5 Discontinued Duncan Hines Cake Mixes That Deserve A Revival

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In the world of baking mixes, Duncan Hines is an enduring favorite, and the company has a long history behind its success. Unlike Betty Crocker – who was a fictional mascot – Duncan Hines was a real person with a prolific career as a writer and businessman in the food industry, and his brand's first cake mixes debuted in 1951. But while many of the company's iconic products have stayed on shelves for more than seven decades, other flavors have sadly gone missing, and we've picked out some discontinued Duncan Hines cake mixes that definitely deserve a comeback.

We looked through Duncan Hines' history and selected five once-popular cake flavors that Boomers, Gen Xers, and even younger generations may remember from their childhoods. These dearly departed mixes may not be tuned to modern tastes, but they carry fond memories for many and will sound delicious to fans of nostalgic flavors. Duncan Hines' first two cake mixes were quite traditional: Devil's Food, a classic cake invented in the U.S., and and "3-Star," a plain vanilla mix that could be turned into yellow, white, or spice cakes. After its debut, the brand got creative with fruity, nutty, and caramel-y mixes, plus flavors based on regional American desserts. 

Whether you remember using these mixes yourself or they remind you of your parents' or grandparents' baking, the following retro products might send you shooting back in time (and make you start lobbying Duncan Hines for a revival).

It may sound odd to some, but there's nothing bitter about burnt sugar cake. This delicious vintage treat is named after the burnt sugar syrup — basically an extra-dark caramel – used in the batter and icing. While this cake had been popular among bakers in the American South since the 1800s, it gained mainstream traction in the 1950s, leading Duncan Hines to release a Burnt Sugar Cake Mix.

This discontinued mix likely debuted around 1955, as an advertisement from that year promoted it as new. In the ad, a message from Duncan Hines himself emphasized the convenience of the mix, which came with a packet of concentrated burnt sugar syrup. Cooks were meant to mix it with water and add it to the cake and frosting. Traditionally, burnt sugar cake is extremely time consuming, as the sugar must be slow-cooked to the proper darkness without actually burning it. While it probably didn't taste the same, Duncan Hines' version was definitely easier.

A second ad for this mix reads "Discovered in New England by Duncan Hines." The state of Vermont also has a regional affection for this dessert, where it's called "Old Vermont burnt sugar cake," thus explaining the New England nod. Today, burnt sugar cake is an underrated vintage cake that deserves a comeback, and though Duncan Hines' boxed version was simplified, it still holds fond memories for many. "Wish they would bring this back," one Facebook user wrote about the mix, with another commenter writing, "Yes, bring it back!!!"

Duncan Hines has always honored classic American flavors, as shown by its "Early American" collection from the 1960s. This discontinued cake mix line paid tribute to America's earliest recipes with six old-fashioned flavors: Date Nut, Orange, Fudge Nut, Cherry Almond, Butter Pecan, and last but not least, Applesauce Raisin. Made with real applesauce, sliced raisins, and a mix of spices, we think this nostalgic apple Duncan Hines mix deserves a revival.

Frugal, easy applesauce cakes have had a presence in the U.S. since colonial times, and raisins are also common in vintage recipes. A commercial for Duncan Hines Applesauce Raisin mix depicted a woman and girl in colonial-style clothing preparing an old-fashioned applesauce cake. The ad emphasized the chewy, rich texture of Duncan Hines' own version. With a fruity, spicy flavor and hearty crumb, this mix sounds perfect to bake on a rainy autumn day, if only it were still around.

Interestingly, Duncan Hines has another discontinued product similar to its original Applesauce Raisin mix. In the 1970s, the company offered a "Moist & Easy Snack Cake Mix" line that included a spicy apple-raisin flavor. These mixes could be combined with water and baked in a snap, much like the popular Betty Crocker Snackin' Cake mixes. Sadly, all of these baking products have vanished from store shelves. The good news is that a homemade applesauce raisin cake is barely more difficult to prepare than a box mix, so give it a try if you're curious about this old Duncan Hines favorite.

