Betty Crocker's Best Cake Mix Hands Down Isn't Vanilla Or Devil's Food

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One should always be wary not to mistake the best for the best known. When it comes to the Betty Crocker line of store-bought cake mixes, some may come to mind so readily the brand and the recipe have become virtually synonymous. Yet in terms of sheer quality, Betty Crocker's best cake mix isn't the popular vanilla or devil's food, but lemon.

In Tasting Table's recent ranking of nine Betty Crocker cake mixes, common mixes such as yellow and red velvet were all pipped for first place by Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Lemon Cake Mix. The result was a pleasant surprise to our critic. "The powder mix itself smelled citrusy and refreshing, which made me worry if it might taste overly artificial," they wrote. "But my worries were not well founded."

After making a batch of a dozen cupcakes for each of the flavors under review, multiple factors contributed to our tester's assessment crowning Lemon Cake Mix as the superior option. "This flavor was both subtle and not, resulting in a balanced, wide-ranging flavor," they added. "It was tangy and almost sour, but the sweetness helped to calm it down a bit. It is very clearly lemon-flavored, and the cupcake held its moisture nicely." This was a winning contrast to other boxed cake mixes, some of which fell short in their own promises of moistness. The lemon cupcakes were subsequently presented at a family gathering and were a hit. 

Customer reviews on the Walmart website are overwhelmingly positive, with many sharing how they used the mix. "Lemon cake mix has sooo many possibilities it's good by its delicious self!" one said, while another proclaimed: "New family favorite! This Cake mix smells intoxicating and my kitchen smelled delicious while it baked. Combined with the lemon frosting it was a double whammy. Five stars for tastes and fluffiness." Echoing our critic's assessment, one review stated simply: "I've tried every boxed cake in the store and this is best hands down."

This cake mix would be an ideal choice if you're tempted to make this simple lemon loaf which starts with boxed cake mix. Beyond that, you'll find no shortage of recipes that call for lemon cake mix, from lemon bars, to cookies, to bundt cake, so you won't be running out of potential applications anytime soon. Our critic does mention that her own test batch of cupcakes would have been improved with the addition of frosting, so if you're in the mood to pair lemon with chocolate, remember that Betty Crocker's Hershey's Milk Chocolate came out on top in our ranking of nine store-bought chocolate frostings.