This Fruity Pillsbury Cake Mix Outshines Funfetti, Yellow, And Devil's Food

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Products from the Pillsbury brand are a staple in many kitchens. You may be most familiar with popular Pillsbury products like crescent rolls, biscuits, and cinnamon rolls. But Pillsbury also delivers a diverse line of cake mixes worth exploring. We tasted 11 Pillsbury boxed cake mixes, ranking them according to authenticity and strength of flavor. And while you can find classics like yellow, Funfetti, and Devil's Food on the list, none of those compare to Pillsbury's pineapple cake mix.

Ranking in second place, the pineapple cake mix was bursting with fruity flavor, and it was as close to the taste of real pineapple as a cake mix gets. It almost had a juicy quality to its tangy sweetness. Most importantly, the pineapple flavor didn't have an artificial taste, which is often a con of fruit-flavored cake mixes. At the other end of the spectrum, the yellow and Funfetti cake mixes were ranked seventh and sixth, respectively. They weren't necessarily bad, but they didn't stand out in any way in terms of flavor. The Devil's Food cake came in fourth place, and was our favorite chocolate-flavored cake mix from Pillsbury's lineup. 

The flavor of the pineapple cake mix won our hearts over those options. It's not every day you see a pineapple cake mix, and especially one that's executed so well. A unique offering like the pineapple cake opens up even more possibilities for icing pairings, decorations, or other creative cake mix upgrades that gives this Pillsbury option even more of a leg up on the competition.

We found countless reviews on Amazon and Walmart praising Pillsbury's pineapple cake mix for its flavor and soft, supple texture. A glowing review on Amazon proclaimed, "I really have NO dislikes about this cake mix ... [and] fell in love with the simplicity and flavor." Walmart customers complimented the cake's "Excellent pineapple flavor," and also said it was "Very moist [and] easy to bake and delicious." While reviews on both sites averaged over 4 stars, there were still some negative comments, particularly about the pineapple flavor, which one Walmart customer described as an "Unpleasant artificial taste [with] high chemical notes." Still, the majority of customers agreed with our assessment of a more natural fruitiness. Moreover, customers loved how versatile the cake mix was as it is amenable to all manner of add-ins and accompaniments.

One customer on Amazon recommended adding a can of crushed pineapple with the juice to the cake mix to amplify the pineapple taste. Of course, the most popular use of this pineapple cake mix is as the foundation for a pineapple upside-down cake. We recommend adding lime, orange, or lemon zest to the cake batter for a citrusy complement to the sweet and acidic pineapple flavor. You could also add a combination of crushed pineapple, chopped pecans, and shredded coconut to the batter for a moist, tropical cake with a nutty crunch that you could serve with a dollop of coconut cream or a scoop of coconut ice cream.