Glazed Cake Co Makes the Best Cake Mix

Learning to cook is something of an essential skill set, but baking is an entirely different matter. You can probably live a rich and healthy life without ever baking a brownie, much less trying to master a pavlova (or obsessing over every new chocolate chip cookie recipe you see).

Baking is different from cooking—it's about ratios, processes, and chemical reactions. You need to start with reliable recipes, measure and follow directions carefully, and this just isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Baked goods have, however, become somewhat synonymous with celebrations, and unless you want to bring a lot of business to your local bakery, it is useful to be able to make a simple cake. This is where baking mixes come in.

Baking mixes have been around since about 1930, and they are perfect for someone who’s never felt a need to purchase cocoa powder or baking soda, but for those of us who really care about flavour, commercial mixes fall flat. They are overly sweet and taste pretty one-note. The icings sold alongside are even more so.

Enter premium small-batch mixes like those from Glazed Cake Co. This Toronto-based woman-owned company, founded by recipe developers turned entrepreneurs Donna Borooah and Stina Diös, aims to give you seriously good from-scratch quality cakes from a mix, and they truly deliver. You will need to add a few ingredients (eggs and vegetable oil, plus butter for the frosting or glaze), but they are as good, if not better, than many you’d make from scratch. If you have a cake-worthy celebration coming up, we suggest you give them a try. Even from-scratch bakers need a short-cut sometime, and these are perfect to pack up and take along on a weekend away or anytime you don’t have access to a fully-stocked kitchen.

We love to gussy these cakes up with premium sprinkle mixes from Sweetopolita or Callebaut crispearls, and we carry a selection of Meri Meri’s great cake candles to top them off. Wish you could celebrate with someone who’s not nearby? A cake “kit-in-a-box” might really make their day - we’d love to help you send that out to them.

Glazed Cake Co Tips:
One mix also makes 12 regular-sized cupcakes. Use about 1/4 cup batter in each well (fill wells halfway). Bake at 350°F for 18-20 min.

Want a 2 layer party cake? You’ll need 2 packages of mix. Use one icing package to make frosting for the middle layer, and use the second to make a glaze that flows down the whole cake.

Header image photography by Maya Visnyei, props by Catherine Doherty