Betty Crocker's Inaugural Cake Mix Was Far From Basic

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

We don't think twice today about picking up a cake mix at the store, but there was a time when the only option for home cooks was baking from scratch. Betty Crocker became a pioneer in changing that when the General Mills brand launched its first cake mix in 1947. Although it now has six chocolate versions among its various flavors, and five kinds of vanilla and yellow, the original was a more distinctive Ginger Cake.

Betty Crocker introduced it as a "cake in a box" that you simply added water to before baking, and touted that it was made with cake flour, which creates a softer texture. The other ingredients in the flavor, which is known for its warm spices, included sugar, molasses, vegetable shortening, dry milk solids, baking powder, spice flavorings, salt, and caramel. It's still sold today, with a few ingredient changes, renamed Gingerbread Cake and Cookie Mix because it can be used to make both.

Betty Crocker added Devil's Food and Party Cake to its lineup not long after, and as consumers began to ask whether they could use fresh ingredients with the mixes, they were adjusted to require both eggs and water. The later-discontinued Party flavor allowed you to make a yellow, white, or spice version depending on whether you used whole eggs, egg whites, or added spices. The brand continued to add new flavors and product lines, including ones for chiffon cakes in 1958, a Super Moist line in 1977, and gluten-free options in 2009.

Flour companies like General Mills became interested in cake mixes after World War II, at a time when their sales had been falling as people switched from making their own bread to buying it at the store. But it was actually a molasses producer called P. Duff and Sons that created them first. Owner John D. Duff came up with the idea in the 1930s in an attempt to profitably repurpose extra molasses. He made a gingerbread cake mix by drying out the thick syrup and blending it with other dry ingredients. Gingerbread was the natural choice since molasses is one of its key ingredients, but Betty Crocker may have just been following in the inventor's footsteps when it decided to debut with the same flavor. Pillsbury brought out its first mix, chocolate, a year later in 1948, and Duncan Hines jumped in soon after.

Gingerbread cake has, in fact, been a common dessert throughout American history. First ladies Martha Washington and Dolley Madison even had their own recipes, and it was a favorite of President Ulysses S. Grant. While perhaps not as popular as it once was, it's still traditional to eat gingerbread treats around the holidays.

If you're ready to put Betty Crocker's gingerbread mix on your shopping list, give it extra oomph by whisking in chopped pecans or hazelnuts, orange zest, or chocolate chips. Top it with a simple cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, or a dusting of powdered sugar.