to try her mixes (just admire), I'm happy I took the time to do so. Because right beside her boxes was a long line of Krusteaz baking mix options.

Until recently, I was only aware of the Krusteaz pancake and waffle mixes, which I had always used. I didn't realize the company offered so much more. It has an entire line of muffin mixes, which I suggest checking out. It also sells quick bread and pound cake mixes — two things I generally only make from scratch on special occasions. But if a good mix exists, anything could become an occasion.

So, I bought all the quick bread and pound cake mixes I could find and took them to my kitchen. I wanted to see how easy they were to make and if they were worth taking the time to make at all — something I go into more at the end of the article. Even if it's a mix, a loaf is still going to take up an hour or so. You have multiple ingredients to add, long bake times, and you're going to make a bit of a mess. It's a commitment. If I'm going to use a mix, it better be easy and actually taste good. Here's how I ranked the potential of Krusteaz' pound cake and quick bread mixes.

The cranberry orange quick bread had me very excited. It had a can of cranberries in orange zest that you can add to the batter, and I found that to be such a special touch. With just water, oil, and a couple of eggs, this easily came together. And it was a fragrant endeavor from the moment I opened the box. Citrus, fruitiness, and sweetness filled the air and became even more intense after the can of cranberries was folded in. Everything was going so well.

But, when the timer sounded on the longest bake time noted in the instructions, the loaf still wasn't fully ready to come out of the oven. Little chunks held tightly to the toothpick test, and the loaf hadn't fully risen. It fell apart when I sliced it and removed a piece from the tin. And I could honestly have gotten past all of those things if the taste had been better.

I was surprised by the subtlety of flavor in the bread when the mix and batter had such a powerful aroma. The texture was also just a bit grainy, I believe from needing to bake longer. If the flavor had been there, the texture could have probably been given a pass, but it just wasn't enough — especially in comparison to the other mixes in the lineup.

When I opened this pound cake mix bag, the smell of vanilla seemed to create a cloud in my kitchen. It was an over-the-top scent that could not be ignored. The smell was so strong that it seemed artificial in nature, and I was immediately nervous for the final product. Adding the egg, melted butter, and some water helped the scent to settle to a tolerable level. This batter came together quickly and amply filled the loaf tin.

It needed to bake for the full amount of time and could have, in my opinion, gone a bit longer. When I brought it out of the oven, it still looked very moist and not as fluffy as I wanted. But, baking times on cakes and breads are always going to vary, so needing to bake something for a few more minutes isn't a deal breaker. The deal breaker on this one, however, was the flavor.

It was 100% vanilla both in taste and plainness. The vanilla itself had a powerful punch when I took the first bite. Then it just tasted too sweet. But throughout it all, it was still slightly boring on the palate. As far as providing flavor, it was on the right track compared to the cranberry orange, but it didn't measure up when compared to the ones I ranked higher.

This lemon pound cake had a gentle aroma of sweet lemons that wafted softly around my kitchen when first opened. Water, butter, and eggs are all it needed, so it was very simple to make. The one difference was that, while the vanilla pound cake came with a generic packet of confectioner's sugar to make a glaze, the packet in this one was lemon-flavored, which seemed nice. It only needed a tablespoon of water to achieve the glaze icing consistency that I like, and it had a slight zing.

Out of the oven, it was easy to see that this was an ample pound cake. The weight of it stayed true to the classic pound cake name. But when tasting it, that substantial quality really came through. The cake was heavy and dense. It seemed to expand in my mouth and took a very long time to chew. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, just obviously a different texture than I had expected — and a lot of it. I want pound cake to be a little fluffy, but with this one, a little goes a long way. A very thin slice will suffice, so be prepared to share this loaf with a lot of people.

This lemon pound cake is much better than its lower-ranked competition. It's a bit thick, but I would still eat it and enjoy the flavor. The body is just too stodgy for a cake, whereas the higher-ranked options get away with denser bodies because they're bread. 

