The Best Store-Bought Coffee Cake Mix Comes From A Popular Brand

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A box of coffee cake mix in the pantry is a like gift for your future self. It's cheap enough that you don't need to think about adding it to the cart, the act of whipping it up and tossing it in the oven won't cause you to break a sweat, and the resulting delicious treat far outweighs these minimal efforts. As soon as the house begins to fill with the delightful aromas of those warm spices, you'll pat your past-self on the back for choosing to grab that box off the shelf, especially if you chose well with the brand. Don't worry, though, you don't need to start tallying scores for all of the different styles on offer — we've done that work for you! In our ranking of store-bought coffee cake mixes, there was one brand that stood head and shoulders above the rest: the dreamily delicious Krusteaz Cinnamon Swirl Crumb Cake Mix.

Our review for the Krusteaz mix was absolutely glowing, centering around its decadence and rich flavor. For a mix that requires the addition of no more than an egg, a bit of neutral oil, and some water, achieving such a flavor is a spectacular thing. We took special note of the ample layer of sweet cinnamon in the middle — the "swirl" promised on the package — as well as a streusel topping that was not dry and crumbly, but deliciously moist, just like the rest of the cake. With a price tag of just a few dollars, this is the kind of treat-in-a-box that you'll certainly be happy to have in the pantry next time you're craving something sweet on a Sunday morning.

The high praise for this brand's boxed coffee cake mix spans across the internet, and Krusteaz Cinnamon Swirl Crumb Cake Mix is the target of much admiration. The product boasts 4.8 stars out of five on the company's website, and a similar 4.7 at both Walmart and Kroger, based on thousands of reviews. Reddit, too, shares the love for this breakfast-ready cake mix, with plenty of comments raving about how delicious it is. "It's hard not to eat the whole thing in two days," shares one Redditor, a sentiment that echoes our experience.

But don't think that this particular baking mix is a one-off success for Krusteaz. If anything, the quality of this product stands up to a long history of success in the field. For close to 100 years now, Krusteaz has been making the process whipping up high-quality sweets much simpler for home bakers. It all started in the early 1930s with an attempt to box a perfect, easy pie crust mix — hence the brand's name, a portmanteau of "crust" and "ease" — but now extends to a wide variety of pound cake and quick bread mixes, along with coffee cakes and other delightful treats. The cinnamon swirl is certainly a favorite across the brand's different styles of mixes, but the Krusteaz pumpkin spice quick bread is also a winner. Basically, Krusteaz is always a safe bet when it comes to boxed goodness.