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Just curious... it is unprofessional to use doctors cake mix  

post #1 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:17pm
Thread Starter 
I am getting more and more orders and am wondering if when the day comes that I get a wedding order, will the bride have a cow that I use doctored cake mixes - or anyone who buys my cakes? What is the school of thought on this? I use them in combination with real butter, cream cheese, sour cream, etc... and they give a texture, moisture and freshness that I have been unable to find in scratch recipes.... icon_mad.gif

What do y'all use? My carrot cake is scratch and I wouldn't change a thing but especially chocolate - I have had trouble for years finding a scratch recipe that isn't too crumbly or unstable and actually is moist and tasty. My standard choc cake recipe is devils food box cake mix (pillsbury only) with 16 oz. sour cream, melted butter, etc.... it is too die for.

My friend ( who has worked in a bakery for years and tends to poo-poo anything I do icon_eek.gif ) says that no way can I continue making these cakes using cake mixes! icon_cry.gif I would appreciate any of your opinions or comments - thanks!
post #2 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:23pm
I'm currently doing 4 to 5 cakes of various types every month now (in addition to my regular job), and I use doctored cake mixes almost exclusively. My feeling is, the cake mix itself is just an ingredient, part of a larger recipe that is all mine. So in that regard I can sort of say I bake from scratch. Nobody has complained yet. (Of course, the fact that I use a mix at all is keeping me from being able to enter one of my favorite cakes into the state fair baking competition, but hey...I'm doing just fine on the local level!)
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"the views expressed in this post are not intended to cause any offense to any member of CakeCentral unless expressly stated."
Exercise hard, eat fiber, die anyway.

"the views expressed in this post are not intended to cause any offense to any member of CakeCentral unless expressly stated."
post #3 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:24pm
If you search you will find many past posts on this subject and I bet atleast half of them were locked in the end.

If you get a reply from a scratch baker they will say that scratch is the only want to go for various reason.

If you get a reply for someone else they will tell you the various reason they do it or think it is best.

And then you have some that do both depending on who the cake is for and the flavors.

So basicly in the end it is up to you what you want to do. But I would be honest with your customer if they ask you directly what you use. icon_smile.gif If people keep ordering from you then your customers are getting something they like and I would keep that in mind before changing what you are doing because of the thoughts of one other person.

Neither is right or wrong, just differences of opinions.
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My Weight Loss Support Group is The Chunky Monkeys!
post #4 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:27pm
I'm going to have to agree with TexasSugar on this.

Just do what you want and be honest about it.

Good luck!!
Angie
post #5 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:28pm
I wouldn't worry about it too much, the flavor and texture is what will sell your cakes. If a bride or customer doesn't like that it is a doctored mix, he/she can go elsewhere! I too, believe that doctored mixes offer more consistent results for the majority of the cakes I offer, so that is what I will continue to use!
Chocolate is my drug of choice....
Chocolate is my drug of choice....
post #6 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:36pm
don't feel bad..just be honest if they ask you if you made it from scratch or mix..i do not have anything against cake mix..i use it regularly and gives me a consistent result..i also don't have anything against cakes from scratch..i just could not find any recipe that gives me a good result..for the chocolate cake, i will definitely use cake mixes..
post #7 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:37pm
I wouldn't assume that every wedding cake maker bakes from scratch---far from true. That's what bridal cake tastings are for--so they can taste the goods!
post #8 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:46pm
I have 3 recipes that I do from scratch, German Chocolate cake, Carrot Cake and Chocolate cake. The rest I use cake mix as I would flour. I take the recipe for the White Almond Sour Cream cake from this site and do all kinds of things with it. I've made lemon cake with it and have had nothing but rave reviews. When someone asks, which seldom happens, I tell them that I use the mix as I would flour and add more flour and ingredients to it. The Chocolate cake recipe I use is Colette Peters' recipe. It is by far the best one I have tried. Very moist, dense and delicious. When someone asks about it, I give her the credit.
So, all in all, use what you want. We all have our own thoughts about it.
post #9 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:56pm
I used to make pound cakes from scratch all the time. There is nothing like the taste of a scratch-made pound cake. The reason I have gone to box cake mixes with extenders is the cost. For scratch, I would use half a dozen eggs, tons of flour and sugar, etc. I get box cake mixes for under a dollar, then when I add the extender ingredients, they taste like scratch. People LOVE them. Its just so darn expensive to make them from scratch. The box mixes with extenders make the cakes super dense and moist, great for covering with fondant.
Matt 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Pray wherever, whenever!
Matt 18:20 "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."

