Boxed Cake Mix: A Natural Alternative

on September 9, 2009 at 12:25 PM

Naturally Nora boxed cake mixes When I can, I bake from scratch. But there are times when a boxed cake mix are called for. Like at 10 p.m. at night, when I suddenly remember I am supposed to send in cupcakes to school the next morning! Oh, yes, it's happened. More times than I care to remember.

And, so, I pull down one of those boxed mixes from the cabinet, which taste pretty good (though I can spot non-homemade a mile away) but that I know are packed with lots of artificial and additional stuff and chemicals that I don't want my kid to eat.

(What is "propylene glycol monostester," anyway? It can't be good, especially since it sounds suspiciously close to "child molester.")

Naturally Nora is my new best friend. She's a mom of kids who decided to investigate what those little confetti dots on cupcakes were really made out of. "I wouldn't eat that!" she said. "How could I serve that to my kids!"

She's come out with a line of all-natural cake mixes without any artificial colorings or un-natural ingredients. Check out her label compared to the other popular brands in this cake mix comparison. You'll notice hers has 8 ingredients compared to 17 or 18 in the others.

And super yummy. I made the Sunny Yellow cake with Vanilla Frosting. For an added touch I mixed in some chocolate chips. My kids and neighbors loved them, and no one could tell they weren't homemade.

You can buy them in specialty stores like Whole Foods, Meijer, and can be ordered at amazon for $3-$4 a box, in several different varieties including dots and stars that are not artificially colored.

What is your go-to boxed cake mix? Do you think that boxed cake has a particular "taste" that gives it away?

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About the author Cynthia Dermody

is The Stir's Managing Editor who has trophies in her home for her skills at the Irish Jig. She makes cupcakes with as many fattening ingredients as possible, doesn't comb her hair for months at a time, and was probably a faerie in a former life.

Filed Under: baking, birthdays, desserts

Comments (3)

LuminousMom

on Sep 9, 2009 at 12:46 PM

I make everything from scratch, but cake is my one exception. Because I only make it once a year (for DH's birthday... we ususally are given the kids cakes from a friend who bakes cakes as a living) I just make him the box kind because its what he likes. He likes the Betty Crocker "funfetti" kind, and then I make him cream cheese frosting from scratch. I'm not a fan of cake to begin with so I dont care, ghetto cake for DH!

I did however learn the mistake of baking cake at high altitudes for the first time without altering the recipe.. my first box fell apart. Woops! It really IS different when you are higher up!

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aurorabunny

on Sep 9, 2009 at 4:09 PM

Cake from scratch is sooooo easy, I don't think I could ever use a mix.

That said I think it's awesome that this product is available!

momoflilangel

on Sep 10, 2009 at 9:08 AM

I too don't like the artificial ingredients so my desserts are usually homemade but I'd love to try this all natural cake mix. I just now found all natural premade cookie dough in the refridgerator section of the grocery store. I think companies are finally jumping on the bandwagon to see that consumers are paying more attention to ingredient labels.