I make Duncan Hines yellow cake (butter recipe) from a box with a homemade chocolate buttercream icing.  I have the worse luck making it from scratch.  After 3-4 times of using clipped recipes, and enough failures, either dry and crumbly, even when I’ve taken them out sooner than the recipes calls for, I’ve returned to the box mix.  Using the mix, it’s perfect every time, and what really sets it off is the icing, a rich, dark chocolate buttercream.