Is Using Doctored Cake Mixes More The Norm?
Decorating By meredith1851 Updated 29 May 2010 , 5:12pm by LindaF144a
I bake all from scratch. I have been told by many friends that I've ruined them, now they can't eat any cake from a box. They can tell the difference and dislike the chemical taste in the mixes like I do. I can understand why everyone likes the box mixes as that is what most people grew up eating and are used to. I don't bake any of my cakes with butter only oil. I find the butter makes them dry out very quickly. I also always add a teaspoon of vinegar to all my cakes, it keeps them tender and fluffy similar to a box cake. My scratch cakes are not dry!!! I firmly believe with the right recipes scratch always tastes better than box!
Hum. I'll have to try the vinegar. A stick of butter equals how much oil?
I bake all from scratch. I have been told by many friends that I've ruined them, now they can't eat any cake from a box. They can tell the difference and dislike the chemical taste in the mixes like I do. I can understand why everyone likes the box mixes as that is what most people grew up eating and are used to. I don't bake any of my cakes with butter only oil. I find the butter makes them dry out very quickly. I also always add a teaspoon of vinegar to all my cakes, it keeps them tender and fluffy similar to a box cake. My scratch cakes are not dry!!! I firmly believe with the right recipes scratch always tastes better than box!
Hum. I'll have to try the vinegar. A stick of butter equals how much oil?
I'm not the one 3LittleBeesCookies, but I wanted to add one thing. I make muffins that I recently switched from using butter to using oil. The muffin recipe called for 3/4 of a stick of butter melted. I melted the butter in the measuring cup and liquid wise it was 1/3 cup. So I added 1/3 cup of oil. Either this is the correct way to find out what the same equivalent is or I got lucky.
If you want to start changing out recipe ingredients I can highly recommend three books I have found so far on the subject. The first and second books are Bakewise and Cookwise by Shirley Corriher and the third book is The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum (the last chapter). Both talk about the percentages of fat and liquids and how they react with each other. So far I have used what I have learned to get my MIL's cookie recipe back to what it was my DH remembered as a kid and not what she has been making recently (Hey, she's 80! She can make them any way she wants. We just bring them home and "save them for later" now.)
About the Applebees thing - I worked at our local Applebees years ago. I knew that franchise chains like that got their items premade, I just didn't know it was the same for other industries too. At least now your sister can have her favorite soup at home because she has connections. 
There is a little local ice cream shop here that used to serve the best soup. I loved it. Then one day I watched them open the plastic bag and pour it into the warmer. No wonder an ice cream shop could sell soup. Unfortunately they stopped selling the soup. If I could remember the name on the bag I would buy it and keep it at home.
I will also add that I use butter for my cakes and they are not dry either. I want to see what the shelf life for moisture is on my cakes, so I have eaten them as late as 4 days old. I find I start to see a difference after the 4th day, but that could be because I just throw a piece of saran wrap over the cake rather than a tightly sealed cake keeper. I need to find a pretty one to keep on the counter. 
I use BC and doctor them with 1.25 cups buttermilk, a stick of butter, and 1/3 cup oil. (only started adding the oil when I got a new oven and my cake was slightly dry) People just rave about my cakes and I want to keep it that way. (Golden Vanilla will not work with my recipe! It comes out a gooy mess!)
If I had great scratch recipes I might bake from scratch but I am not that interested in the baking process itself. I just like to decorate but want it to taste fantastic and with the buttermilk and BC I am getting rave reviews!
I have used Pillsbury or BC, but usually add pudding and some sour cream to the mix. People love them, but so far I only do cakes for friends and family. I would hope that they aren't just feeding me a line. I think I would like to start baking from scratch, but everyone is asking for the doctored cake mix. So, in this I am hesitant about making the switch for a friend's baby shower cake. We'll see.
but i can admit, when i've had a cake disaster and have to start again or i'm in a bind, i've used ms. crocker...
I think we all have been there - that is why I LOVE doctored mixes, it is very rare that they turn out bad....consistency is my friend!
I feel whatever works for you.... it's the one you should use... I for one have tried dr'ed mixes... wasc.... and nothing is gotten a better response than my scratch cakes...
My red velvet is from scratch and it's one of my best sellers....
