I don't expect anyone to be scientific enough for me... however, your methods were terribly flawed and for you to go around telling your customers that scratch cakes are laden with bacteria is alarmist and doing a disservice to the entire caking community. You don't even know what you were growing. It could have been fungus or mold from the air for all you know. If you are telling people about petri dishes and agar they are going assume you did some level of scientific process when all you did was a fun little test in your kitchen. No real findings. I don't expect anyone to be a scientist, but for to go around telling everyone about an "experiment" like this is irresponsible at best and procuring hysteria at worst. There are entirely too many variables that were uncontrolled for there to be anything remotely reliable about what happened in those dishes. I know that I'm not going to convince you otherwise, but maybe if someone reads this they can take your findings with the heavy grain of salt that they need to be taken with. No doubt you grew something... but there's no way to say where it came from or what it was.
Please don't take this as an attack on you as a person. I am sure you are a completely wonderful person... you sound it in your posts. I have nothing against you personally. I actually quite like you from what I have read in teh forums and you have some beautiful cakes on your website and here. I just hate to see anyone spreading "facts" around the internet based off of an experiment such as the one you tried to perform.
And just to be clear... I have nothing against someone using mixes... straight from the box, doctored or from scratch we all make cakes and can choose to make them however we want and I would never hold a mix against anyone. I am not a high and mighty type of a person nor do I pass judgement on what you, or anyone for that matter, does in their kitchen. Obviously I am a scratch baker, but I don't have any snobbery about it (unless it pertains to me and how I do things).
I also HATE almond flavoring, can't stress that enough. I think its gross,
I'm with ya there! I've already decided when I try this, it will be a straight vanilla cake.
I was a guest at a wedding and the cake icing had almond flavoring in it. It was real hard NOT to puke right there at the table.
Amen! Amen! Amen! I love almonds, but I HATE almond extract. It's just plain nasty tasting to me.
I was working a bridal show for my boss and this one lady was the designated cake taster for the latest bridal party coming by. Dude, she totally spit the cake out, I mean noisily barf/spit the cake out in the trash can, spitting and wailing for water. It was the almond extract.
Oops.
So I pretty much avoid it now in anything I sell. I mean it's pretty much very not cool to have someone hurl your food out on the spot. Although I'm sitting here laughing about it now--does take a toll on the old psyche. Nobody's looking for an encore on that kwim???
I mean I've been at this a long time--I don't need any ginned up controversy--I got folks hurling in the freaking trash can as it is where I all but poisoned 'em ~at least they acted that way~you really think I'm gonna willingly cut the baby in half and bloody declare scratch or mix just 'cause?
People who do not acknowlege the feud* fueled by mass hysteria are short sighted.
"Oh, You gotta tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth." Yeah OK when Coke and KFC and Sara Lee and all the others reveal thier secret formulas. Give me a break. Be for real.
I'm a cake maker not a myth buster.
*feud leading to potential loss of business.
To each her own.
What's important is disclosing what you use to make your cakes, and, if asked, why. For the OP of this thread, and the other thread in which you quoted my comments, my advice remains the same: choose as you wish, but please share the full story with your customer base.
The customer has a right to know, and we each cater to a different market!
It's not important to me for my clients to know my hard earned trade secrets. Ingredients yes. Full disclosure no.
To each their own unless you don't tell everyone everything.
k8: now I am confused about the second quote you posted -- I did not write that. Anyway -- yes, for my clients, full disclosure of ingredients is important and required by my local laws. Perhaps you are commenting on others' comments, in which case, my apologies for my confusion.
"Trade secrets?" 
Hmmmm....well, no, I was not speaking about that. I don't mention how long I whip my egg whites, nor how I know when to pick my peaches and blueberries. But--- knowing that I do those things is important to my customer base, so, yeah, I guess I do make it part of my marketing plan.
Loucinda: no put-downs, sarcasm, or other negativity was intended. I supoort full disclosure of ingredients (as does my health inspector! 
) and that is something important to my client base.
Peace all!
I don't sell, but for me it's scratch all the way - I'm a baker before I'm a decorator, so it's important to me that my baked goods be made from scratch.
