Do You Feel Like Less If You Use Box Mixes In Your Recipe?

Decorating By Dayyi Updated 16 Oct 2011 , 9:57pm by DaDa561

HamSquad Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
HamSquad Posted 10 Oct 2011 , 11:48pm
post #31 of 114

I do make cakes from boxed cake mix and I make cakes from scratch. I love doing both. Matter of fact I let family and friends choose which when they ask me to make a cake. Most often it is the boxed cake mix that I doctor up. I've learned so much here on CC about cakes, my cake have greatly improved, so heres to you box cake, mix users, I'm one! thumbs_up.gifthumbs_up.gif

jeartist Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
jeartist Posted 10 Oct 2011 , 11:59pm
post #32 of 114

No! WASC is so awesome, once people have tasted it, they want to order a cake just to have that flavor again.

cookiedoescakes Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
cookiedoescakes Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 1:25am
post #33 of 114

Cherry cakes.....I love this!

Vista Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Vista Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 2:02am
post #34 of 114

I do a little bit of both. But to be honest I prefer the taste of the doctored mixes.

My sister tried telling me that if I wanted to open my own business with my cakes then I would have to stop using mixes. So the next cake I made I made a box cake and told her it was scratch, she raved and raved about how much better it was than the cake I had done previously!! It was the EXACT same thing!!!!

Some times it is just the idea that it is scratch that makes people think it tastes better. I am never opposed to scratch baking, and would love to do more of it. My problem is that I have not found many scratch recipes that I like as much!!

(although I really DO NOT like cake anyway (and can't stand frosting!!), my opinion is based on the reviews from friends and family.)

olleharr Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
olleharr Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 2:24am
post #35 of 114

Mixes are my friend.

sillywabbitz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sillywabbitz Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 2:26am
post #36 of 114

Vista, I love that you are not a cake and frosting fan. Honestly I am not a frosting fan. I do like my version of Sugar Shacks and I love the meringue buttercreams but they're harder for me to work with and I need more documentation on shelf stability of MBCs but honestly give me cake without frosting any dayicon_smile.gif

ReneeFLL Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
ReneeFLL Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 3:09am
post #37 of 114

I don't feel guilty at all when I use a doctored box mix. I also don't feel guilty when I use a calculator instead of an abacus! Much easier. icon_biggrin.gif

Normita Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Normita Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 3:09am
post #38 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlakesCakes

No, I don't feel "less". I have no reason to.

My cakes are delicious--and I get feedback on EVERY cake I make, so that determination is made by my clients, not me.

I, like Apti, start with a box, but add so much to it that it's very different when finished.

I entered a coconut cake with pomegranate BC in a tasting competition. I was reluctant to do so because I knew that most, if not all, of my competition would be scratch bakers, but I thought it was a good opportunity to see how my doctored mix would stand up in a crowd.
Two of the 3 judges were Toba Garrett & Nick Malgieri.
I came in second out of about 10 cakes.............'NUFF SAID!!

Great job Rae!! Would love for you to share that award winning recipe icon_smile.gif

And I too bake from a mix. I get nothing but rave reviews every time!! My best selling cake is my lemon cake that starts off with BC white cake mix icon_smile.gif

Oh, and although I did add some mascarpone cheese to the BC to tone down the sweetness...........It was a PS, butter & hi ratio recipe, too. Not a spoonful of meringue in sight.......icon_surprised.gif

Rae


Coral3 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Coral3 Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 11:51am
post #39 of 114

I don't get the need for box mixes...whenever I walk past them in the supermarket it just baffles me why they exist at all. But then I grew up scratch baking - my mum had me in the kitchen baking as far back as I can remember.

Who invented box mixes anyway? I assume they were made initially for time-poor people who wanted to whip up a cake quickly...but are they actually any quicker? or cheaper? you still have to measure and add other ingredients (usually the most expensive ingredients) so it seems to me like they are not so much a cake mix, more a dry ingredients mix (if that makes sense?)

So I don't get them. But hey - each to their own! - if other people want to use them that's their business.

butterlove Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
butterlove Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 12:11pm
post #40 of 114

I haven't tried box cake mixes simply because they're all branded and cost more where I live than baking from scratch. I think that the most important thing is that your final product tastes great and that's what people will remember.

That said, I love scratch baking because I don't know any better and have always baked this way. Admittedly, it's also nice to know exactly what I'm putting into my baking every step of the way.