We recently added raspberry swirl (cake AND raspberry curd both from scratch) and it has been a hit....
So... I gave other choice a try... but for me... scratch is the way to go... same goes for my BC... some people are okay with buying theirs.... I don't care how time consuming it is... how messy my kitchen gets (lol.... but I do dread the clean up!!) but I am willing to deal with the clean up in order to provide a homemade product that my clients love and keep coming back for...
hth
I think we are all in agreement there, whatever you use that your clients prefer - just keep doing it! If you use a mix as a base, great, if you don't, that is cool too. We all have client bases and we all know what they like. 
Yep, my kitchen is a mess after baking and making icing and fondant every time....I wish I had someone just follow me around to measure, and clean up after me.
Cake mixes can be doctored up quite a bit and taste AMAZING!! I have used both for years, and have recently decided to stick to the doctored mixes, by customer preferrences. It took years of trial and error to get the right "medicine" for the mixes though. Alas, I have found what works wonders and found works that make you wonder. lol.
Here is a little trick I learned, by placing the contents of the dry mixes into a bowl and leave in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, and then sift before mixing takes out the "chemical" taste. Also, use milk - not water. Buttermilk is excellent for Vanilla or Chocolate. Puddings, butter flavoring gives it that butter taste without the dryness that actual butter does cause.
Got lots of tips, if anyone needs a little help - just lemme know, cause I prolly been there and did that.
Puddings, butter flavoring gives it that butter taste without the dryness that actual butter does cause.
I don't experiment with my cake recipes. (I know I'm like that - enough said).
However, if peeps wants to experiment with either scratch or doctored mixes, I'm okay with that. (Must keep repeating over and over...)
But butter doesn't cause dryness. (Refrigerating a butter cake can make it seem dry because refrigeration firms up the butter. For maximum eating pleasure, a butter cake should be allowed to come to room temperature.)
And mix cakes shouldn't be compared to scratch cakes - that's comparing apples and oranges:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Desserts-747/BROWNIES.htm
(Scroll down just past "Answer")
HTH
i prefer to bake from scratch, and i have my chocolate cake down, and my banana cake, but im still trying to find that illusive PERFECT white or yellow scratch cake that doesnt cost a fortune to make ( i.e one that calls for 6 egg whites....just to begin with.. im not in the habit of waste!) lol. i made wasc the other day because i needed a white cake pronto, and it turned out great.. but id still prefer to bake from scratch.. thats just me though.
But butter doesn't cause dryness. (Refrigerating a butter cake can make it seem dry because refrigeration firms up the butter. For maximum eating pleasure, a butter cake should be allowed to come to room temperature.)
Right, butter doesn't cause dryness, bad baking technique and/or an unbalanced formula causes dryness.
I generally make scratch cakes, but that's partially because I'm a hobbyist only and just make cakes for family and friends. I recently tried making a cake with an extender and I was personally quite disgusted with the strong boxed cake flavour I still tasted. I have a chocolate cake recipe I love to use, but am still searching for the perfect white cake.
i prefer to bake from scratch, and i have my chocolate cake down, and my banana cake, but im still trying to find that illusive PERFECT white or yellow scratch cake that doesnt cost a fortune to make ( i.e one that calls for 6 egg whites....just to begin with.. im not in the habit of waste!) lol. i made wasc the other day because i needed a white cake pronto, and it turned out great.. but id still prefer to bake from scratch.. thats just me though.
Must tell you that the cream cheese pound cake recipe on this site is an amazing scratch vanilla cake. Just gorgeous! I'd recommend it to everyone.
Scratch, scratch, scratch!! I'm an old fashioned girl at heart... I was also very surprised to learn a lot of businesses (even the biggest and the BEST) use mixes. But I confidently believe that majority of people have never tasted a scratch cake in their entire life. I'm not blowing my own horn (maybe I am a tiny bit), but I hear back from nearly 90% of my customers saying my cakes are the best they've tasted and whilst I focus on decorating... my referring orders are quite often because of taste. I imagine there'd be loads of businesses who use mixes that say the same but I'd happily challenge them to a cake-off... haha..
i prefer to bake from scratch, and i have my chocolate cake down, and my banana cake, but im still trying to find that illusive PERFECT white or yellow scratch cake that doesnt cost a fortune to make ( i.e one that calls for 6 egg whites....just to begin with.. im not in the habit of waste!) lol. i made wasc the other day because i needed a white cake pronto, and it turned out great.. but id still prefer to bake from scratch.. thats just me though.
