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Box or Scratch??? - Page 5

post #61 of 75
6/4/06 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by fosterscreations



Is your book for sale. Where would one find good tried and true scratch recipes.



icon_biggrin.gif Unfortunately, no. Not yet anyways. I am holding out for my own tv show, lol.

I always start by finding the highest recommended recipes (if a lot of people like them, it must have something going for it.) I then bake them, compare, etc. I may tweak a bit and make it my own if need be. I love this process. Other's hate it and want to just find a quick, reliable recipe, like the doctored cake mixes.

For good places to find good scratch recipes, allrecipes.com, epicurious.com, and recipezaar.com are all good websites because they offer reviews (find the best that way.) I also watch egullet.com, the culinary forum where they give excellent recipes, tweak them and excellent tips all from chefs and regular bakers alike.
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post #62 of 75
6/4/06 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rodneyck

...... I then bake them, compare, etc. I may tweak a bit and make it my own if need be. I love this process. Other's hate it and want to just find a quick, reliable recipe, like the doctored cake mixes. ..........


I love this about scratch baking too, I think that scratch baking can be consistent, if you always do the same thing icon_biggrin.gif
Weighing ingredients including liquids is very important.
I just invented a couple of cakes this weekend. I can't wait to eat them!!!
icon_smile.gificon_smile.gif
Nati
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post #63 of 75
6/4/06 at 4:20pm
I do not have the extra time, energy or extra cash to just play with recipes until they are the way they should be. There would be waayyy too much cake here for my family to be eating ~ and there is NO WAY I would try them out on my customers. That is great that you can take your time and "tweak" like that! For me, I will still use the good old fashioned cake mix and have consistent great results everytime without having to waste all the time, ingredients (and calories!).

Time = money for me.
Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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post #64 of 75
6/4/06 at 4:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quadcrew

....good old fashioned cake mix.....


Sorry Quadcrew
But there is nothing old fashioned about box mixes. And i would argue as well, that even though they may save you time and money, in the end, all those chemicals and preservatives are far from good.
Nati
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post #65 of 75
6/4/06 at 4:54pm
Well, for me ~ they are good and old fashioned! icon_biggrin.gif (and I need all the preservatives I can get at this point in my life. icon_lol.gif )
Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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post #66 of 75
6/4/06 at 5:56pm
There are box mixes available that don't contain all those chemicals and preservatives if your sensitive to them.
Birthdays are just nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.
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Birthdays are just nature's way of telling us to eat more cake.
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post #67 of 75
6/4/06 at 8:56pm
I have tried many recipes and I don't think my time was wasted. I'm learning what I like. what to improve. Believe me, I haven't made bad cake yet. While most people like van or choc, some people want almond or pistachio, or mint choc. Martha Stewart hasn't stopped trying new recipes and I bet even the cake mix doctor will come out with a new book before we know it.

Nati, do you share your recipe for carrot cake? I had a bride ask for carrot cake on her top layer. I didn't have a recipe for that yet, but she asked if I could use her grandmother's recipe, which I did and it turned out great, easy to torte and stood up to layering and icing and stacking.

Just wondering if most of the recipes have oil, or do any have butter.
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post #68 of 75
6/4/06 at 9:26pm
I have made many different flavors too - but they all ususally start from a mix. I did the "scratch" cake thing a long time ago - once I discovered all the things I could do with a mix, I never looked back. I am happy, my customers are happy - no reason for me to change.......and I will gladly buy the next CMD cookbook as soon as it comes out! I trust her recipes. icon_biggrin.gif
Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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Knowledge is a candle that when shared, doubles the light, but the insecure person believes knowledge is a candle that is diminished when it is split between two wicks.
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post #69 of 75
6/4/06 at 9:28pm
I agree leta, my time is not wasted, nor is it expensive. I really enjoy this part of the process. It means my cakes will only become better tasting as I tweak, and a better product for whoever is eating them. I don't make whole cakes when testing. I do small 6" cakes, using an online conversion webpage to scale my recipes. If I made and ate full cakes all the time, well, I don't want to even think about it.

icon_cry.gif
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post #70 of 75
6/4/06 at 9:43pm
Cool. what is address of the website that converts.? I always figure, hey, if I'm making the mess anyway..... Besides, my family hardly ever gets to eat cake! More often than not the cake is for orders. They get pretty excited when their own bdays come up.
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post #71 of 75
6/4/06 at 9:49pm
Here you go...easy as cake!

http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/Recipes/scale/recipeconversions.php
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post #72 of 75
6/6/06 at 2:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by leta

.............Nati, do you share your recipe for carrot cake?........


leta
Unfortunately i dont have a recipe for carrot cake. No one has ever asked me for one, so i've never tried to develop a good one for myself. I have made them before, but i dont have a recipe that i love. Usually i develop recipes when a customer suggests something they'd like or someone in my family asks for something, or it's something i think will taste good and will sell.
If you find one, i'd love to see it : )
Nati
PS: I share all my recipes tho.
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post #73 of 75
7/5/06 at 7:16pm
Gosh, I will say that after only baking from scratch I am going to TRY a doctored box mix tomorrow....just to see if I can tell the difference, or if it's better, or moister. I'm so curious.
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post #74 of 75
7/25/06 at 11:46pm
It's a matter of choice. And I for one feel that you should stick with what makes you feel comfortable. I use both. My main goal is make my cakes from scratch but for learning purposes and until I find the recipe that knocks my socks off, DH is a friend of mine. I read somewhere about a yellow cake recipe from Cook's Illustrated and I'm going to give that one a whirl this weekend. It sounds promising. I do like the UBL from baking911 (although it was a little on the dry side but I think I was at fault on that one) but find that a more suitable for tiered designs. I didn't much care for the golden layer recipe from Wilton even though, with that said, that was the ONLY time my cupcakes didn't sink in the middle! A few of my friends have had my "doctored" cakes and they tell me they can't tell the difference......I can though. Oh well, I'll find what I'm looking for and hopefully, with and luck, I'll nail it!
iRespect the Wench!
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iRespect the Wench!
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post #75 of 75
7/26/06 at 7:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by carflea

What do you do/use?

Why?


I use box. The time i experimented didn't turn out so well...



I use scratch 100% of the time. I like the texture of the scratch cake and also people that I do cakes for also prefer the scratch taste.

I occasionally do a doctored cake mix, but stil crave the scratch cake flavor and texture.

I use margarine on my cakes, brandy and amaretto liquors and simple syrup.
Its always about cake!!
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Its always about cake!!
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