Trader Joe's New Blood Orange Cake Mix Is Getting Shoppers Excited

Normally, we're not sure how we'd feel about cake mix with the word "blood" in its name (come to think of it though, bloody cake might be kind of perfect for Halloween), but for this new cake mix by Trader Joe's, we'll make an exception. People are very excited about a cake mix that's way more fun than your typical yellow cake or chocolate devil's food. It might even give Funfetti a run for its money! Trader Joe's has a new Blood Orange Cake Mix out, according to a post from Instagram account @traderjoesobsessed, and people are very excited (via Instagram).

Blood oranges are like regular oranges, only better. They have deep orange, sometimes red, or even purple flesh thanks to something called anthocyanin, and they produce a juice that is often even sweeter than a regular orange. It's no surprise that the blood orange's distinct flavor and color would make a citrus cake both beautiful and unusual. Well, maybe not as unusual as you'd think — according to Google Trends, searches for "blood orange" have been on the rise since the early 2000s. And now, that blood orange flavor can be yours from a boxed cake thanks to Trader Joe's — no juicing required.

The blood orange cake from Trader Joe's is shown as a loaf cake, and comes with what looks like a sugary white icing. As @traderjoesobsessed points out, it would be just as amazing as a layered birthday cake, or even, as one enthusiastic Reddit user suggested, with dark chocolate frosting (via Reddit). Does it get any more sophisticated than a dark chocolate blood orange cake? According to the Trader Joe's sign shown in the Instagram post, all that's needed to whip up this luxurious cake is butter, water, and two eggs. 

Unfortunately, some commenters took issue with the listed ingredients in the cake mix: canola oil, for one, and mononitrate, an additive that is used to enrich flour mixes (via Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). And the product, unlike many new items Trader Joe's has added to their roster, is not gluten-free or vegan. Then again, it does contain real blood orange, which is more than many other citrus-flavored sweets can say, plus dried orange peel. If you wanted a cake tailored to certain specifications, after all, you probably wouldn't be buying it in a box.