Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The invention of boxed cake mix had a rocky start: although many companies tried to sell an easier way to bake a cake, homemakers were not interested in this “just add water” approach to making a cake. Betty Crocker’s team hired a psychologist, whose interviews lead to a single conclusion: It felt like cheating! Baking a cake is a labor of love, it shouldn’t be too easy. So Betty’s mixes added fresh eggs — which tipped the scales from too easy to just right.
After this Quick History, head over to watch Full Episodes of @UnboxingBetty where I'm cooking my way through Betty Crocker's 1971 Recipe Card Library.
The invention of boxed cake mix had a rocky start: although many companies tried to sell an easier way to bake a cake, homemakers were not interested in this “just add water” approach to making a cake. Betty Crocker’s team hired a psychologist, whose interviews lead to a single conclusion: It felt like cheating! Baking a cake is a labor of love, it shouldn’t be too easy. So Betty’s mixes added fresh eggs — which tipped the scales from too easy to just right.
After this Quick History, head over to watch Full Episodes of @UnboxingBetty where I'm cooking my way through Betty Crocker's 1971 Recipe Card Library.
