Some of my cakes are made from scratch recipes (like carrot, pound, fruit, etc.) and others like chocolate, vanilla, or marble I use a cake mix with an extender recipe. When someone asks me if my cakes are scratch cakes, I can't lie and say "yes" because some of them do have a cake mix base. I can't seem to find the right words to explain that the things I add to the cake mix make it more like a scratch cake. It seems like the thought of a "cake mix" cake seems to degrade the product in their eyes. How can I present this to my customers in a more positive way (because personnally I love the taste and convenience of a mix cake)?? Anyone else have this problem?

I do the same thing, I have some flavors that are doctored box mixes and other scratch recipes.

Maybe you could use a saying like "Pre measured ingredients" that is all a box mix is, you are paying someone else to measure out all of the ingredients for you. You do the same thing with your scratch cakes before you mix it you measure out your ingredients.

I usually use the line of "Some of my flavors start with a box mix and then I add other ingredients to it to make it my own, and some of my flavors are family recipes" I think it is short, sweet, and I don't go into too much detail and either turn off or make someone board listening too me.

Ok im not egoist or anything close, but regarding cakes im the type of person that thinks that NO ONE NEEDS TO KNOW YOUR SECRET!!! If you use box cake mix, well you doctored it that makes it a scratch recipe!!!and if someone wants to know thats part of your secrets!!!

some people use the phrase: commercial base

Personally I don't think it is a customer's business how the cake arrives to them as long as it is the agreed upon design and tastes good. Just because you started from a box it doesn't mean that the final product is of lesser quality than if you had scratch baked the cake.

i agree. as long as they are happy with the end product it should not matter how you made it.

There are a lot of preservatives and things in a box mix that you won't find in scratch. If someone was asking for those reasons and you misled them...

You know, I was trying to think of a way to state my cakes were not from scratch but then I said...they kinda are. I didn't buy the cake already baked and start decorating. I still have to go through the same things as a scratch baker...with a few less steps. Why is it shameful to bake cakes and sell them from a box mix. There are commercial companies that DO use cake mixes ( I worked for one) and no one cares. AND they sell commercial size boxes of cake mix....and doughnut mix, bagel mix, bread mix...etc. I LIKE pre-measured ingredients!!
Sooooo I make my cakes from a box....no one knows differently, no one pays me for a scratch cake vs a box mix...they want a good cake. Some people freeze their cakes and some don't....wouldn't that be more of a fair debate?

You could start by asking if they are concerned about a certain ingredient being in your cakes. If that is what the problem is, then you can either confirm the item in question is or is not in your cakes.

If they simply want to know if you use a mix, they are the customer, they have the right to know. When I buy something I want disclousure and honesty. After all, I'm paying for it.

Come on now, let's really get real. Schnucks, Walmart, Sams etc.....do not bake let alone from scratch. Mostly all of my customers if not all, have bought a cake from these places....and loved it. They come to me for the designs with a great cake flavor. They want the WHOLE package. Maybe someone will care and if they ask me, I will tell them, if they want a cake from scratch, then I will bake one. There are so many preservatives in McDonalds food....but everyone still eats there. No burgers from homemade there....largest food chain in the world. It's bad to feel bad about what you're doing, because someone else thinks that they are doing it better than you.

WOW....some people buy their icing, some don't. Some make their fondant, some don't. Some people use milk, some water. If it's not organic, there's bound to be a preservative in it. My self-rising flour has mononitrate and monocalcium phosphate in it....hmmm, so does my cake mix. Serve the cake PLEASE!

Always tell them the truth. I tell my customers who ask that some of my recipes are from scratch and some of my recipes start out with the base cake ingred. that are pre-measured for me from my vender and then I add the rest of my ingred. to the recipe. No one has ever had anything to say after that.

how about semi-homemade? it works for sandra dee!

Thank you for helping me put this into perspective. I have a customer who's coming in for a consultation today who's asked that dreaded question. I'm really struggling with finding the right words because I don't want to sound defensive. I know I produce a quality product, with or without the use of "pre-mixed ingredients" (I like that one!). I want to come across as confident. My biggest fear is that I'll start to stammer and over-explain the use of cake mix. I'm going to sit down and write up a neat little explanation from all your comments and practice saying it!!!! before she comes!

Thank you, thank you, thank you......

I always tell them (not that I have alot of people asking), but I say, it is a recipe from my Aunt Betty or Uncle Duncan. No one asks anything further.

darandon - your comments...LOL

I usually say "I start with a base mix for my basic cake flavors with some enhancements".