I don't use the traditional butter cake method though (i.e. creaming the butter and sugar, then adding wet & dry ingredients alternately), I think it makes for drier cakes - I use the shortening "quick-mix" method (almost identical to the Cake Bible method), and generally use all or mostly shortening, not butter. I consistently end up with moist cakes with a lovely fine crumb...never dry because the gluten doesn't form such long strands. The people I bake for like the fact that it's not dry and fluffy. No syrups here - and these cakes have good mouthfeel, even cold from the fridge (dense, but still moist).
Martha Stewarts recipes, IMO, suck. I've never had one turn out well. I've not tried any recipes from the Cake Bible, but I appreciate her theory - I'm really interested in the scientific reasons for why things bake the way they do.
That's totally cool Loucinda and I am glad that you didn't take offense as it was not my intent at all.
I certainly don't advocate anyone giving up their recipes to anyone... just honesty. I do understand the stigma of mixes. I am not denying it. Do you think though that if it were more widely admitted it could be more accepted? Just a thought. If a cake is good, and it tastes great to the person eating it I (personally) don't think it should matter if it's from a box. If everyone's happy then who cares right?
To each her own.
What's important is disclosing what you use to make your cakes, and, if asked, why. For the OP of this thread, and the other thread in which you quoted my comments, my advice remains the same: choose as you wish, but please share the full story with your customer base.
The customer has a right to know, and we each cater to a different market!
It's not important to me for my clients to know my hard earned trade secrets. Ingredients yes. Full disclosure no.
To each their own unless you don't tell everyone everything.
k8: now I am confused about the second quote you posted -- I did not write that. Anyway -- yes, for my clients, full disclosure of ingredients is important and required by my local laws. Perhaps you are commenting on others' comments, in which case, my apologies for my confusion.
"Trade secrets?"
Hmmmm....well, no, I was not speaking about that. I don't mention how long I whip my egg whites, nor how I know when to pick my peaches and blueberries. But--- knowing that I do those things is important to my customer base, so, yeah, I guess I do make it part of my marketing plan. Loucinda: no put-downs, sarcasm, or other negativity was intended. I supoort full disclosure of ingredients (as does my health inspector!
) and that is something important to my client base. Peace all!
It seemed to me that "to each their own' conflicts with "please share the full story". I just feel that beyond the list of ingredients, it's none of their business. Becuase of the age old feud fueled by mass hysteria.
Like I said, I'm a caker not a myth buster. kwim.
Why do you think everyone should share the full story of how and why they make their cakes? Other businesses keep their secrets closely guarded. I do sorta. I avoid the dang mess about it anyhow.
If someone pointedly asks scratch or mix, (boxers or briefs) it's get out the pencils and let's start drawing the lines. No not me. You wanna awesome cake (made for yah), sure I'm in--go dissect lines elsewhere--I avoid the insult either way it goes. I'm a fricken legend (in my own mind 
). I spit on scratch versus mix. We all should. It's dumb. It's beneath us to indulge in it's small mindedness
Oh you need to get a billboard and advertise the mixed up scratchy fact that you can alienate half the population with a single word.
You didn't grow your wheat. They put preservatives on packaging. I've gotten wheat and had it milled into flour for me. I've had special pans made for me. Am I better now than someone else? No. I'm not. Scratch versus mix is a bad bad measuring stick. Don't even try to tell me it's not used to measure.
Lemme tell yah something--baked goods made from unbleached flour are not as pleasing to the American palate as cake made from lighter more manipulated flours. Cookies made from flour that does not have malted barley flour added do not brown as well.
Do we list thiamin mononitrate and folic acid in our list of ingredients from store bought all purpose flour?? What is malted barley flour? I know it replaces the bromated stuff of by gone days. How did it get malted? What's in the malt?
Silly stuff. Jr High mentality.
If a cake is good, and it tastes great to the person eating it I (personally) don't think it should matter if it's from a box. If everyone's happy then who cares right?
That is it in a nutshell! Honesty is the best policy in any situation.
K8 - I love your signatures!! I copied the Ashes of idiots one and it is in my kitchen as I type!!
