As a kid, I used to go grocery shopping with my mom. Most of the time it was pretty boring, as my mom spent what felt like far too much time in each aisle filling up our cart. Sometimes we’d end up in the baking aisle and I’d perk up, knowing that this meant dessert was in my future. We’d stroll up to the boxed cake mixes and she’d let me choose the one I wanted, which was always chocolate. One day though, I was told “company was coming,” and because of that, we would be making spice cake. I was devastated. Spice cake sounded disgusting. It wasn’t until I begrudgingly sampled the baked cake with cream cheese frosting that I forgave her. It was delicious, and I’ve loved it ever since. It’s why I still make it, but usually in the fall and winter when those cozy spices feel especially warm.

Spice cake isn’t something I make often, but when I do, it’s usually from scratch. Not because I think my recipe is the best, but because while I love box mixes, I’ve never been motivated to find a spice cake version. That changed recently when I was asked what my favorite brand was. Since I hadn’t tried them recently, I didn’t have an answer, but I was determined to find out. So I gathered four mixes, made some spice cake, gathered some testers, and here are the results.