And then I tell them the list of cakes that are from scratch like the carrot and german chocolate, blah, blah, blah.

hth

How does this sound???

"Most of my cakes are totally from scratch. A couple of them, chocolate and vanilla, are semi-homemade and do start with a pre-measured commercial base to which I add various enhancements to "make it mine". If you are interested in either of those flavours and are worried about certain ingredients, please let me know and I can adjust your order accordingly."

dandelion - I like "commercial base" - LOL

I have had potential customers ask me the same question. My thoughts are that a cake mix and a scratch recipe have the same basic ingredients so what is the big issue. Is it that they figure they could just do it themselves if if you do use a mix?? Most care about the look - taste is secondary.

Classycakes - I love your response!

I actually have 2 lines of cakes that I market. One is my base cake line and the other is my premium line. The base cake line is for people who typically would buy from Dillon's, Sams or Walmart. I use a box cake for these because the cake is for someone who wants a really cheap cake, but still wants somthing great tasting. I always doctor up my box mixes and use the wording "customized cake" ie.. I offer butter, sour cream, mayo, flavorings etc.. mixed in. My premium line is all of my scratch cakes (all of which I have found off of CC). I charge more for my scratch cakes because of the extra time it takes me to put one together and for the extra costs to keep the ingredients stocked. If someone comes to me and wants a lower cost cake I offer the "base" line of cakes. And tell them I use a prepackaged base mix and customize it to their tastes. My lower priced customers love this because they have a little extra say in how their finished cake tastes and they feel that I am giving them a little one on one treatment. Hope this helps.

I start with a mix.

I had one customer that wanted a scratch cake. And went on and on about how it had to be a scratch cake. THe design she picked out would look better as 2 different cakes so that was what we settled on.

I gave her 2 flavors: White Almond Sour Cream (started with mix) and scratch Red Velvet.

Guess which one she liked better??? She never knew it was from a mix with extender and almond flavoring. The scratch Red Velvet was too moist for her liking.

Well, I hope no one gets angry when I say this....when I first thought about making wedding cakes, I joined a cake club moderated by one of the top home bakers in my area. When she told me that most of the bakers in the area used mixed, I was appalled! I couldn't believe that someone would actually charge a bride hundreds of dollars for a cake knowing that it was made from a mix. Now that I've gotten more into the business, I can see the merits of purchasing some things already made such as fondant and things of that nature. And I can see that as a person's business grows, they may need to use more premixed or pre-made items due to time constraints. However, I think that being a scratch baker is an asset to your business! It's something that can set you apart from others in your area.

When people go somewhere like Walmart or Sam's, they know that those items come from a mix and yeah, they may like it. But I think that when they come to someone like one of us, they are looking for something different, something custom--and that includes the actual cake that is being covered with these beautiful designs.

All this to say, I don't really think that I'm for or against mixes, but I do think that we should be honest with our customers as to whether or not we bake from scratch or use a "commercial base". If you were paying alot of money for something, you would expect the same.

Uncle Duncan! ahahaha. too funny.

classycakes, your response sounds very professional and seems to cover all the bases.

I felt that someone may take my comments a little out of context...I don't necessarily feel that one is better than the other. I just think that if someone asks, we should be truthful.

Just had to say that I love all the clever responses here.

When people order a white cake from me, I use a (generic) box mix, 3 whole eggs, and some extra oil. I spend a lot of time laughing hysterically after they call to tell me how good it tasted, and could they have my recipe for white cake, please? I just tell them it's my carefully guarded secret.

Most of my friends who order know I use box mixes, and they never care.

if you use a mix, that's fine. but be honest about it and don't be apologetic.

My reply will probably cause some problems but I've had one person ask if my cakes were from scratch, they asked my husband not me, he said they can be if that's what you'd like. Well later I researched some information on scratch cakes and I made a few and we sampled them and they were all dry and no one liked them. I've decided until I find a really GOOD scratch recipe I will make from a box mix using an extender recipe found here on CC. The way I feel about it is it's not scratch but it's not not scratch ya know what I mean... I'm still crackin those eggs, measuring the oil, water, milk whatever, adding all the other ingredients except I get lucky to have my flour and other dry ingredients pre-measured for me all in a little baggie lol. So since I'm taking the time to crack those eggs and add other fresh stuff to it it's a home made cake. Either way I don't think it really matters because not many people can really tell the difference. Some will say they can spot one a mile away but I've fed someone a box cake and they thought it was scratch....