Best Boxed Chocolate Cake Mix

I’ve happily eaten chocolate cake my whole life—yes, even after watching that chocolate cake scene from Matilda (you know the one). So I felt not only equipped, but eager to eat my way through a bakery’s worth of cakes in search of the best boxed chocolate cake mix for you. 

I tried ten boxed chocolate cake mixes in total, prepping and baking each according to package instructions, before eating a corner piece of every cake. Why a corner piece? Because the journey from a cake’s spongy midsection outwards is a dynamic experience of varying moisture, texture, and flavor as we approach the edges where our old friend Maillard imposes his bold reaction. Plus, I wanted to give these cakes away to friends after I was finished tasting, and didn’t feel like explaining why their cakes had a scoop gouged out of the middle. 

I blind-tasted each cake plain. No frosting, and none of those back-of-the-box recommendations reading “for a kicked-up version, add…” No. I was already baking ten cakes. I’m tired. I’m weary. I’m worn. I want my sugar, and will not exert any extra effort. 

Here’s what we looked for in the best chocolate cake mix:

• Taste: Did the cakes taste good, from start to finish? Was there an aftertaste? Did the flavor change from the beginning of the bite to the end? Did each bite taste the same as the last? 
• Chocolatiness: Different from taste, which could be good without necessarily being chocolatey, I was also on the lookout for a true chocolate flavor. Yes, I want an overall sweet cake, but I do want the depth and slight bitterness that comes with strong chocolate. 
• Texture: A dry, crumbly, or mealy cake is a travesty that can outweigh even the best flavors. None of that here, please. 
• Ease of preparation: A lot of boxed mixes have the same general prep ingredients and instructions—add a few eggs, oil, and/or water—plus or minus a step or two. But, if I’m short on time or energy, those couple measuring spoons or bowls can really make a difference. 

Through this tasting I found the best chocolate cake mix in a box—including the best German chocolate cake box mix—and I also learned that I might take cake instructions a little too personally. Let’s dive into the former, shall we? 

Best Boxed Chocolate Cakes, Ranked

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Best Dark Chocolate Cake Mix

Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge

Walmart

A lot of the chocolate cakes I tasted for this ranking were sweet without being especially chocolatey, but not this one. The chocolate flavor is deep and dark and bitter, yet somehow still sweet. I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity, knowing it was an off-the-shelf boxed chocolate cake mix, and not-so-pleasantly surprised by my own prejudice surrounding boxed mixes. I tasted these cakes with some die-hard milk chocolate fans, who ranked this considerably lower than the dark chocolate lovers. While the milk chocolate fans agreed that it was perfectly good cake, this is truly the best chocolate boxed cake mix for dark chocolate fans and dark chocolate fans only. It’s also the best boxed chocolate cake mix to buy if you need an excuse to not invite that annoying coworker to your party because, “Oh, I thought you hated dark chocolate.”

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best Chocolate Mug Cake Mix

Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Mug Cake

Betty Crocker

Walmart

The biggest knock against this mug cake mix is that, for how much chocolate it advertised, there was very little distinct chocolate flavor. It’s a very tasty bite, though. The texture is also a giveaway that it’s not a “traditional” cake, since it’s a little sticky and spongy. All of this being said, let it be known: This tastes good. This does the job. For how incredibly easy and fast it was to make, it is absolutely worth the tiny amount of effort to mix in a few tablespoons of water or milk and microwave a mug for a minute or two. It’s slightly more work than unwrapping a snack cake, but really does taste leaps and bounds better.

Credit: Liv Averett / Betty Crocker

Rating:

8/10

Sporks

Best Basic Chocolate Cake Mix

Betty Crocker Oreo Chocolate Cake

Walmart

In the kindest, most complimentary way possible, this tastes like grocery store sheet cake. But grocery store sheet cake is a familiar, unassuming, drama-free flavor that I know and love. While it’s more than palatable on its own, it invites, nay, it begs to be taken to its full potential. It yearns to be made into a cake pop, to become a poke cake, or decorated to the nines. Per the guidelines I set for myself in tasting, I left out the Oreo pieces they included in the box (they’re separate from the mix so you could choose to mix them into the batter or use them to top your cake). But you know what, Betty Crocker? I see you. Even that basic mix is some of the best chocolate cake mix in a box. It’s a delicious blank canvas. I respect that.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Fluffy Chocolate Cake Mix

