Every so often I get that itch to make a batch of cupcakes or sheet cake whether it is the classic yellow or devils food mix. The name brands of Pillsbury, Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker have all stood the test of time and put out some consistently good cake mixes. I have prepared cakes from scratch that were okay but just seemed to lack the butter flavor that is present in these commercial made cake mixes.
Preparation
Putting together a cake or batch of cup cakes with this Moist Select brand is no different than the directions offered by the other big name cake mix companies. The ingredients list goes no further than requiring the vegetable oil, three eggs and a little water to mix up the batch. The rest of the process involves preheating the oven and filling the pans. In this case I prepared about eighteen cupcakes which required two staggered baking cycles as I only have two six count muffin pans. This box of mix, like all others, states on the box that the consumer will yield two dozen cupcakes. These mixes typically contain enough batter to get about eighteen decent sized cupcakes. The batter mixing was quick and easy, though the baking times took a long time due to having to reuse the muffin pans over again after the first batch cooled off.
The remainder of the process involved spreading the readymade canned frosting over the cupcakes the next day. The family made quick work of the cupcakes as they were depleted in about three days.
Taste
As I baked the first batch of the Meijer moist select classic Yellow cake, I noticed a particular egg or heavy dough smell coming from the oven which I was worried the taste would be a little funky. The first bite of the cupcake put that fear to rest. The cupcakes were not only very moist and soft, but had that great buttery and lightly sweetened yellow cake flavor I could remember tasting when I was a young boy. The cupcakes were a delicious treat and could definitely hold their own with even little or no icing.
Quantity
The cake mix is sold at a weight of 18.25 ounces which yielded about a dozen and a half cupcakes. If I had gone the route of preparing an eight or nine inch layer cake, I probably could have pulled off a double layer cake at eight inches, though the nine inch might be a tad lean. Overall, there was enough mix in the box to get the job done for this family.
Price
The box of Meijer Classic Yellow cake mix set me back a measly dollar and nine cents. The competitive moist mixes and pudding mixes from the other brand name companies ranged from $1.29 toward a buck and a half per box. I don’t think that saving twenty cents was too big of a deal, though I think this cake costs just as good as the brand names.
Overall Opinion
I would rate this cake mix a strong buy with the expectations of using this cake many more times in the future perhaps trying out new alterations such as pineapple upside down or a pound cake. The cake definitely lived up to the moist label and had a sweet and buttery finish that reminded me of the fun cupcakes of the old days during school lunches and field trip treats.