One last question before I undertake my first BIG (wedding) cake. I am going to be using a boxed butter cake recipe with the enhanced/extended cake formula. I lucked out recently and in the last 2 weeks my grocer has had buy one get one free on cake mixes. Last week they had Betty Crocker Super Moist, and this week they had Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe. I now have enough to do either. In the opinion of those who have used both, which would you recommend that I use? Keeping in mind that I will be using the enhanced version if that makes a difference.

Thank you guys. I've learned so much in a very short time while visiting this site. I feel fairly confident about doing this which would not be the case had I not gotten so much useful info here.

Donna

I have never used an extender before so I don't know how much this will help you but I never use anything but Better Crocker! I have great luck with those mixes everytime. The last time I used Duncan Hines I had problems so I haven't used them since.
Just my opinion,
Heather

Duncan Hines is my first choice!!! I've used the "Classic yellow" for several years now, using the recipe that has you add vanilla pudding mix, and I've always gotten many compliments on the taste and how moist it is. It bakes nicely and rises good too!!! Plus, it takes veg. oil instead of oleo so that's always a plus for me!!!
Best of luck to you!
blessings,
elly

Duncan Hines......it even says on the box that they're preferred by wilton.

Donna,
Most of my clients like Duncan H.
I don't use the Butter recipe because it doesn't
hold up as well, unless you have a good recipe.
vicki

Uh oh vixterfsu, what do you mean by it does not hold up as well? You're scaring me! LOL

I think it's purely a matter of taste.

I used to use Duncan Hines all the time, but about a year ago I needed to use the betty crocker becuase there wasn't any DH in that flavor and I thought it was better (taste and texture)! I've never gone back! And it always rises well, something that I found DH was kind of inconsistent about (although maybe that's my fault!)

I love Duncan Hines as well...and LOVE the strawberry cake by Pillsbury...but I always throw in a package of pudding mix and an extra egg and swap out the water in the recipe for milk and I find it makes the cake MUCH sturdier...almost like a pound cake I guess.....but still has the nice soft fluffy kind of texture (hard to describe)...but it holds up REAlLY well for 3-D cakes so I'm sure it would work really well for a wedding cake (I've never made a wedding cake)!!

I always use Betty Crocker French Vanilla. I always get tons and tons of compliments on the flavor and moistness, and I don't doctor it up or anything. I've tried the DH French Vanilla, and I can't remember why (it's been well over a year), but I remember not liking it anywhere near as much as the Betty Crocker. But I must say that Duncan Hines Classic White is really, really, good. I used that for a long time until I discovered Betty Crocker's French Vanilla.
But tonight I'm going to try the recipe where you add a box of pudding, add an egg, and replace the water with milk and see what happens! I was reading that white chocolate and cheesecake are really good flavors to try, so I'll try them both out and see what the results are!
Also, have you ever tried adding Dream Whip to a mix? I read that on this board somewhere, and I liked the result. It gave it a really nice tight texture, it looked really professional!
Oh - and if you ever do try out the BC French Vanilla - there's a recipe on the back of the box where you add butter and milk. It turns out REALLY good. Even my husband, who tends not to like mixes, said it tasted absolutely homemade and so much richer than a normal cake! So if you want to do something really special for this wedding cake - try a box with that recipe and see what you think. It does add to your cost though, since you have to add butter.

My vote is for Duncan Hines.

My vote is for Betty Crocker! I always get compliments on the taste of the cakes when I use Betty. Maybe it's just me, but I find it easier to decorate a Betty cake too
Kelly

I think my vote would be for Duncan Hines but only beacause that is what I've mostly used and it has turned out really great all of the time. The cake extender works great on these. Good luck!!!

I use BC and DH interchangably. I use a pudding mix, an extra egg, 1 C milk and 1/2 C butter. Sometimes I add flavorings like vanilla or almond as well. I don't notice any difference between the two when doctored up.

I am horrible cause I can't ever remember which one I like....I just seem to buy the one on sale and after I doctor it up it tatses yummy

I am not a cake mix person, but I made the Butter Fudge Cake from Duncan Hines and I LOVED it. I added the extra egg and pudding and it was to die for.

Euphoriabakery does it matter if you use whole 2% or skim milk?

Donna,
Didn't mean to scare you. I just heard that you
shouldn't put butter in your cake mix for tiered cakes. It's so possible that I am wrong. I'm sure
someone can add their 2 cents if they have used
the butter duncan h in a wedding.
vicki

I vote for Betty Crocker just because these cake mixes already have the pudding added so you do not have to add any. Also, to me, BC seems to be a "sturdier" cake and it rises very well. Also, I would recommend for a wedding cake that you add buttermilk in place of the water, these results in a moister, somewhat denser cake that I think would hold up better for a teired cake. Just my thoughts!

thanks for the tips euphoriabakery - I am going to try that with a cake and cupcake order I have next week.[/quote]

I am a Betty Crocker baker. I have tried both Duncan Hines and Pillsbury but prefer Betty Crocker!

The Betty Crocker mix has pudding in it, the Duncan Hines does not. I have instant vanilla pudding mix that I could add to the DC if I use it. The enhanced cake recipe calls for sour cream so I don't think there is any need to add buttermilk as well. Just speculation.

I think I'm even more confused now than earlier, LOL, it seems to be about a 50/50 split

I add pudding to all mixes I use, even if they say they have pudding in them.

I like Duncan Hines and Pillsbury. Lately when I make a large chocolate cake I've been combining one box of the Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate with one box of the Pillsbury Devils Food, add milk in place of water, 2 extra eggs, and a little extra oil. Very tasty!

I primarily buy Pillsbury. I've had many compliments on my cakes using this brand, so it's usually my first choice. Sometimes I add a little almond extract to my cake mixes to add a little flavor... usually about 1 tsp to a mix.

Betty Crocker ALL the way! I tryed both and i thought betty crocker was much more moist.

I like both really depends on the flavor of mix.. I prefer chocolate from DH and white from BC and yellow cake from PB so I kinda use different ones . It also depends on which is on sale when I go stock up...

That's a good point - although I love BC's French Vanilla, I'm not too crazy about their chocolates. I tried one once called Dark Chocolate fudge which was AWESOME - it was really, really good but now I can't find it anywhere! So I've been using their Triple chocolate Fudge, but I find it burns so easily in the oven. Has anyone else had this problem? What is your favorite chocolate mix? I'm not crazy about the other BC chocolates - the Milk Chocolate and German Chocolate aren't chocolatey enough, in my opinion. Is Devil's Food supposed to be really chocolatey?

I use Betty Crocker.I have tried Duncan Hines and just prefer BC.I really like using the extender recipe and use it all the time but it gives the cake a bit denser texture which is still nice.I think both companies make a great boxed mix it is just a matter of what you prefer.

BC super moist white w/ added flavoring for me.
Never us PB doesn't bake up well. I always get a flat cake.
Toss up between BC & DH for choc though. Like both dark choc fudge types!
Never added all the extra flour and stuff - I think that's something I'll have to try and compare the two!

If I do use a mix, I normally go for Duncan Hines - I've also used Betty Crocker and gotten satisfactory resluts with both. I think it's probably just a personal preference.