I remember, quite some years back, I think on America’s Test Kitchen, that they did blind taste tests of basic cakes made from mixes and from scratch. The mix cake won. Additives and oil keep them moister and give them a better crumb. The taste of scratch cakes benefits from butter, but they dry out, so are best consumed the day they are made.
Somewhere, I have one of the cookbooks by Ann Byrn, the “Cake Mix Doctor”. Her recipes combine box mixes with various add-ins and frostings to elevate the results. They are very appealing. Used copies are readily available for under $5.00.
I find canned frostings far too sweet but when making frosting for carrot cake, I mix whipped cream cheese with canned vanilla frosting, tasting until I get the correct balance of taste and texture.
