...I use C&H organic sugar in all cakes/ Swiss meringue buttercream. The texture of my cake is a little heavier because of it, and because my cakes have no preservatives, they have a much shorter shelf life. So guess what I bring to my cake tastings anticipating questions? A sample of processed sugar and a sample of organic sugar right along with my resume book, so people can feel, taste and see the difference... and they get it. Even better? We meet next to a Whole Foods, and I'll sometimes buy a cupcake from them just so people can taste that overpriced "wholesome" junk for comparison. Visual and tactile aids always help support your pitch....
What if you whirled your sugar in a food processor and sifted out the stubborn ones to whirl again another day? That might lighten your cakes a bit.
I really like Whole Foods German chocolate cupcake, they are awesome.
I've tried that when perfecting my recipe. I really couldn't tell much of a difference. Organic sugar is still coated with the molassas and can be moist like brown sugar, so I think this is why it has an overall effect when in a cake.
The GC CC at Whole Foods is decent - but have you had their vanilla buttercream or their vanilla cake? Gag!
I had a client who was allergic to dairy. eggs, soy and corn. It was the corn that killed me, I had a list obout 4 pages long of chemicals that they derive from corn to use in foods.
I've had customers who had allergies to dairy, eggs, soy, gluten, nuts, and corn...avoiding corn actually wasn't too bad. The biggest stumbling block was the powdered sugar, which is almost always made with cornstarch. Luckily we found powdered sugar at Trader Joe's that uses tapioca starch instead, otherwise we would have had to make our own powdered sugar.
In terms of affecting the quality of the item I would say removing soy and gluten has the biggest impact.
I had a client who was allergic to dairy. eggs, soy and corn. It was the corn that killed me, I had a list obout 4 pages long of chemicals that they derive from corn to use in foods.
I've had customers who had allergies to dairy, eggs, soy, gluten, nuts, and corn...avoiding corn actually wasn't too bad. The biggest stumbling block was the powdered sugar, which is almost always made with cornstarch. Luckily we found powdered sugar at Trader Joe's that uses tapioca starch instead, otherwise we would have had to make our own powdered sugar.
In terms of affecting the quality of the item I would say removing soy and gluten has the biggest impact.
I don't do gluten free, I couldn't find recipes that I liked plus I'm concerned that residual gluten would get into it, and I don't want to take the risk of the cross-contamination. The soy isn't a problem unless there's also a dairy allergy...I assume that you mean finding substitutions for soy plus dairy is hardest, since that's what I've run into as well.
I felt bad for the client I had who was sensitive to everything...She said that she just accepted the fact that she was going to fell semi-sick most of the time. She was in the process of figuring out what she was sensitive to, and she kept finding other things that made her sick.
The soy isn't a problem unless there's also a dairy allergy...I assume that you mean finding substitutions for soy plus dairy is hardest, since that's what I've run into as well.
Yes, soy + dairy is a big roadblock...we actually don't use dairy in any of our products (except cream cheese frosting) in order to simplify our baking processes, luckily palm oil shortening is available as an alternative for frosting.
In fact, in areas where trans fats are banned (like CA) there are now bulk options for soy-free shortening, including Sweetex Z.
The soy isn't a problem unless there's also a dairy allergy...I assume that you mean finding substitutions for soy plus dairy is hardest, since that's what I've run into as well.
Yes, soy + dairy is a big roadblock...we actually don't use dairy in any of our products (except cream cheese frosting) in order to simplify our baking processes, luckily palm oil shortening is available as an alternative for frosting.
In fact, in areas where trans fats are banned (like CA) there are now bulk options for soy-free shortening, including Sweetex Z.
Oooh, the trans fat ban...It hasn't hit here yet, I forgot about that one. I guess that would force you to be more creative.
How DOES that work in CA? How do they get around that with the cake mix boxes? Or is kinda like the same labeling we get here occasionally -- where a label proclaims "TRANS FAT FREE!" when actually it's chock full of hydrogenated oil, just percentage wise it's within allowed levels?
Or do they sell different Crisco tubs and box mixes there that use palm oil? (Because if so, I'm going to start petitioning my relatives who live in California to send me some.) 
I know its a little off subject, but what gives with this obsession of Whipped Topping instead of delicious butter cream? I have had people actually say to me "like the whipped cakes at Sams" All I taste is this awful metal chemical flavor when I tried that stuff. Are people nuts?
