I Tried Every Box of Confetti Cake Mix I Could Find — The Winner Is Beautifully Soft, Light, and Moist

I can’t think of a better centerpiece for a celebration than a cake studded with edible confetti. As a kid, I remember attending friends’ birthday parties, my eyes growing wide upon discovering a table full of sprinkle-laden cake slices, piled high with sugary sweet vanilla icing with even more sprinkles on top (sometimes more is more, right?). 

Which boxed confetti cake mix could transport me back to my childhood, while managing to stay within the sugar threshold I’ve developed as an adult? (Of course, I knew that my winning pick would also have to appeal to kids.) I set out on a mission to buy as many confetti boxed cake mixes as I could find. Then, I baked my way through all of them — all to determine the most candle-worthy confection.

I was pleasantly surprised to get my hands on a variety of colorful cake mixes. I found all the major contenders you would expect, including timeless brands and newer ones. I even found organic ones! I baked all the cakes on the same day, and let them cool before frosting them. I was looking for a cake that would look and taste the part: a soft and moist white cake with plenty of confetti throughout and a good balance of natural vanilla flavor. Then, I summoned my trusted taste-test partner (my husband) to find out which cake gave us that childhood nostalgia, while appealing to our now, more adult palates. A few looked exciting, but tasted a little too artificially sweet, while the texture and look of the others was too far off from the classic. The winner stood out in a major way. Truly, a celebration in a box.

Betty Crocker’s mix ticked all the boxes for us. The final cake is beautifully soft, light, and moist with little specks of colorful confetti throughout that contrast the white cake. While it is definitely sweet (as most of the mixes were), it has a lovely balance of vanilla throughout. Right on the front of the box Ms. Crocker lets you in on her little flavor-bursting secret: “There’s pudding in the mix!” There’s no actual pudding pouch in the box and it’s hard to discern which ingredients listed on the side of the box make up the pudding, and that could be purposeful. (According to a Betty Crocker representative, the ingredients in the pudding are considered proprietary. A Top Secret Cake Mix! Yes, please!) The slight pop of pudding-y flavor is pronounced enough, and it edged out the other contenders. This confetti cake mix is so good, it deserves a sprinkling of actual confetti in celebration.

Buy: Betty Crocker Delights Super Moist Party Rainbow Chip Cake Mix, $2.19 at Target

Do you have a favorite boxed confetti cake mix? Tell us about it in the comments!