ok - I am officially a "cake snob" - Page 3

I do the same thing Christy!

One of my friends in the Fire Dept used to work for a very good bakery. He tasted my FD wedding cake but he only took a little tiny slice. I was hurt at first because I thought he was thinking it was going to be horrible... I guess I had the look of failure on my face.. He told me to hold on.. I watch him, he held the cake up with his thumb & the pointer finger. Then he said I passed the 1st test... the cake didn't move, it kept it's shape! Then he squeezed it & said I passed the 2nd test that is was very moist no crumbs!! Then he tasted it & said Damn Tina, You past all 3 of my tests!! Wonderful cake!!!! I then had a smile of happiness!!!!!!! To pass a test by another baker is a big time accomplishment!!!!!

So now I know I've figured out a cake that is wonderful for wedding cakes. It took me a few weeks to get it the way I liked it! Now I got it!! If anyone wants the recipe just email me. It is just a yellow cake mix dr'd up... Yumm, Yumm!!!

hey tc!! congrats! that is sooo awesome !!!!!!!!!!
is that the recipe you gave me?
can you e-mail me at
momof3jotynjake@msn.com
thanks

Ok I am stepping up on the soapbox about this!
First off, I have worked in a Sam's Club bakery, SuperWalmart bakery, a private bakery, and my own kitchen, making my own cake, and cake mix cakes. I know how these places work..they are trying to find the cheapest products to do the job so they can get paid more for it with a bigger overhead. THe cheaper products taste cheaper. Sure some of us on here use cake mixes, but MOST doctor them up to make it their own. THere is a BIG BIG difference between a store bought cake, and a cake mix...if people dont see a difference then their taste buds are dead.

I vote for "cake dummies", "dead taste buds" and maybe even "dead brain cells", if you really think store bakery cakes are as good or better than homemade, even with "just a cake mix"! Janice

Here here! TELL IT SISTA! I TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU! THANKS FOR SAYING IT!

I know that ever since I started making better cakes than I used to I have become critical of cakes as well. Someone at work brought in a sam's club carrot cake the other, talk about yuck! It was funny, while I was waiting in line to get a piece I heard someone say "this is the best carrot cake ever" so I was all excited because I love carrot cake.
Blech!! The cake was dry and the "cream cheese" icing was not cream cheesy enough- too much powdered sugar.
I immediately thought to myself, I should make a carrot cake, bring it in and then we'll see what the best carrot cake ever is.

hmmm could it be that you are partial m0use? If I were you I'd be too!!! I too love carrot cake but dont get it much at all!!!!!!!!

Having worked in the store bakery- they are not the same at all. The cakes come in frozen. They thaw out while sitting on the dock after delivery. They are thrown in to the freezer and refrozen. We grabbed a case and sat on the table grabbing cakes through-out the day to decorate. Cakes left over at the end of the day in the original case? No worries! Back to the freezer. That cake you are eating from your favorite grocery chain may have been frozen and thawed several times before you eat it.

The "so-called" buttercream icing comes in a huge 50 pound box that looks like a big cube of Crisco. You place it in the huge mixer and add water. That's it. Then proceed to spread the nastiness on the cake.

There is a huge difference between what I make from a box and what I can purchase at the grocery store. The box mix already has the dry ingredients measured out. Other than some added preservatives, it's not much different than me measuring out my own flour and such. I then use milk or other milk based products instead of water. I use butter in place of oil. I use only egg whites. My cake has not been frozen-thawed-frozen-thawed-frozen-thawed-frozen-thawed many times before I serve it. My icing has real butter in it. It is fresh. It has not been sitting in a cardboard box for a month or two or more before I use it.

Yes, there is a difference in a scratch cake and a box... differences that may or may not be important to some people. But there is a HUGE difference between a boxed mix and a store bought cake... even if I followed the directions on the box and did not doctor... there is still a huge difference.

If you like store bought cakes that's fine- everyone has their own tastes. But to pretty much tell us we are insane for thinking ours is better is just not nice. I happen to not like store bought cakes long before I ever started decorating. I also don't like most professional bakery cakes, never have. Do you find that funny?

You know, hamburger and sirloin steak are essentially the same thing (come from the same exact cut of meat)... so I don't understand why someone would want one over the other... no not at all.

Ewwww That's not the snob in me talking either. That's the consumer in me. Before I started decorating, Sam's Club was the only place we'd get cakes. Glad those days are gone!

My daughter is a cake snob. We gave her a bite of store bought cake and she made a face. She ate one piece and said, "not daddy" She refused to eat any more. When I make a cake, we have to limit her. And sometimes she figures out a way to sneak some.

Joe

*laughs insanely* Now that is something! Dude, if I were you, I'd be crowing about that for weeks! My kids just love cake, any way they can get it. My daughter's vicious for the top trimmings, and pesters me until I give in. She usually gets a whole .5" tall trimming off an 8" all to herself, mainly because she can appreciate it.

Illy

You know, I used to think that store bought cakes were pretty good, until I decided one day to purchase a box and make my own. I was amased at the difference. Than I started doctoring up the boxes, and again, I was amased at the difference. Same with the icing tubs. Since Cali4dawn shared her BC icing recipe awhile back, that's all I've been using. Now, I can say that a doctored cake with a great buttercrem icing tastes much better, and everyone I know that's tasted it can vouch for it.
Emi

Cali4dawn - thank you so much for expressing your thoughts in such a professional manner- I found your post very intriguing and I agree with all that was said.

Yes, Cali, you were a lot more subtle and informative on the subject, especially more than my comments were! Thank you, Janice

I forgot to mention the funny yet slightly annoying thing Daddy got her hooked on. I was working on a cake and she walked up and said, "cake" I said yes, then she wanted a bite. I told her no. Now for my mistake, but still cute nonetheless. I put a dab of frosting on her tongue. Now when I decorate, she walks up and sticks her tongue out at me So, one day when I was piping, I piped a dab on her finger. Now, she walks up to me when I decorating, points at me and sticks her tongue out at me. The slightly annoying part is after I give her a dab, she leaves and then quickly returns. She's so cute it's hard to say no.