How DOES that work in CA? How do they get around that with the cake mix boxes? Or is kinda like the same labeling we get here occasionally -- where a label proclaims "TRANS FAT FREE!" when actually it's chock full of hydrogenated oil, just percentage wise it's within allowed levels?
Or do they sell different Crisco tubs and box mixes there that use palm oil? (Because if so, I'm going to start petitioning my relatives who live in California to send me some.)
It only applies to oils, shortening and margarine in restaurants. It does not apply to sealed original manufactured food. I'm pretty sure.
How DOES that work in CA? How do they get around that with the cake mix boxes? Or is kinda like the same labeling we get here occasionally -- where a label proclaims "TRANS FAT FREE!" when actually it's chock full of hydrogenated oil, just percentage wise it's within allowed levels?
Or do they sell different Crisco tubs and box mixes there that use palm oil? (Because if so, I'm going to start petitioning my relatives who live in California to send me some.)
It only applies to oils, shortening and margarine in restaurants. It does not apply to sealed original manufactured food. I'm pretty sure.
Correct, from the CA law: "The trans fat ban does not apply to food sold or served in a manufacturers original, sealed package." Also, items with less than 0.5g of TFs per serving are OK.
This is probably because they have stringent labeling laws for packaging...why those labeling laws couldn't be expanded to restaurants and bakeries instead of simply banning TFs is beyond me.
You can still buy prepackaged items containing trans fats in CA (i.e. from a grocery store or restaurant supply store that simply resells items without unpacking them), but you are not allowed to even store ingredients with TFs at your commercial kitchen. The only item we had to change was the Sweetex shortening, luckily Sweetex Z works almost as well, although it is more temperature sensitive. Sweetex Z should be available in bulk from Bakemark (a nationwide distributor).
The trans fat ban actually makes it easier to make soy-free frosting, since apparently it's easier and cheaper to make shortening from palm oil than non-hydrogenated soybean oil. Of course, palm oil (and other alternatives like coconut oil) have higher levels of saturated fat, so there are some tradeoffs there as well.
I have a question, for those of you who are 'scratch' bakers who eliminate the moisture holding properties and specialized ingredients in the cake mixes and appreciate the wholesome ingredients etc., what kind of food coloring do you use? Are you seeing that as a potentially dangerous chemical compound?
I know its a little off subject, but what gives with this obsession of Whipped Topping instead of delicious butter cream? I have had people actually say to me "like the whipped cakes at Sams" All I taste is this awful metal chemical flavor when I tried that stuff. Are people nuts?
Yes, they are. Can we add sleeved fillings into that too? I have clients come to me who say that they don't want a filling in their cakes at all, but I know when they say that they just mean that they don't want the sleeved goop. I clarify to make sure that's what they mean, but I think they're so commonly used that clients think there's no alternative.
I was wondering about the trans fats in packaged foods too, but it makes sense that they'd allow it in boxed stuff. It would cause a commotion to make them produce two types of formulas for different areas that require no trans fats. They also don't allow trans fats in New York, or is that just in the city?
I have a question, for those of you who are 'scratch' bakers who eliminate the moisture holding properties and specialized ingredients in the cake mixes and appreciate the wholesome ingredients etc., what kind of food coloring do you use? Are you seeing that as a potentially dangerous chemical compound?
We use powdered food coloring...it works better than the gels and does not contain filler ingredients like glycerin.
http://www.google.com/#q=powdered+food+coloring
We've experimented with natural food colorings, but they don't work as well and are much more expensive. We have had customers request natural food coloring before, but when we quote them the price they either request no food coloring at all or say that the powdered artificial stuff is OK
It's like anything else in food. People are used to what they were raised on. In the seventies, as mothers ventured into the work force even more than before, there was a rush on convenience foods. The 80's were getting back to basics again, but still heavier on convenience than now. Many people actually prefer McDonald's hamburgers over a "real" hamburger because that is what they know. I refuse to eat processed Italian food. It's just plain nasty - to me! I was raised in a very right off the boat Italian family. That's what I know - REAL Italian food. However, most non-Italians freak if their spaghetti sauce doesn't resemble exactly what comes out of a jar. My kids would absolutely die if I ever opened a jar of spaghetti sauce.
I offer both in my tastings - a doctored mix and scratch (it's a blind tasting - they have no clue which is which unless certain things were previously discussed). For the most part, I have found age makes a huge difference in which cake most people want. The younger they are, the more likely they are to pick the box cake. The older, the more like they are to pick the scratch.
For the average non-baking person, it's all decided by what you are used to.
