Some people have so much disdain for cake mixes, but that is how I first learn to bake. I had an Easy Bake Oven when I was a little girl. Later, I would make cakes on the weekend just for fun when I was in high school. It didn't make if it Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker. On Epicurious.com, a mom does a review of Miss Jones Baking Co. organic cake mix. Her daughter has taken the cake mix to new heights.
Starting with cake mix doesn’t mean you’re bound to the standard recipe, though. There’s plenty of room to doctor up these mixes. And I’d argue that the results are better than the original. The two best desserts we have come up with using Miss Jones’ products are a chocolate-coffee-cardamom snack cake, because cardamom is my favorite spice, and a blood-orange-poppy-seed loaf cake (tips for both are below). The former has a moist and decadent texture—without much more time, effort, or ingredients than the box’s instructions require. The latter is rich and dense (in a good way) because of the inclusion of Greek yogurt and makes for a perfect breakfast. (Should you not have blood oranges, any citrus will do. That said, their juice turns everything a very pleasant pink.)