I did try a Betty Crocker cookie mix once (a splurge) and it was actually very good. There are some no-brand mixes around but I worry as they're not very well labelled.

I would definitely try my hand at more branded box mixes if they were more affordable in this part of the world but I'm not snobby about either and think they both have their merits.

I think it is fun to challenge oneself and go to scratch if you can afford the time but I can tell you, I've had to bury a fair few cake fails in the bin because I had to learn to bake via the school of hard knocks.

I think it's nice to start learning baking from mixes and graduate from there as your confidence builds and from scratch can be a lot more hit and miss for a complete beginner.

nanefy Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
nanefy Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 12:48pm
post #41 of 114

OK, I'm not getting the common theme here, that apparently scratch cakes are inconsistent and unreliable etc - that is simply not true - it might be true if you are not good at scratch baking, but I have never in my life used a box mix, and I aint going to lie to you, I never would. I have been baking for only 3 years (I used to be a terrible baker because I wasn't really that interested, but then got really interested and invested a HELL of a lot of time practising). I can say in the whole 3 years of baking, I haven't had a cake fail. My cakes are super moist, in fact they are often likened to gateaux.
I'm not saying that boxed recipes don't taste nice, they probably taste fine, in fact they probably taste great, but don't just presume that scratch recipes just don't measure up to box recipes, because that is blatantly not true - if a scratch recipe hasn't measured up to a box recipe, it has to be because the recipe you used was rubbish, or, dare I say it, you didn't bake it right. Regardless of whether you use boxed or scratch, there are good recipes and bad recipes, it's all about finding what is good and getting good at it.

gatorcake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
gatorcake Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 12:56pm
post #42 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by Coral3

I don't get the need for box mixes...whenever I walk past them in the supermarket it just baffles me why they exist at all. But then I grew up scratch baking - my mum had me in the kitchen baking as far back as I can remember.

Who invented box mixes anyway? I assume they were made initially for time-poor people who wanted to whip up a cake quickly...but are they actually any quicker? or cheaper? you still have to measure and add other ingredients (usually the most expensive ingredients) so it seems to me like they are not so much a cake mix, more a dry ingredients mix (if that makes sense?)

So I don't get them. But hey - each to their own! - if other people want to use them that's their business.




Are they quicker? Yes without question if only using a mix. Far quicker to open it add some eggs, water, oil than to measure out all the dry ingredients. However, in my view this becomes much less of an issue when using doctored mixes. If you are measuring out additional flour and sugar, it is not going to subtract that much time.

Other considerations, since they are oil based you do not need to wait for butter to come to room temperature. It may not take more time but you do not have to plan for butter coming to room temperature so allows you to be more flexible. Yes there are ways to speed up butter coming to room temperature, but still take more time than a mix.

Are they cheaper? Compared to butter cakes it is not even close. Even cheaper butter is still more expensive than some oil. Plus if you catch them on sale the mix will be cheaper than the ingredients for a scratch mix--especially if you are using premium ingredients. It is not even close. I made two six tiers and a 10 a few weeks ago, cost me $50 in ingredients (biggest cost the dairy products--butter and sour cream). Mixes for the same tiers would have been much less.

Again the cost will be closer if using doctored mixes but oil will always be cheaper than butter.


Why were they invented? Why were any products invented? Someone say a market for them.

Claireybear1121 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Claireybear1121 Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 1:04pm
post #43 of 114

I constantly feel bad about what goes into cakes. Period. I do mostly scratch cakes, but occasionally I do doctored mixes as well, it depends on the cake, the customer, and how much they want to pay. I think that you have to turn a blind eye to the fact that no matter how you make your cakes, you are feeding people junk. Diabetes and heart disease on a plate, plain and simple. I do it because I love the artistry that goes into it, because I'm good at it, and because people pay me to. But as someone who grows ~60% of our own food, taps our maple trees, bakes all of our bread and pasta from local organic grain sprouted in my kitchen, etc..... I have a VERY hard time justifying why it's OK to feed someone else's kid a bottle of red food coloring but I wouldn't give it to my own. The fact that so many people on here struggle to find the shortening that still has trans fats in it because it's easier to work with despite a mountain of literature saying that trans fats are unbelievably damaging to the body, the sheer volume of sugar and fat that goes into each cake--- that's what I feel bad about. As far as making a cake from scratch vs. box- don't let it bother you, people like what they like and if they have no problems with it then you shouldn't either!

psmith Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
psmith Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 1:21pm
post #44 of 114

Do I feel less if I use cake mixes in my batter? Heck No! It works for me and gets the job done and people love my cakes so it is all good.