Oh yeah - and all budget brides get a doctored mix - end of story.
Food colors are stange synthesized ingredients in and of themselves powders, gel, liquid, all of it but it's an accepted evil by most all bakers.
You can find propylene glycol as much a stabilizer in some food color as it is in cake mix.
Except a lot of the ingredients in food color are not only unknown by most of us they are difficult to obtain. So I'm not really sure what's in there but we don't miss a beat feeding it to our clients. FD&C bladeebla--what's that? Food color yes of course, cake mix toxic waste is the mantra of some.
Gel color's got preservative in it.
Some bakers use the vegetable colorings but those have been highly synthesized also and not as effecient.
But all the food colors are used as a means to an end even though thier purity and identity has always been doubtful not to mention loaded with synthesized ingredients that are shunned/loathed by some of us in cake mix.
Thought for food.
k8, I use artificial colors usually only in the fondant or the icing on the cake, so that people like my son who are sensitive to artificial colors and flavors can take/scrape it off. And not everything I make is decorated so dessert cakes and pastries are not usually an issue.
I just requested natural colors from Amoretti to see if I can mostly switch to those. I"m not sure it will work since they are more liquid than Americolor, and they are VERY expensive, but the sales rep says she has clients who use them in fondant, so we'll see. I know Whole Foods uses these and they do have some bakery items with pretty vivid colors. Of course, there is not the selection you can get with artificial colors and there there is no natural substitute for dusts, so I guess I'll be using some artificial stuff on at least some of my cakes.
Everyone has to use the ingredients that work for them. I try to be consistent, but some things just are not that way.
I hear yah. My boy was adversely affected by red food color.
All we can do is our best. But if we are offering our products as better or more pure or a cut above then we need to rethink every ingredient. If an ingredient is bad in one area it can't be ok in the next.
Besides coloring my fondant, I use very little coloring if I can help it. I use americolor red in my red velvet, but VERY little because I also use coco rouge which has a natural red hue. Despite new red velvet craze where people have come to expect a cake as red as blood, I sell a ton of RV because the flavor rocks. Other then that, I will use oil gel color in my SMBC only if it's specifically asked for. India Tree has a line of natural colors but they really suck. Being honest. Have also tried dying with beet juice, and that's fail - I hate beets and I don't think they belong in deserts. 
FD&C bladeebla--what's that? Food color yes of course, cake mix toxic waste is the mantra of some.
FD&C refers to the Federal Food, Drug & Cosmetic Act, which specifically authorizes the use of seven organic compounds (i.e. FD&C Red #40), as these compounds have been generally accepted as safe for human consumption. Other organic compounds that were used for food coloring in the past were shown to be unsafe and were delisted.
More info:
http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/fdc_colors.html
The only ingredients in the powdered food coloring we buy are one or more of these FD&C numbered organic compounds, there are no fillers or preservatives.
Jason, the Food and Drug administration is very susceptible to the food lobby and "generally accepted as safe" is not a very stringent label. I use the colors, but I do not for a minute think that their widespread use is really without consequences. I have seen how my son and a large number of other children have reacted to these colors as well as how my father-in law reacts to flavoring labeled as generally safe. When there is a suitable alternative I will always avoid these "lake colors" which are really often made from a petroleum by-product (Hey petroleum is organic-- doesn't mean it is good for you-- cyanide and hemlock are organic too LOL. )
I'm not saying not to use these things. As I've often stated, I use them too. I'm just saying that everyone should know their ingredients and make informed choices.
I'm not saying not to use these things. As I've often stated, I use them too. I'm just saying that everyone should know their ingredients and make informed choices.
Agreed...if people have allergies or intolerances to any ingredient (including dyes) they need to make the baker aware.
I suppose I have more faith in the FDA's standards though, in my day job I work in an industry that has extensive dealings with the FDA and I've seen first-hand the stringent requirements for approving new products. The "generally accepted as safe" rule does not mean that the compound is 100% safe for everyone, just that it has been in use for a long time and there have been no conclusive studies showing that the compound has statistically significant harmful effects.
BTW I was referring to the FD&C dyes as organic compounds in the chemical sense, since they contain carbon. There are other inorganic compounds that are used for coloring food (such as iron gluconate for making olives black)...they don't have specific FD&C numbers but they are still regulated by the FDA.
