-flour
-sugar
-baking powder
-salt
-powdered milk
-cocoa powder, sometimes
-dehydrated eggs, sometimes
-plus the kicker - some directions
Stop paying to have a robot measure 4 of the most common pantry ingredients for you.
This is what I think the psychology of cake mixes is: you are either afraid to measure flour, you can't read (need the pictures on the back of the box), or - most commonly - it's that it is a lot easier to blame Betty Crocker or whoever when the cake is lousy. You buy a mix that will make a shitty cake (even if the directions are followed), so you can blame someone when the cake is shitty.
Why is the cake shitty, though? It's because cake mix cakes are extremely airy and fluffy and delicate, like a Twinkie or other factory cake. The cake will basically rip apart if you try to frost it with a knife or spatula. Real cake is more dense and more receptive to frosting.