Pray wherever, whenever!
post #10 of 123
7/15/06 at 12:57pm
When someone has asked me, I say I do both, and that I use the mix as a stabilizer, (which is the only reason I use it). If they saw me make my cakes, they will see me add fresh ingredients, cream, flour, cocoas, liqueors, extracts , syrups, and other flavorings and that the mix is a very small part of the whole recipe. And by the way..Do you think bakery's always bake from scratch? Not usually. I browse through professional bakers magazines and get newsletters about all the new mixes and additives they add!! You'd be surprised at what goes into a simple brownie from the bakery! IMO what counts is taste!
post #11 of 123
7/15/06 at 1:05pm
I have made scratch and doctored cake mixes. I make both for bride samplings, and only twice has the bride got the scratch cake. Most can not believe the cake mix ones. The most expensive bakery in town makes scratch cakes, they are sooo beautiful but they will choke you as you are swallowing it!
Stefanie
Stefanie
post #12 of 123
7/15/06 at 1:06pm
I've used both...but I'm doing scratch these days because I adore cooking and baking anyway, and I like the recipes I'm using. Plus when I start advertising, I want to be able to use that as a selling point--freshest finest ingredients, organic, preservative-free, yada yada...I just charge accordingly. In the future I may offer box mixes to brides as a slightly less expensive alternative, if they are looking for that...but I spent hours on the matrix last night pricing things and adding all my scratch cake costs because it only figures box prices, and the box mix cost of a wedding cake compared to scratch costs are only different enough to change the cake's total price by maybe 10-15 cents a serving...which surprised me quite a bit! (like $20+ for the whole cake on a 6, 9, 12").

I think you're just fine as you're doing it--just let them know what you use, especially if they ask. If they're raving about your cakes and sending you referrals, I wouldn't change what's working for you! thumbs_up.gificon_smile.gif
www.cakesbystefanie.com
When pricing cake, remember mom's advice: Try taking 150 guests in formal wedding attire to a nice restaurant for dessert, and see if you can get them all a piece of fresh, decadent, custom-designed cake for less than $4.00/sv!
www.cakesbystefanie.com
When pricing cake, remember mom's advice: Try taking 150 guests in formal wedding attire to a nice restaurant for dessert, and see if you can get them all a piece of fresh, decadent, custom-designed cake for less than $4.00/sv!
post #13 of 123
7/15/06 at 1:07pm
I have been baking cakes for more than 27 years. I always use a box mix and then like most.. add my own ingredients to enhance it. I have been selling cake for the past 18 years, and in all that time I only had one customer comment that they wanted a heavier cake. I find that many people like the taste and moistness of the box mix. Be honest.. tell your customers (ONLY IF THEYASK icon_smile.gif ). Good Luck with your cakes !!
Ginny
Ginny
post #14 of 123
7/15/06 at 1:08pm
I think of a doctored cake mix cake as using pre-measured dry ingredients. After all that is what it is. It is still your own recipe if you use other things not listed on the mix box.
Joanne
Joanne "It's all about the cake!"
Joanne "It's all about the cake!"
post #15 of 123
7/15/06 at 1:14pm
thats what most stores do. if they have a special order for a strawberry cake. they buy one of the brands on the shelf and just add something of there own. as long as its good and the people are happy then it shouldn't matter.
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