Edited for spelling errors. Jeesh.
I certainly don't advocate anyone giving up their recipes to anyone... just honesty.
Is not telling scratch or mix dishonest?
Just the list the ingredients yes?
I do understand the stigma of mixes. I am not denying it.
YAY!!!
Do you think though that if it were more widely admitted it could be more accepted?
Nope.
Customers are funny! I am sure those who liked the box cakes better would think they wanted a cake from scratch.
I like scratch for myself personally, but was suprised when I started work in a top cake shop that they used packet mix for some of the cakes.
Most customers don't have a clue about cakes. We have some asking if the cake is being baked on the morning of the wedding, otherwise it will not be fresh.
Can you find some packet mixes that are organic or wholesome. I don't know what brands are available in your country.
Try some of the recipes others have been suggesting. Make sure you use a scale to measure ingredients not cups.
I would start baking a week or two before the wedding, wrap your cakes well and freeze your them so there is less stress as you get closer to the date.
I just remembered a story I heard about a bakery here who uses boxed mixes (well, the giant bags of it, they probably don't open a million boxes.) They delivered a cake to a reception that had mold in it, so when the caterer was cutting he had to deal with the mold. Boy, was he pissed! So don't assume that boxed mixes won't grow mold, anything that's stored incorrectly or for too long will end up "less than excellent."
And, yes, cake should be eaten at room temp, I just wanted to make the point that people shouldn't be afraid of refrigerating butter-based cakes in case they dry out. Again, stored correctly and served at room temp, that won't happen.
And to the question about whether to tell people whether you use mixes or not, if they ask a direct question you should give them a direct answer. That's called being honest with your client base, not giving away trade secrets. You don't have to write them out the list of what brand you use...I like the answer that someone gave about starting with a mix and adding your own ingredients to it to get it to where you're satisfied with it. That will show them that you've given some thought to the whole process, added your personal touch to the cake, but will also answer what they asked.
What was the original post about again? 
I too only like doctored box cakes. I have tried scratch baking many times, and never found a recipe I liked, always too dry or more floury than I like. But I have changed my mind. The scratch cake I just made yesterday, is so nice and fluffy, and not dry at all. The different method I did was adding the egg yolks to the batter, and then whipping the whites and folding it in. I think that is what made all of the difference.
Do we list thiamin mononitrate and folic acid in our list of ingredients from store bought all purpose flour?? What is malted barley flour? I know it replaces the bromated stuff of by gone days. How did it get malted? What's in the malt?
Silly stuff. Jr High mentality.
k8: My labels were reviewed by my health inspector. I got them approved by her. A few days later got a call from the Head of the Health Dept (my inspector's boss). She wanted me to list all the malted, folates, etc. added to enriched flour. I used King Arthur, which has no added ingredients. I had to send her written proof that I used that brand. If I used another brand (with the additives you list), yes, I do have to list all that inside brackets [ ].
So, yes, for some of us (realizing this varies by region) -- we are required to list ALL the ingredients.
Thanks.
Most customers don't have a clue about cakes. We have some asking if the cake is being baked on the morning of the wedding, otherwise it will not be fresh.
Yeah, that's a good one!
..
And to the question about whether to tell people whether you use mixes or not, if they ask a direct question you should give them a direct answer. That's called being honest with your client base, not giving away trade secrets.
Then do that next time you're asked.
..
And to the question about whether to tell people whether you use mixes or not, if they ask a direct question you should give them a direct answer. That's called being honest with your client base, not giving away trade secrets.
Then do that next time you're asked.
Uh, I do, it's one of my selling points. No mixes, no artificial flavors, etc.
The post was about Taralyne was not going to panic because she said she would make a cake from scratch for a wedding.
You go Girl! We have faith in your baking abilities, don't panic there is still time.
The worst that could happen would be for you to not have any cake and then you would just purchase it from a bakery or another baker.
General annoucement: crazycaker is now officially puzzled by what exactly is the point of this thread, and is going back to the bakery to finish up her cakes for the day...
Peace and happy baking to all!
Again, I feel this topic has turned negative; therefore, I am locking this thread.
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