Easily one of the most unique discontinued boxed cake mixes, Duncan Hines' Dutch-Topping line offered fluffy cakes and sweet toppings in the same box. This cake mix collection was advertised as new in a Colorado newspaper from 1962, and included three different flavors: Apple 'N Spice (with a topping of apple slices and cinnamon sugar), Cinnamon Raisin (with a spiced sugar-crumb topping), and Butterscotch Crunch (with an almond and butterscotch topping). You only had to mix the batter, pour it in a pan, and scatter the separate packet of toppings over the whole thing before baking.

Duncan Hines advertisements encouraged home bakers to serve the cakes while still warm "like the Pennsylvania Dutch do," emphasizing how quick the mixes were to prepare and serve. Recipes for Pennsylvania Dutch apple cake often arrange slices of the fruit and streusel crumbs over the dessert, but even more prominently, Dutch-style apple pie is famous for its crumble topping, which may have inspired Duncan Hines' Apple 'N Spice mix.

It's too bad that these baking mixes haven't been seen since in decades because a crumble-topped cake that comes together in minutes and is meant to be served warm from the oven sounds like a slice of happiness to us.

Duncan Hines' signature "Supreme" cake mixes can still be bought today in flavors like orange, strawberry, and pineapple, but back in the day, there was a not-so-fruity flavor in the mix: Caramel Supreme. A 1966 advertisement promotes this mix as a new product with "the real old-fashioned caramel taste you loved as a child."

Brands put recipes on the back of products often during the 20th century, and Duncan Hines encouraged bakers to turn its caramel mix into various fun creations. One idea was a "Caramel Apple Crunch" dessert recipe, which instructed to combine Caramel Supreme cake mix with chopped nuts and butter, scatter it over canned apple pie filling, and bake the whole thing. It was essentially a canned fruit and cake mix cobbler. Alongside the usual ice cream or whipped cream, Duncan Hines recommended coffee cream as a topping — quite the unique flavor combo. The brand also published its own recipe for "Caramel Butternut Cake," which combined the Caramel Supreme cake with a simple brown sugar and pecan icing.

While we don't know when the '60s-era Caramel Supreme mix was discontinued, Duncan Hines has offered other caramel cake mixes under its "Signature" and "Moist Deluxe" lines. Sadly, even these more modern mixes were discontinued in the 2010s, according to heartbroken fans who miss them dearly. The brand no longer offers any kind of caramel-flavored cake mix, which is a shame to many fans.

There's a discontinued Duncan Hines cake mix that was loved in Hershey, Pennsylvania, and it's no wonder why: It was all about chocolate, just like Hershey itself. Duncan Hines Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Mix debuted sometime in the 1970s. One advertisement for the new mix declared it to be "the chocolate cake they loved in Chocolate Town, U.S.A." The company even released a TV commercial in which citizens of Hershey sampled the cake and gave it high marks, calling it "really terrific" and "moist and delicious." Another ad encouraged bakers to "rise to the creation of a chocolate sensation" and pair Sour Cream Chocolate Cake Mix with milk chocolate frosting, orange extract, and chocolate-coated oranges as a topping.

Duncan Hines was definitely onto something when it added sour cream right into its chocolate cake mix. This creamy ingredient makes boxed cake mix richer and can also work miracles on from-scratch cakes. It's high in moisture and fat, yet thick in consistency, adding a luscious softness to baked goods without making the batter watery, and sour cream's acidity also helps to create a tender cake. This dairy product is even Martha Stewart's secret to perfectly moist chocolate cakes.

It sounds like Duncan Hines simply couldn't lose with a sour cream chocolate cake mix, but sadly, that's exactly what happened. The company crossed this mix out of its lineup at some point, perhaps because it wasn't different enough from the brand's many other chocolate mixes.