Chocolate Cake: Is It Cheaper To Make At Home Or Buy At The Store?

Aside from the shame of admitting you didn't make it, is it worth the trouble of baking a chocolate cake from scratch? To determine if it's worth your precious time, you should consider several factors including the difference in quality and price. When it comes to cakes, people have many options — buying from bakeries, making a cake from scratch, or using a boxed cake mix – but it's not always easy identifying the cheapest. Since the 1940s, Americans have embraced the cake-making shortcut that John D. Duff of P. Duff and Sons created from dehydrating his surplus of molasses to invent a gingerbread mix. Since then, manufacturers have perfected cake mixes eliminating common baking mistakes to deliver a consistent product each time, which is difficult when baking.

Boxed cake mix often offers a cheaper option for home cooks, but some have complained about the lack of texture (or crumb) and the long list of ingredients that read like the back of a pill bottle. Likewise, baking a cake from scratch may allow you to control what ingredients you use, but it can be the more expensive option. From a price standpoint, local mom-and-pop bakeries may offer a superior product but can cost a small fortune when compared to supermarket discounts. When it comes to baking a chocolate cake, here's how you can get the best bang for your buck.

You may not always get your money's worth with professionally-done cakes. Despite what many believe, some professional cakes aren't made from scratch but begin with a boxed mix, according to Cake Boss. Likewise, they can be quite expensive. For instance, a double-layer 8"-9" chocolate cake will range from $45 from a local bakery to $60 at the famous Magnolia Bakery.

Meanwhile, a boxed cake mix used to be an affordable option, but due to the impact of the bird flu, the cost of eggs is outrageous at anywhere from $5.29 to $7.89 for a dozen large eggs at some locations. Meanwhile, a Duncan Hines chocolate cake mix costs around $2.20 at some supermarkets. The mix requires three eggs, oil, and water. A can of whipped chocolate frosting will add about another $2, bringing the total to anywhere from $10 to $13 depending on prices in your area (not including vegetable oil). In comparison, baking a chocolate cake from scratch will cost you over $20 when accounting for ingredients like Valrhona cocoa, Chocolate buttercream, and Ghirardelli chocolate chips.

Surprisingly, the cheapest option is a supermarket chocolate cake, which can cost as little as $6.49. However, it does depend on the exact flavor and what store you purchase the cake from. While supermarkets may be the cheapest option, it's hard to go wrong with any of these choices when it comes to dessert.