8O Does anyone make homemade cakes? Why or Why not? - Page 3

I like to make from scratch with the exception of Vanilla cake as I have yet to find one that tastes nice and moist. As for price well a box is cheaper but after you add in the eggs and oil and doctor it up it ends up costing the same as scratch. As for eating shortning well if you like pie crusts or buiscuts that's exactly what you're eating in most cases especially if you want them nice and flaky. Here in Montreal we do not have the variety of puddings, coffee mate and box mixes that the states have therefore the reason I make from scratch. I would also never buy frozen cookie dough or frozen pies or pie crust from the store in my mind these are even easier to make than cakes and you can control the amount of sugar you put in. I have tried so many vanilla cake recipes from scratch and end up not liking any of them so even any one has a super moist white cake recipe pls let me know.

All from scratch all the time unless it's fondant or jams (I make jams,but not in the quanitites I'd need to do all of my cakes with them.. LOL).. then I buy it but the best I can find organic (jams) with nothing artificial. I like knowing what goes into my cakes. I don't like cooking with mixes because of the chemicals they put in them to make them come out nice no matter what you do to them. Not to mention I don't like the texture at all. It's a preference. A lot of people like the boxed mix cakes.. I don't and won't make them because of that. I make cakes from scratch for the same reason I make bread.. I control what goes in.. nothing artificial.. no preservatives. My family eats a lot of organics.. so my customers get the same by default.. LOL.

If I am in a hurry or have a lot to do, then I doctor up a box cake mix. I've never had any complaints. I really like the carrot cake, red velvet cake and other specialty cakes that I make from scratch. I've seen box mixes for these specialty cakes, but I won't even consider touching them.

" Over time though, she has seen how truly homemade tastes better and since her sister got chrone's, she's learned how to do more an dmore things from scratch... they take more time, but are worth the results. "
I guess it is all a personal preference..... I've tasted "scratch" cakes that belong in the dumpster, and others that melt in your mouth.... the same with boxed mixes..... Until I start getting complaints on my "doctored" box cakes, I'll keep on keeping on....

Have you tried the Cake Bible. She uses a 2 step method of mixing. Not only is it quicker but I think more foolproof because she gives you exact mixing times. I love her sour cream yellow buttercake. Moist and buttery, almost melts in your mouth. Also if a cake gets a little dry you can always brush on some sugar syrup.

When I first got married I couldn't boil water. My new MIL and her sister decided they were going to teach me about cooking.

At first I was annoyed but soon after my lessons started I was hooked.

They taught me about baking....canning and making homemade jams and jellies...and they taught me about the wonder of taking fresh ingredients and turning them into something wonderful. I still love the smell of yeast dough rising.

I learned and did all of this while working a full time job and taking care of two little kids. It wasn't easy to get it all done but I learned how to manage my time.

It is about control . I know exactly what goes into my recipes. It takes time and patience to learn how to bake from scratch and how to do it well. For those of you willing to try and learn, keep it up!!! I give classes locally, for baking and cooking. I am amazed just how many younger women have no clue how to make pie dough. They buy it from the grocery. They grew up in a fast food and convenience food era. Home made to them seems like too much work. I will say that probably 90% of my students who learn scratch cooking and baking stay with it after they finish their courses. Many of those women had no one to teach them how to prepare things from scratch. Their mothers either did take out or fed them whatever came out of a box or packet.

For me it is about controlling ingredients.

I truely think cakes made from scratch are overratted so i usually use the cake mix from duncan hines and just add to it and its only $.99 sometimes less , but if I were to ever open up a cake shop i would make them from scratch b/c it would be cheaper I think.

Thank you, keepontryin. I am going to look for that book. How exciting!!

Also, someone mentioned shortening used in pie crust recipes and biscuits etc. I think shortening is ok if it is baked into something. It is different when you are using it for buttercream and you eat it raw. Not to say that this type of icing doesn't have it's purpose...it definately does. To me, it's a personal preference.

Of course it's all personal preference. For me I just couldn't sell/give something I wouldn't eat myself, which is why I make mostly organic cakes because that's what I eat. Is there a HUGE difference in taste? probably not, but I feel better about it even though it costs me more per cake (but I sell for higher prices too). Plus, I wouldn't want to buy milk for home and milk for cakes and so on... I only have so much space.

Now, I do make things from scratch, but for things I don't know how to make and don't want to get everything I need to make it, I go out to eat - like Indian and many Chinese dishes (as well as other ethnic cuisines). We've bought a few packaged Indian dishes, but that's about it.

I make bread too (whole grain), but not NEARLY what I should - it's just such a time commitment, but OOOOOOh so yummy!

Melissa

I feel exactly the same way, but I always thought it is because I am more of an artisan baker than a cake decorator. There are people who like the arts and crafty part of dressing the cake up, but to me the satisfaction is making an exceptional tasting cake that happens to be pretty. I personally would never pay premium prices for a mix-based, shortening iced, artificial ingredient laced cake. If I want that, I can get it for half as much at Costco. If I am paying top dollar ( My cakes start at $40 for an 81/2 inch round with no decoration at all) then I expect whole, real ingredients, not funky chemically fluffy rubber cakes.

Exactly - I consider myself a baker first, then a decorator. For home, it's just yummy European cakes, not American style unless it's for a kid's party where I'll make what the kids are expecting...

Actually, not just a baker, but a pretty good home cook period - still mostly down to earth food (traditional with twists), but taste is ALWAYS top priority, if it looks a little less than ideal because I used butter instead of crisco, then I'll take the butter (in all its badness too). (tooting horn here! LOL)

It depends on what people are looking for. Sometimes people ARE looking for mostly stunning decoration and taste isn't that important, so in that case, it probably doesn't make sense to spend the extra on finer ingredients.

Melissa

I do all scratch all the time. I did alot of reading of textbooks to find out why some things work and others don't, what could be causing problems in recipes, etc...I think that made a huge difference. Back when I first started baking cakes and trying scratch, they did come out a bit dry because I didn't know what I was doing...(I also discovered that since I had a small kitchen, I was cooling the cakes on top of the stove and heat was, of course, coming from the cooling oven and drying them )

I have to put an ingredient label on everything I make to sell at the farmers market and I surely don't want to be listing all the ingredients that come in a boxed cake. I like to have really basic ingredients that people can read, especially since there are alot of health conscious people that shop at the market.

Also, I don't know how people can trust boxed cakes for decorating and especially for wedding cakes. They seem so crumbly to me. I'd be afraid that they would not hold together for construction...

That's my 2 cents...I think that whatever works for one person won't work for the next. We all have our preferences and if it works for you, go with it. I certainly won't knock a great decorator because her cake isn't from scratch. It all depends on what is your number one priority. Some people think of the cake as simply a canvass for their artwork, others think of the decorating as just being the finishing touch. It's your prerogative!

Ok I make my cakes at home...

I do make one cake from scratch Tres Leches cake you cannot make this from a box! Anyone who says you can hasn't had a real Tres Leches cake.

I guess I learned about doctoring cake mixes here on cake central and I am still trying different recipes and have not found one that is just incredible, found my icing!

I guess I wish I could make a real mean cake from scratch but it is also hard a enough to get people to pay for cakes in my town let alone making cakes from scratch will cost more to make and I do not buy wholesale. so that's why I do it. even with a doctored cake mix, my cakes with buttercream dream taste better than grocery store cakes so I'm proud of what I do anyways

Forgot to menntion my cookies are always from scratch! My husband buys already made dough

I think La Sombra put it very well. Everyone needs to establish their own set of priorities.