I was suprised to find out that some of you use boxed cake mixes. It makes sense sort of because the real work is in the decorating but I shy away from boxed mixes because it seemed unethical to sell people cake that they could make themselves but I guess they can't decorate it themselves or even if they could maybe they wouldn't care because they are paying so that they don't have to do the work. . . I don't know somebody help me please. Not sure how to think about this one.

You get a good, consistent result with a mix. Depending on the price it can be a bargain too. You can always doctor the mix so it's not "just" a mix.

This topic gets so heated every time it is brought up. My suggestion would be to run a search for this topic because you will find alot of threads ...and differing opinions.

I don't think its unethical to sell box mix cakes to customers...why would it be? If they ask me I tell them...they just care that it tastes good.

I too didn't know that people made boxed cake mix cakes and sold them before I came to this website.

This debate takes place here all of the time. From the many discussions we've had, people have come to the conclusion that it depends on what your customer wants, and if the customer prefers the taste of a mix cake and demand for that type of cake is high, then bake away.

It is down to the preferance to the baker too, and is obviously up to them if they decide to tell the customer if it is a box mix or scratch. I'm always for the scratch team though!

I've been using boxed mixes to save time and money, I tell people that and they are a little disappointed that I don't create my own cakes but whatever...if they just want cool decorations then I don't think twice about using a box cake. If I'm making something that isn't going to have a lot of decorations then I'll create my own cake or something

I think it depends on the preference of the baker/decorater. I only do scratch cakes, but that is by choice. I think you should do what works best for you and your customers.

I use box cake mixes that I doctor up and people go crazy over the cakes -- moist and delicious! I do make my carrot cake from scratch, no box cake can seem to match it!

Although I admire people that can bake quality cakes from scratch, mine never seem to taste as good as boxed mixes. I think our society has gotten "used to" box mix quality cakes... and in many cases prefers the taste (and texture, moisture content, etc.) to some of the more "old fashioned" scratch cakes.
Also, I think as our society changes, fewer and fewer people take the time to bake even box mix cakes. In today's society of convenience, it's so easy to pick up a meal or cake that someone else made rather than take the time and effort to make our own.
I think it's a matter of what each of us (and our customers) prefers. Similar to people's preferences in icing, fondant, etc., cake mix is really no different. Some people make icing from scratch, some buy it and the same with fondant.

I use box mixes as my base, but always add a little something extra to them--extra egg, flavorings etc. People tell me they make box cakes but they never taste like mine!! Some people don't believe it is from a box mix and actually some people just never even ask. The end result is what counts!!

Well, people can not only make box mixes themselves, they can also make scratch cakes themselves, it's not that hard! I think it's just the decorating the counts. Now, for wedding cakes, for some reason, I don't see using a box mix for that, it just seems tacky, for professionals anyway.

I have actually only had a few people ask what I use and I've told them I use a box and just doctor it up a bit and they are very surprised. (I feel kinda embarrased to tell them) But, They love the cakes - My grandmother used box mix for many years & they loved her cakes too. So, that's how I'm gonna keep it!

I use box mixes all the time. I always let them know which brand it is also. I find that they really don't care if the cake mix is from a box, all they care about is the decorating. Most will tell me that their box cakes don't taste the same (I don't add anything extra). They love my buttercream frosing (which is Wiltons) and my decorating.

Oh, but the only cakes I use a box for is my yellow cake....I make all the others from scratch!

I look at it like this, when I go to a restaurant is their food made from scratch. No. I can remember working at a restaurant realizing that the macaroni and cheese they served was just like I made at home, frozen Stouffers. The only difference was that it came in a larger foil pan. The restaurants bake it in the oven the same way I do. The gelatin the restaurants served was Jell-o brand, just like I make at home. This list can go on and on.

While some bakers prefer to make cakes from scratch and others use boxes, it is their preference. The point is to make their customers happy. If they are happy, then I say good job.

I've used box mixes the entire time I've been baking. My grandmother made from scratch when she baked until she got too far in her years that it was easier to use box mixes.

My clients love my cakes and never inquire and never complain. The only time anyone ever said anything was my best friend lol which I took as her just messing with me lol. She said since I wasn't making from scratch I should give her a discount lol. Well I did I gave her a $5.00 discount since I only spent maybe $10.~ in stuff to make it.

The way I see it is, we are devoting our time, our talents, and our lives to these people weather it be a return customer or a newbie, they still expect it to be beautiful and taste good. I don't think anyone really cares and if you doctor it up yourself by adding stuff to it it is home made.

According to Keegan Gerhard, some of the top pastry chefs use mix to make their cakes, so I don't feel bad about using a mix at all. People are paying for me to make them a cake and decorate it... If they ask I tell them that it is a mix, if not, they are happy with the product and I have done my job!

Amen dodibug!! I too use cake mixes... I doctor them, add flavorings and experiment with different ingredients.. yes, I could bake from scratch; however, I haven't found the recipe that isn't dry, isn't to airy, isn't too course or just doesn't taste like I want it to.. however, from cake mixes, with added ingredients, I can acheive the taste I like and my customers LOVE my cakes!! If asked, I do tell them it was a doctored cake mix ... mine are usually never straight from the box

I do both . . .use a cake mix as well bake from scratch. My preference being the time that I have to devote to baking. If I'm short on time, I'll use a cake mix. If not, I'll try to bake from scratch. I enjoy the whole aspect of baking . . .measuring the ingredients, etc. Its always nice when a scratch made cake comes together!
Leslie

Well, this is where I stand on this one, I make cakes both from scratch and from box. I like box better it is easier.