Must tell you that the cream cheese pound cake recipe on this site is an amazing scratch vanilla cake. Just gorgeous! I'd recommend it to everyone.
I have always been curious to know also! 
I started out using a modified cake mix recipe...always got great reviews. But I felt ,being culinary trained, that this was going against what I was taught! So I started baking from scratch using internet recipes....well most of them were SUPER dry 
The same complaint from family, "the cake is a little dry" ...so I was determined to get my " from-scratch " recipes moist...and so for the last 6 months I have been really focusing on recipes....and I have been very successful! I have mastered my chocolate cake, carrot, red velvet, yellow cake and I'm working on perfecting my white cake using egg whites. Since egg whites naturally dry out cake 
its been hard to find a perfect from scratch egg-white only cake, so I've tried vegetable oil, mayo, buttermilk, whole milk...and surprisingly everyone liked the mayo-egg white recipe! But I feel weird telling people its an all egg-white recipe when it contains mayo 
I make all fillings and icings from scratch. I feel baking and making from scratch gives you more freedom to create more interesting flavor combinations But then again this is a topic that will always be split! And yes baking from scratch is more expensive, but to me it delivers a more 'unique' product....and I have had cake from the custom bakeries around town (Austin) and I can def tell the difference between from scratch baking and cake mix.....I think whatever works for you works!
I have always been curious to know also!
I started out using a modified cake mix recipe...always got great reviews. But I felt ,being culinary trained, that this was going against what I was taught! So I started baking from scratch using internet recipes....well most of them were SUPER dry
The same complaint from family, "the cake is a little dry" ...so I was determined to get my " from-scratch " recipes moist...and so for the last 6 months I have been really focusing on recipes....and I have been very successful! I have mastered my chocolate cake, carrot, red velvet, yellow cake and I'm working on perfecting my white cake using egg whites. Since egg whites naturally dry out cake
its been hard to find a perfect from scratch egg-white only cake, so I've tried vegetable oil, mayo, buttermilk, whole milk...and surprisingly everyone liked the mayo-egg white recipe! But I feel weird telling people its an all egg-white recipe when it contains mayo I make all fillings and icings from scratch. I feel baking and making from scratch gives you more freedom to create more interesting flavor combinations
But then again this is a topic that will always be split! And yes baking from scratch is more expensive, but to me it delivers a more 'unique' product....and I have had cake from the custom bakeries around town (Austin) and I can def tell the difference between from scratch baking and cake mix.....I think whatever works for you works!
I'm doing the same thing right now. I haven't tried any off the internet...well maybe I have as some are recipes printed in books anyway. I'm getting the same response from family members - nice but dry. I know about the egg white drying out a cake. But I made one batch where I put in 4 eggs instead of 2 as stated in the recipe. (The baker's formula says that the egg should equal the butter, but most recipes do not have this in their formula. Why?) The tops of the cupcakes caved in just a tad. I figured it was too moist so I backed it off on the second batch and put in 3 eggs and 1 yolk. I didn't get the caved in look, but the cupcakes were dry again. I'm thinking I'm going to go back down to 2 eggs (and be off in the formula) and try adding some more liquid instead.
I was thinking of starting a thread topic to discuss the Baker's formula and baking from scratch only. It's just that others have mentioned that this discussion gets heated about box v scratch. So I don't want to offend anybody.
I make all my fillings from scratch and other stuff too. Basically because I am having lots of fun doing it. If I had to do it over again, I would have picked pastry school. I get such a kick of seeing someone's face light up from eating a good sweet. I have been sending my extra bake goods to where my DH and DD work. My DD says I am everybody's best friend and I don't even know them. I like that it makes people happy.
I was thinking of starting a thread topic to discuss the Baker's formula and baking from scratch only. It's just that others have mentioned that this discussion gets heated about box v scratch. So I don't want to offend anybody..
