From the box cakes aren't worth the effort or the calories. On the rare occasion that we have one here, no one eats it. If you're used to good, homemade cakes, boxed cakes just don't taste good (no, not even those with mix-ins of this or that type).
A from-scratch cake doesn't take more than ten minutes to mix up, if you have things organized in the kitchen. Some hints on doing it well:
- set out all your ingredients an hour before you start, and let them come to room temperature
- use fresh baking powder; if it's been sitting in your cabinet for a year, it's probably lost its effeciency
-margarine is not butter . . . Most recipes are best with butter, but I have a couple that call for margarine . . . Sticks of spread have almost completely replaced margarine, and they are mostly oil; they should never be used in baking
- if you're making biscuits, mix the ingredients just 'til they're incorporated -- ideally, you stir no more than 30 times . . . A cake, in contrast, requires lengthy beating to incorporate air and make it light and fluffy -- so a stand mixer is ideal
- measure carefully
- follow directions -- don't do what my husband does and figure you can skip steps or leave out ingredients without consequence . . . This includes using the correct size pan
- check your oven to see if it's accurate, and don't put the pan in 'til it's up to temp
- when the cake is done, set it out on a cooling rack and cover it with a towel . . After ten minutes, flip it out of the pan -- more time, it may stick to the pan, less time, it isn't ready to support itself and will lose shape around the edges