cake mixes - what do you say? How do your customers react? - Page 2

Quote:

Originally Posted by allaboutcakeuk 

Hi I've been considering some cake mixes - most of my cakes are scratch but I recently tried out a red velvet as a trial for cupcakes and loved it. Its a huge bag and I'm sure i'll use it again.

I was wondering for those of you who use box mixes what you tell your customers if they ask if you make your own? What kind of reaction do you normally get from customers/people if you use a mix?

I mentioned the other day to a friend about using a box mix and the reaction I got was "oh my god that's cheating!" I was quite taken aback as i'm professional with the cakes I make and decorate whether scratch baked or not.

Would be interested to hear people's thoughts or experiences

Hi Allaboutcakeuk, how was your experience with the cake mixes? I've just got myself a wholesale account, purchased the craigmillar chocolate sponge cake mix and it's terrible.  I'm thinking about getting the Macphie mixes next time.  Are you still using them? is there any tips/hints you can give me? I'm a bit nervous at spending this amount on a cake mix again, and ending up with a box of useless powder.  You're more than welcome to PM if you prefer xx

You can always say "I mixed it from fresh ingredients in my kitchen and baked it just for your order"

Quote:

Originally Posted by sccandwbfan 

I always thought it was cheating too until my Wilton instructor pointed something out to me:

A cake mix is mostly just flour and sugar and stuff that you would have put in the cake anyway.

Except one wouldn't put the 14-letter long preservatives in the cake.

I just LOVE all the rationalizations, weaving, and dodging in this thread. While I am passionate about scratch baking, I don't consider box mixes cheating. Even doctored mixes can get bungled judging by some of the threads we see here. It's a different kind of baking, but let's leave it at that mmkay? And please, cake mix is more than just sugar and flour. Rolling my eyes all the way back on that one. 

Why can't folks just call it as it is? If a person bakes from a mix, then own it. No need to tweak the truth and play on words. 

And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I don't mean for my tone to be disrespectful, but it gets my panties in a wad  when folks want to rationalize and bend words. If box-mix baking is so embarrassing then for crying out loud do it the way you find not-embarrassing. I'm losing circulation to my legs now. Need to go untangle my  lace.

What ???? this thread is 2 yrs. old.

Don't get me wrong, I use box mixes too!

Quote:

Originally Posted by icer101 

What ???? this thread is 2 yrs. old.

Good catch. The last couple of responses are pretty recent though. And no matter the age of the thread, the debate will always be FRESH 

Quote:

Originally Posted by vgcea 

I just LOVE all the rationalizations, weaving, and dodging in this thread. While I am passionate about scratch baking, I don't consider box mixes cheating. Even doctored mixes can get bungled judging by some of the threads we see here. It's a different kind of baking, but let's leave it at that mmkay? And please, cake mix is more than just sugar and flour. Rolling my eyes all the way back on that one. 

 

Why can't folks just call it as it is? If a person bakes from a mix, then own it. No need to tweak the truth and play on words. 

 

And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I don't mean for my tone to be disrespectful, but it gets my panties in a wad  when folks want to rationalize and bend words. If box-mix baking is so embarrassing then for crying out loud do it the way you find not-embarrassing. I'm losing circulation to my legs now. Need to go untangle my  lace.

It has everything to do with perception.  Because anyone can go to the grocery store and bake their own cake from a mix, they perceive that somehow they're getting taken advantage of when they pay more money for a bakery cake only to find out it's 'come from a box'.  Like anyone can do it!    You're automatically looked down upon.  Only the baker knows what efforts go into producing a quality cake...even from a mix...so I fully understand the dilemma and hesitation to even address the subject. 

If someone asks me I always say   'It depends on the cake. Some recipes are scratch...some are based on mixes.  I use the recipe that provides the best quality for the kind of cake you're looking for." 

Which is true.