It's nice to find a pumpkin spice bread mix that's available year-round. It doesn't need to be sweater weather to enjoy these delicious, savory flavors. While neither the batter nor the freshly baked bread offered the burst of pumpkin spice scent that I would have enjoyed, the flavor more than made up for it. With one bite, there was no doubt what kind of bread I was eating. The warmth of the cloves, ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon ignited in my chest and exploded on my palate. 

What I wasn't happy to find was that the loaf, after cooking the longest of any of the mixes, had a solid, compacted line of undercooked bread near the bottom. The amount of batter for this loaf should have called for a larger loaf pan. While baking, it had lifted inches off the top of the tin and had spilled over the edges. And although it had a nice crust on the outside and looked completely done, I shouldn't have been surprised that it hadn't baked all the way through. And that does affect where it lands on the list.

Unlike the ones ranked lower, however, I will make this again. I will get two packages and make three 8-inch by 4-inch loaves. I honestly think that will fix the issue. And the spice level of this is perfectly balanced. It's definitely a nice find.

I will do just about anything to avoid making banana bread. It always seems when I have the ripeness of my bananas at the perfect level for banana bread, I have no time to bake. And I think that's probably true for a lot of people. So, a nice mix could really come in handy, and I was pleasantly surprised by this one.

The scent of the boxed powder offered a hint of banana, but nothing more. After adding the water, oil, and eggs, I felt I would get a more heightened aroma from the wet batter as I mixed it all together, but there was none to be had. Thankfully, once again, the flavor made up for it. This bread had the gentlest banana flavor. There was nothing about it that denoted artificial banana flavor, and I was ecstatic about that. The flavor also seemed to hold a spiciness that I wasn't used to in banana bread, but it was something I very much enjoyed. It almost had a hot hint of anise to it, and I liked it. And anise is not a flavor I generally enjoy.

It baked all the way through and gave a lovely, large showing without consuming the tin beneath it. The texture was nice, perhaps just a tinge on the dry side. But this is definitely a worthy bread mix, although it's not as good as the next one.

The cinnamon swirl bread comes with both a mix for batter and then a large packet of a cinnamon, sugar, and possibly brown sugar concoction. The bread is made by layering batter and cinnamon sugar mix. I found it was necessary to use my fingers to make sure the cinnamon mixture was distributed evenly, but it was fun. And there was enough sugared goodness in the packet to put plenty of crusting on both layers of batter.

It baked beautifully, becoming a little puffy, nicely browned, and crackled with crusty cinnamon and sugar. When I removed a slice, I was impressed by the thick, curvy swirl that had settled in a soft wave while baking. And on first bite, a magnificent amount of flavor and texture filled my mouth. There was warmth and spiciness, sweetness and sugar. There was a soft moistness to the bread and a crisp snap to the crystals.

This was a bread that was beautiful to look at and to taste. It is such a simple thing, but could really elevate a breakfast or brunch, feed guests, or be a lovely thing to gift for friends. During a time when you know you'll have company, it would just be nice to have around. It also looks entirely homemade and is expertly spiced without any effort from the baker. Without a doubt, this was easily number one.

All these loaves had three ingredients to add, called for the same pan size, and each had me in the kitchen around the same amount of time. So, no ranking was really affected by those elements. I baked all the loaves in my kitchen over a weekend, and they were all given the same disposable aluminum loaf pan. Each was made per box instructions, and the final product was given at least three tastes. I found that most issues arose from bake times and pan sizing, which could possibly be remedied with a little fussing. However, all of that went into the ranking. In the end, it came down to whether or not the flavor was worth the fuss.

For the bottom two, the answer was absolutely not. I was incredibly underwhelmed by the flavor, regardless of the texture of those two. And while the lemon had a good flavor, something was off in the texture, either due to an improper bake time or pan size. It could possibly be both, but I don't necessarily care enough to experiment with it and find out. The pumpkin spice is definitely worth it. The flavor is on point, but the batter needs to be divided.

However, the top two don't need any adjustments. The banana bread baked fine, and I am excited to have that option for when the craving arises. I'll probably add nuts next time. The cinnamon swirl bread is going to be a popular item coming from my kitchen. This mix offered a fun experience and a beautiful product. I believe showing up anywhere with that bread will garner copious compliments and recipe requests.