I absolutely love baking from scratch, but I use extended mixes for almost all the cakes I sell. I wish I could say I scratch bake everything but, you're right, customers seem to prefer the mixes. Plus I live in a tiny town in a rural area and people just don't want to pay much for their cakes, so extended mixes are the way to go for now. They're quick and easy, and I'm not losing money on time/higher end ingredients. I scratch bake my breads, pies, and pastries, though and wouldn't dream of using canned icing or packaged fondant.
I absolutely love baking from scratch, but I use extended mixes for almost all the cakes I sell. I wish I could say I scratch bake everything but, you're right, customers seem to prefer the mixes. Plus I live in a tiny town in a rural area and people just don't want to pay much for their cakes, so extended mixes are the way to go for now. They're quick and easy, and I'm not losing money on time/higher end ingredients. I scratch bake my breads, pies, and pastries, though
and wouldn't dream of using canned icing or packaged fondant.
OK, going to show my inexperience here, but what is an extended cake?
They're quick and easy, and I'm not losing money on time/higher end ingredients.
I figured out the cost on a typical WASC once, and my basic vanilla white (sorry-no fancy names) cake from scratch. It was more expensive to make a doctored mix. Of course recipes and costs vary from one person to the next, but I was quite pleased to find I was saving money and making something tastier.
OK, going to show my inexperience here, but what is an extended cake?
Don't worry about sounding inexperienced 
Most of us are here to learn. What I meant by an extended cake mix is a recipe that starts with a box mix but to which you then add more flour, sugar, vanilla (or other flavors), etc to stretch the recipe and make it 'more than just a boxed mix'. A great example is White Almond Sour Cream (referred to on CakeCentral as WASC) and all the variations thereof.
I posted this question because I felt I was loosing brides because of a "cake mix palette". My scratch made yellow cakes didn't seem to be working for me.
So... from the advice posted in this forum, I decided to test different cakes with a tasting yesterday. This bride wanted yellow cake, so I baked two scratch versions and a version that was made from a doctored yellow cake mix. (although I would really like to know if you have a doctored yellow cake recipe that you love and would be willing to share)
Well.... the bride loved the doctored cake and she signed with me. So, I suppose I will add two new "cake flavors" to my offerings. A "melt in your mouth" white and yellow.
Thank you to all that provided insight and advice. As some of you indicated, I am not in this to change the world but to make money.
So it is...
Kudos on the booking! I think you are on the right track. Good luck with your new flavors....and I am betting you will have more orders coming your way. Congratulations - and never be afraid to ask for advice! You'll get a wide variety of answers, just take what you feel will work for YOU. 
I posted this question because I felt I was loosing brides because of a "cake mix palette". My scratch made yellow cakes didn't seem to be working for me.
So... from the advice posted in this forum, I decided to test different cakes with a tasting yesterday. This bride wanted yellow cake, so I baked two scratch versions and a version that was made from a doctored yellow cake mix. (although I would really like to know if you have a doctored yellow cake recipe that you love and would be willing to share)
Well.... the bride loved the doctored cake and she signed with me. So, I suppose I will add two new "cake flavors" to my offerings. A "melt in your mouth" white and yellow.
Thank you to all that provided insight and advice. As some of you indicated, I am not in this to change the world but to make money.
So it is...
although I am happy that you made your own decision (because in the end, that is what counts), I completely understand what you are going through. I had the same issue when I started selling my cakes. I was offering all from scratch cakes except the white cake because most people around here (I'm in a small, rural area also) were used to the "grocery store or "moist white cake". I mean how can you compete with Duncan Hines? But then I had to ask myself...what do you want to do and who do you want to cater to or attract? So I decided to do all cakes from scratch. I have now been doing this for some years and have gotten outstanding feedback and clientele. As a matter of fact, I am the only one in this area that does from scratch baking. I adopted the mentality of either they will want my product or they won't. and I have to say, I haven't compromised and business is good!
morgnscakes, I agree. Any small town that can support a few fine restaurants can possibly provide a good income for the scratch cake baker. You just have to market to the right people.
And for those bakers who have been using box mixes and say they decided to to do a test and offer scratch against the box... guess what... except for those recipes passed down from relatives, I have spent a tremendous amount of time developing and tweaking my scratch recipes, not to mention the time spent studying the science of baking. You don't decide one day to be a scratch baker any more than you decide to decorate cakes one day and you immediately create a masterpiece wedding cake. I have had my share of bad and mediocre scratch cakes and I wished I had a good Duncan Hines. It is just as unfair to say that the public does not like scratch cakes as it is unfair to say a doctored mix is not good. There is a place in the market for both. But don't assume the public does not like scratch cakes done well, that simply isn't true.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%