But, true story I made a cake from a box but I doctored it up. Someone walks up to me and says. "This cake is sooo good. I love homemade cakes, I can't stand those box cakes. My kids love cake and I can't really bake and I hate dh and all the other cakes. So I don't bake." I had not told anyone because no one asked about what the cake was box or scratch. So when the lady tells me this I had to tell her because I wanted to see the look on her face. when I did she was floored. SHe swears up and down that it could not be a box cake.

Well, that being said you have to do what feels right to you. My family knows that I make most of my cake from a box except the pineapple one. Yellow and chocolate I find that are so much easier so why bother.
I have yet to find a great yellow mix that isn't dry or just plain weird.

If you think about it like this. When you buy a cake at your local "CAKE MART" (not your local bakery) they don't sit there and messure out all these ingredients and make your cake from scratch. They are either mass produced somewhere else and frozen and then sent to your local "CAKE MART" or the are all premesured and all they do is mix wet mix with dry mix and TADA! cake done.
My cuz worked at a "Mart" that had a "barkey" and he tells me that they do very little "baking" it's all mix this with this, put it in the oven wait for the ding and you are done. THen he went to a Market and there the cakes all came frozen from TIMBUKTOO. HE hated that too.. So he told me you bake great cakes you should sell you cakes they are much better. So I was inspired.

Sorry so long but I had alot to say on this one.

It brakes down to, do what feels right to you and what your customers like, belive it or not the big mega marts do the same and the are very profitable.

Vic

I make mine from scratch unless I'm pressed for time. For some reason, I get WAY more crumbs for a mix than from scratch, so I hate mixes for that reason - even if they are doctored. However, people love my cakes mix or scratch and NO ONE believes it when I say it is a mix, but, I can tell the difference. Mixes are too spongy for me. I like denser cakes. But I will make whatever people want me to make.

Melissa

I use box mixes modified to my specs with the extra egg,pudding and milk instead of water,sometimes added flavorings and then various fillings in between the layers..I get rave reviews on each and every cake I make...its a secure way of knowing how your cake is going to turn out each time.....I feel the actual cake decorating process is the main issue and if a customer prefers scratch and your willing to make it for them then go for it, that's what I do and if they don't ask I don't worry about if its modified box mix or not. BUT all my frostings are from scratch no matter what...you just can out do a homemade icing

I never saw what the big deal was, all the ingredients come from the grocery store anyway and its being made fresh at home either way...

I have an old friend who I hadn't seen in boo koos of years and she told me that she knew a lady she worked at a factory with who claims to be a cake decorator, but that SHE told all their co-workers that she was indeed "NO" Cake Decorator cause she baked her cakes from box mixes instead of scratch..now mind you the way I ran into this old friend was at a wedding that I done the cake for, and while she was downgrading this other ladies character she was telling me how wonderful my cake was...the kicker is, it was straight up DH's!!! I then spoke up and said, cake decorating isn't actually the cake body its self, its the skill, art and talent one apply's to the exterior of the cake.....(I never told her she was eating DH's that day as my way of retaliating for a fellow decorator)...then two years later her daughter calls and wants me to do her wedding cake using the same recipe I used in the one at the wedding we all met at....her mom again raved on and on how my cake was and again at her daughters request to use the very same recipe, it was DH's!!!

Happy Baking,Mary

what is the big deal ? does it really matter ?
I do both, box and scratch. I think most people do, even professionals.

For me, it depends on what recipe I want to use. I did a chocolate cake the other day and found one on this site called "Darn good Chocolate Cake." It was a doctored mix and it was fabulous, darn good indeed. But I have a favorite yellow cake recipe that I do from scratch.

I don't think anyone here does a straight cake from the mix, it's always doctored, so in a sense, it is their own, kwim?

Hey, last year on Top Chef they made a wedding cake from mix because they wanted to be sure it will turn out OK instead of riskign one from scratch.

I just watched all the episodes from last season last week and I cracked up when they were buying the 8 mixes for the wedding cake and I cracked up even more when I saw the cake. It looked like something I can make! LOL Goes to show you it is an art to do it right.

melissa

I also use mixes, but doctor them up a bit. My SIL swears she can't get a box mix to come out like mine and still accused me of making it from scratch until she was at my house one day and watched me! I have found that it's cheaper and much less time consuming to use a mix. And besides, I still have to mix it with the other ingred's and bake it my own pan and oven, so it's homemade, right? I made it in my own home!

There is another lady in my town who has a fabulous 30+ years of awesome cake decorating reputation. When I worked at the grocery store in town many moons ago, we had a standing request from her to let us know if there was going to be a special on cake mix and she would order cases of white and chocolate for her business. Didn't matter what brand, if it was on sale she bought the whole truckload! Saw her in town not so long ago again--cake mix was on sale and the stock boys were loading her car up! I figure if it's good enough for someone as spectacular as her, it's good enough for little ol' me!

I made a bunch of cakes, scratch and box (extended) and did a blind taste test with friends. In every category, the box mix won!
I like my scratch cakes, but when up next to box, they loose out big time.

Plus, the way I look at it is Betty Crocker, DH, ect. solely work to make a good cake! They have been at it for years!

But if a customer wants a scratch, I will gladly make one!

Stephanie

WOW!

I am new to the site and didn't realize this was a hot topic. I really don't have this as an issue with any of my cakes except the yellow cake. I make everything from scratch but I can't find a recipe for a good pound cake/yellow cake that is dense moist and buttery. all of the recipes I have tried are dry or just don't have any persaonality. If I had a good old fashioned southern pound cake recipe I wouldn't be having this dilemma.

Thank you for your responses. I am going out to get a couple of boxes of Duncan Hines for my Thanksgiving orders. I am no longer on the fence. I guess the key is to either somehow make it my own or offer full disclosure.