A Perfect Cake: A History of Betty Crocker and Her Cake Mixes

Betty Crocker turns 100 this year! To celebrate, I'm covering the history of Betty Crocker and her famous cake mix. We'll talk about Betty Crocker's origins, how she transitioned from the voice of a flour company to her own brand, and how she popularized cake mixes.
Sources:
“The Story of Betty Crocker,” Betty Crocker Kitchens, Jan 10, 2017, www.bettycrocker.com/menus-ho...
“Betty Crocker Cake Mix,” Emma Dill, MNOPEDIA, Jan 23, 2019 (www.mnopedia.org/thing/betty-...)
Finding Betty Crocker, Susan Marks, 2005 (via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/findingbe...)
“Betty’s Roots in Radio,” Betty Crocker Kitchens, Jan 10, 2017 (www.bettycrocker.com/menus-ho...)
“William G. Crocker Funeral Tomorrow,” Star Tribune, Apr 18, 1922 (via newspapers.com)
“Betty Crocker Radio School,” Henryetta Daily Free-Lance, Jan 18, 1926 (via newspapers.com)
“Betty Crocker’s Radio Cooking School to Begin Spring Term,” Press and Sun-Bulletin, Jan 25, 1929 (via newspapers.com)
“Betty Crocker to Tell Culinary Secrets to Listeners of WBAP,” Fort Worth Star-Telegraph, Sep 29, 1929 (via newspapers.com)
Betty Crocker Ginger Cake ad, The Kansas City Star, Oct 24, 1948 (via newspapers.com)
“Betty Crocker Day,” The Minneapolis Star, Sep 12, 1949 (via newspapers.com)
“Ad. Club to Hear Vice President of General Mills, Inc.,” The Boston Globe, Dec 9, 1951 (via newspapers.com)
“Betty Crocker’s Help to Homes Called Sales Aid,” The Boston Globe, Dec 12, 1952 (via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/sim_adver...)
“General Mills Adds Three More Mixes to Betty Crocker Line,” Advertising Age, Nov 3, 1952
“Betty Crocker Turned Down Marriage Proposals for Career,” The Kokomo Tribune, Nov 18, 1954 (via newspapers.com)
“The Amazing Lady Who Ran Away With a Company,” Norman Carlisle, Coronet, Dec 1956 (via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/sim_coron...)
The Strategy of Desire, Ernest Dichter, 1960 (via the Internet Archive, archive.org/details/strategyo...)
“The Grande Dame of American Kitchens Earns her Fifth Facelift,” Lawrence Ingrassia, Chicago Tribune, Nov 6, 1980 (via newspapers.com)
“Pillsbury Acquisition a Done Deal,” Ann Merrill, Star Tribune, Oct 24, 2001 (via newspapers.com)
“A Lot to Digest,” Ann Merrill, Star Tribune, Oct 26, 2001 (via newspapers.com)
“Smucker to Acquire International Multifoods Corp.,” Progressive Grocer, Mar 8, 2004 (progressivegrocer.com/smucker...)
“History of Nutrition Labeling,” Front-of-Package Nutrition Rating Systems and Systems, Ellen A. Wartella, Alice H. Lichtenstein, and Caitlin S. Boon, 2010 (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NB...)
“General Mills’ Betty Crocker, Pillsbury Cope with Baking Slump,” Mike Hughlett, Star Tribune, Jan 30, 2016 (www.startribune.com/general-m...)
“Private Equity Firm Buys Pillsbury, Sets Up HQ in Chicago for New Food Company,” Heather Hartel, Chicago Business Journal, Jul 10, 2018 (www.bizjournals.com/chicago/n...)
“General Mills’ Bottom Line Boosted by 75% Hike in Flour, Baking Mix Sales as Americans Release Inner Baker During Lockdown,” Gill Hyslop, Bakeryandsnacks.com, Jul 3, 2020 (www.bakeryandsnacks.com/Artic...)
“Lockdown Baking Boom Boosts General Mills Sales,” Reuters Staff, Reuters, Sep 23, 2020 (www.reuters.com/article/gener...)

[@jonathanstimmell9952]

Enjoying all of your videos thank you! Please keep making!

[@thevintagecompany]

Thank you, Jonathan! They're a lot of fun to make. 😊

[@AquaWhale88]

I greatly enjoy your videos, very high production quality. You have a soothing and clear voice, and you always choose
intresting topics!

[@thevintagecompany]

Hi again, Elliott! Thank you for your lovely feedback! 😊

[@eventvisionsinc]

Wow Thank you for this post I really enjoy this video. 🍰

[@emelynnmiller9094]

Hello! I love this video, and you have educated me so much. Thanks! I am entering an NHD project on how the box cake revolutionised history. This was such a great source for my project. In fact, since you seem so educated on this topic, is there any way that you would be willing to do an interview with me for my project? Whether or not, thanks so much for making this video!

[@Thissandthat]

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[@thevintagecompany]

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[@adriahg]

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[@thevintagecompany]

Hi Adriana! Thank you so much! 😊

[@jw77019]

The key to making a good cake is measuring accurately and just barely mixing the flour in. It should be just stirred in on low speed and finished folding in manually. If you can, weigh the flour. To get accurate measurement of flour with a cup you have to spoon the flour in a dry measuring cup lightly, then quickly sweep a knife across removing the excess. Cake mix has a very definite chemical taste.

[@Spind0k]

amazing videos

[@billmarquez-ix7yd]

I still use softasilk cake flour!!!!!

[@billmarquez-ix7yd]

I prefer to make my cakes from scratch! Better eating quality and I use all natural ingredients and I can control the sweetness!!!!!

[@jw77019]

I appreciate your efforts in these but you need to educate yourself about the food labeling requirements and how they have changed. The parenthesis and brackets indicate that they are sub parts of ingredients. The biggest difference in cake mix and canned frosting especially is that they previously used partially hydrogenated shortening. Now they use fully hydrogenated vegetable shortening,