If you want a good forum to discuss scratch baking issues, try Rose Levy Berenbaum's website. She wrote The Cake Bible and the discussion forums on her site are full of lots of scratch bakers who dsicuss formulas etc. http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/forums
I commend you folks that have discussed your baking without the tone that sometimes gets the thread on a downward spiral. (and I am being sincere - I hope you can read that)
There will always be that "split" - and there isn't anything wrong with doing your baking either way - it is all in what you and your clients want.
CC gave a wonderful link, Rose also sends out a newsletter too if you subscribe, which is always nice.
There is room for both
wow these are all great links! thanks for those!
I can see how this can get heated, but I def respect those in the cake world...I feel like I can always learn a lot from others despite my education, certificates, awards etc. I always learn something new from everyone!
I guess baking from scratch is def trial and error but I love to experiment so Ill just keep adding this or that and see what happens!
What I think is funny (and maybe I have a warped sense of humor) is that I am scared to try one of the "doctored" box recipes because I'll mess it up. I don't know why, but the thought of adding stuff to something that is already made to come out perfect will just be something I'll make a flop cake out of. So I stick with scratch.
It is the silliest thing...
What I think is funny (and maybe I have a warped sense of humor) is that I am scared to try one of the "doctored" box recipes because I'll mess it up. I don't know why, but the thought of adding stuff to something that is already made to come out perfect will just be something I'll make a flop cake out of. So I stick with scratch.
It is the silliest thing...
I understand! But the ones I have used from Earlene Moores website (earlenescakes.com) were ALWAYS dependable I have had some instances where a from scratch cake didn't turn out right and it would always be a last min order I would volunteer myself for 
and I would end up running to my grocery store and using a modified mix....its my life saver when I don't have enough time
What I think is funny (and maybe I have a warped sense of humor) is that I am scared to try one of the "doctored" box recipes because I'll mess it up. I don't know why, but the thought of adding stuff to something that is already made to come out perfect will just be something I'll make a flop cake out of. So I stick with scratch.
It is the silliest thing...
I understand! But the ones I have used from Earlene Moores website (earlenescakes.com) were ALWAYS dependable
I have had some instances where a from scratch cake didn't turn out right and it would always be a last min order I would volunteer myself for and I would end up running to my grocery store and using a modified mix....its my life saver when I don't have enough time
I know. It is definitely a fear I have to get over. Kind of like trying sushi. Once I finally tried it for the first time I loved it.
I've done scratch and extended cake mixes for the girls at work - they all prefer the extended mix! Last time I brought in a scratch cake, they liked it, but asked me why I was switching since the other was so good!
I bake my specialty cakes from scratch: red velvet, carrot, etc. I always start with a mix for white cakes, because I have never found a white scratch cake that is as moist as mix.
I was recently talking with a local pastry chef in the Detroit area and she said that most bakeries use mixes or start with frozen cakes. She said it's too time consuming to cook everything from scratch, plus she believes the mixes are foolproof.
I bake my specialty cakes from scratch: red velvet, carrot, etc. I always start with a mix for white cakes, because I have never found a white scratch cake that is as moist as mix.
I do the same. I have my scratch recipes which I charge more for. All my basic flavors begin with a box mix. It just saves time and costs for me.
I like to experiment with homemade fillings, cakes, etc. when it comes to my family and free cakes, but with cakes I sell I have to do non-perishable items only so it limits me on what fillings I use.
There is nothing wrong with using a mix. It tastes better than most cakes from scratch I have tasted even though they are decorated to the nines. Case in point, I made a cake with mix last weekend for a baby shower and someone had ordered a cake from scratch for too much money. People liked my cake more and I got a cake order over the other cake decorator. It is all personal preference and unless it is a specialty mix and frosting flavor, it can be less expensive to make and better tasting with traditional mix flavors.
There is nothing wrong with using a mix. It tastes better than most cakes from scratch I have tasted even though they are decorated to the nines. Case in point, I made a cake with mix last weekend for a baby shower and someone had ordered a cake from scratch for too much money. People liked my cake more and I got a cake order over the other cake decorator. It is all personal preference and unless it is a specialty mix and frosting flavor, it can be less expensive to make and better tasting with traditional mix flavors.
Your new as well as I am, being here only about a month. But so this won't spiral down into mix v scratch I want to make it clear that I am not saying there is something wrong with using a mix. I have used mixes before and I will again too. I don't know who you were talking to with your comment, but in case it was me I want to clear up any confusion.
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