No, the 3 name brands of cake mixes that are all $1-$2/box. Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Duncan Hines.

I'm confused - those were the ones I was referring to. You were saying there was no difference between those name brands (Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, etc) and.. what?

No difference between any of the name brands, i.e, no difference between Betty Crocker and Pillsbury, or Pillsbury and Duncan Hines.

In college I had a friend who loved frosting, which I hate. I'd give her mine, and she'd give me her naked cake after she'd sliced off the frosting. Made us both happy. :):)

Is "she gave me her naked cake" what you called it at your college? :o ;)

Betty Crocker Super Moist butter recipe yellow. I make 1 or 2 yellow cakes a week and this is always my favorite.

My mother is diabetic, so when I was growing up, she'd have a small piece of cake, but wouldn't eat the frosting. She'd scrape that off, and I'd happily take that too.

"Would you like to have some radiation with that?" :D

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellowcake

Her boyfriend wouldn't have liked that. :p

I was referring strictly to the things that came in pink boxes from the Portuguese bakery in Fox Point that was on my cycling route. Angelfood with chocolate frosting for preference.

however you make it, i enjoy adding icing made from a combination of limoncello liqueur and powdered sugar

You know, it's really not all that difficult to make the cake from fresh ingredients. Reading the ingredients on the box sounds more like a science experiment than a dessert.

I can't understand why someone would buy a box full of chemicals to make cake. It's so easy to make properly, and tastes like real cake if done properly.

I don't really make cakes much, but it would be really great if one of the enthusiastic and knowledgeable cake makers started a thread and showcased some of the cakes they're most proud of and their secrets.

I don't always have all of the ingredients in the house (I don't always keep flour and sugar in the house, because I don't often use them), but usually have a box or two of cake mix.

I can't claim to be an "enthusiastic and knowledgeable cake maker" but I do make my own cakes (and bread when I have the time).

Here's a birthday cake I took in the office for my birthday last year. Unfortunately I didn't think of taking a 'crumb' shot after we had cut it but it was a double chocolate fudge cake with vanilla buttercream filling.

http://i1161.photobucket.com/albums/...pswui98gw7.jpg

I've been asked to make a similar a few times for people so it couldn't have been too bad.

I can bake but I can't decorate so the chocolate fingers/smarties combo on the sides and top are a great solution and look quite impressive.