Pillsbury Chocolate Funfetti

Walmart

This was like eating a chocolate cloud. Well, not an actual cloud that’s filled with sediment and water and ice and isn’t near as fluffy as your naive childhood heart imagined they would be. But you know what I mean! This cake practically danced on my tongue before dissolving and leaving me with a subtle but chocolatey flavor, with a sweetness that was surprisingly restrained considering that the sprinkles primed me to believe that it was geared towards kids. The funfetti didn’t actually add a ton – sprinkles weren’t obstructive, though they were swallowed in the chocolate flavor and color. If you’re a sprinkle fanatic, you’ll have to supplement. If you want a dense, rich, gooey chocolate cake, have a brownie instead. For the fans of light, tender cakes, this is a great option.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best German Chocolate Cake Mix

Pillsbury German Chocolate Cake Mix

Walmart

I used to think that German chocolate cake was a simple chocolate cake—any chocolate cake—laden with the characteristic coconut and pecan filling. So, I was real mad when none of that stuff was included with this German chocolate cake box mix. It felt like false advertising. Because, without the filling, isn’t it just chocolate cake? Wrong! The German chocolate cake box mixes we tasted were distinct from the others in that they were far lighter on the chocolate, and almost tasted more brown-sugary. This German chocolate cake box mix tasted like an odd but intriguing mix of almond extract, Tootsie Roll, and Yoo-hoo. Is it confusing? A little. But, did I take multiple bites and enjoy each one? Absolutely. This cake on its own probably won’t satisfy an intense chocolate craving, but it is tasty. And it’s the best chocolate cake mix box to grab if you’re looking to make your own, true German chocolate cake—coconut and all. 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Gluten Free Chocolate Cake Mix

Betty Crocker Gluten Free Devil’s Food

Walmart

I’ve tried a lot of gluten-free cake mixes that have struggled, but maybe the solution is to put a bunch of chocolate in it? I’m no recipe developer, but that seemed to work for Betty Crocker. Among the darkest cakes of the bunch, this cake screamed “bold chocolate” from the beginning. The outside was crispy and the inside was soft and dense, almost bordering on brownie. There’s the slightest bit of graininess, but you’d have to really be looking for complaints to let that bother you amidst the great chocolate flavor and just the right level of bitterness of the cocoa.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

Best Moist Chocolate Cake Mix

Pillsbury Moist Supreme Dark Chocolate

Instacart

Sorry to everyone who hates the word “moist” because “Moist Supreme” is right on the money for this boxed chocolate cake mix! This doesn’t have the punch of chocolate flavor that some of the others do, but it has the crowd favorite texture. It’s dense and melts in your mouth. It would hold up really well to soaks or drizzles if you want even more moisture. Not even close to being the sweetest of the bunch, the relatively subtle chocolate flavor and the beautiful bounce of this cake makes it some of the best boxed chocolate cake mix for pillowy frosting, luscious custard, or to play a part in a show-stopping trifle.

Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart

Rating:

9/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Betty Crocker Triple Chocolate Fudge

Target

This happened to be the last cake tasted, and turned out to be the chocolate cake we were all waiting for. Unanimously the favorite of the tasting panel, this cake elicited a pretty immediate, “Oh, this is the best one,” from dark and milk chocolate lovers alike. Between the mini chocolate chips that melted into little gems of bonus chocolate flavor and the pudding integrated into the mix that gives the cake a richness that we loved, this cake had us going back for seconds, despite being ten cakes deep and staring down the barrel of a sugar coma. It’s packed with chocolate flavor yet light in texture. Maybe it’s the chocolate chips. Maybe it’s the pudding. Maybe it’s what I have to assume is the blessing from angels that they somehow worked into the mix, but something about this boxed chocolate cake mix produced a cake that smelled half like chocolate, half like campfire, and tasted like one bite would never be enough. This is the best chocolate boxed cake mix, no question.

Credit: Liv Averett / Target

Rating:

10/10

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