The Big Brownie Mix Taste Test!

After testing 11 brands, I came up with a way to make boxed brownies better

Since their invention almost 100 years ago, cake mixes have offered an easy path to homemade desserts - no pastry class required. With just a few simple steps, anyone could whip up a cake, pie crust, cookies, or pancakes without hunting down recipes or gathering dozens of ingredients. Add a can of frosting, and a home baker could create a decorated cake in under an hour. Talk about convenient!

While the popularity of cake mixes has fluctuated over the decades, it would be hard to find anyone over age 12 who hasn't baked up something from Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines.

For me, cake mixes were my gateway to baking. It started with my friend Shirin's Easy-Bake Oven, before we graduated to creations requiring more than a lightbulb for heat. Our first real project was a Betty Crocker Super Moist yellow cake with chocolate frosting for her dad's birthday in the mid-70s. Once that last sprinkle landed on top, I was hooked.

These days, you're more likely to find a box of Kraft Dinner than a cake mix in my cupboard. I still make cakes often, but always from scratch. Yet I remain fascinated by cake mixes.

And how they've evolved! Now you don't just find Pillsbury, Duncan Hines and Betty Crocker, but Loblaws' is getting in on the action with mixes from their upscale President's Choice brand, as well as a vegan mix too. There are niche local brands like Juliette & Chocolat and Zoe Ford, while Americans love their Stonewall Kitchen and Trader Joe’s. And it's not just in North America that we're seeing this “haute” mix trend. In Paris, Marlette makes dozens of stylishly-packaged organic and/or gluten-free mixes.

Intrigued by the abundance of options on store shelves, I decided to test brownie mixes - reportedly the closest match to homemade baked goods. I had to see for myself!

And I know my brownies. I spent months developing the recipe for my first cookbook (Make Every Dish Delicious/Chez Lesley), pursuing the perfect trifecta: pronounced chocolate flavor, chewy (not doughy) texture, and that coveted shiny crust

Boxed brownies tend to give a nice shiny crust — most of the time.

I tested 11 brownie mixes ranging in price from $4 to $19.

The lineup included: Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Bob’s Red Mill, Quaker, Selection, Riccardo, Compliments Deluxe, Presiden’t’s Choice “The Decadent”, Juliette et Chocolat, La Maison Zoe Ford, and Ghirardelli.

The testing methodology: All of the brownie mixes were tested in the same oven and in the same a 9-inch round pan. All of the brownies were made according to the package instructions. If the mix called for oil, the same neutral vegetable oil was used. And if it called for butter, the same unsalted butter was used as well.