I truly believe there is nothing really 'good' nutritionally about cake no matter how you make it so for my purposes it doesn't make a difference. Scratch or a cake mix....all wheat...flour...sugar...IMO not great for the body so a few additives (in box mix) probably aren't going to make it much worse. Personally, I don't make many cakes these days. Probably a good thing lol!

sccandwbfan Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sccandwbfan Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 4:12pm
post #45 of 114

Until I found the WASC recipes I felt like using a box mix was a real cheat. I took the Wilton Classes at Joanne's store and said that I felt like a cheat for using the box. She brought up that a mix is just the base of a cake, flour, sugar, flavoring and the like. I have made and can make cakes from scratch, but all my favorites are WASC based. I guess if I wanted to change to all scratch, i would have to convert all of my favorite and tried and true recipes. icon_smile.gif

KatanaRogue Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
KatanaRogue Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 4:22pm
post #46 of 114

My grandmother was a stickler for "from scratch." I would definitely feel awful for using a mix and am a bit of snob about it. But you need to do what works for you. If you are okay with it, go for it.

I *do agree with some other comments that from scratch is not hard. It is also pretty fun when you can come up with your own recipes that no one else has.

kmstreepey Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
kmstreepey Posted 11 Oct 2011 , 5:08pm
post #47 of 114

It is so true that anyone can bake from scratch, though I do think you have to be a little more attentive and follow the instructions given. Box mixes are more than just the dry ingredients of a cake. They also include emulsifiers and preservatives to give them a longer shelf life and to make them pretty indestructible. That is what makes they easier - you can do nearly everything wrong and play with them a lot and they will almost always still turn out a cake. That is not true of just the dry ingredients and baking from scratch. If you are just starting out, I say go for it and have fun! But don't start when you have pressure on you or that may take the fun out of it for you. You do have to be willing to try different recipes knowing that you may like some and may not like others. There definitely are a lot of duds out there! But a ton of good ones too!

sugarshack Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sugarshack Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 12:04am
post #48 of 114

scratch cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

box mix cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

nuff said icon_smile.gif

IMO of course.

paula0712 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
paula0712 Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 12:37am
post #49 of 114

totally agree, Sharon!!

QTCakes1 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
QTCakes1 Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 1:10am
post #50 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarshack

scratch cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

box mix cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

nuff said icon_smile.gif

IMO of course.





True...but my 10 year old can make a mix cake, perfect, with no help. Not so with a cake from scratch. So, no, not just dumping stuff in a bowl and mixing. IMHO. icon_smile.gif

gatorcake Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
gatorcake Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 1:29am
post #51 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarshack

scratch cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

box mix cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

nuff said icon_smile.gif

IMO of course.




Not even close. Sure some scratch cakes are dump cakes many are not. No sifting for a box mix. No creaming butter for a box cake. No whipping and folding of egg whites in a box mix. No need to alternate wet and dry in a box mix. Does not mean scratch baking is hard but much of it is nothing like it mixing a box.

FromScratchSF Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
FromScratchSF Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 2:03am
post #52 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by QTCakes1

Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarshack

scratch cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

box mix cake: dump a bunch of stuff in a bowl, mix and bake

nuff said icon_smile.gif

IMO of course.




True...but my 10 year old can make a mix cake, perfect, with no help. Not so with a cake from scratch. So, no, not just dumping stuff in a bowl and mixing. IMHO. icon_smile.gif




Aw, don't sell your 10 year old short - this is my 10 year old niece... she just made Auntie's (mine) scratch chocolate cake by weighing (not volume), crusting buttercream, marshmallow fondant for the green football field and modeling chocolate footballs. Only thing not scratch was black piping gel.

She did this all on her own - and got the how-to from me by email. Yeah, she didn't even call me. Email. And no, her mom didn't help her at all, her mom is a terrible baker.

I'm so proud of her!!!

Image

sugarshack Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
sugarshack Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 2:17am
post #53 of 114

It wasn't meant to be taken literally. The point is that it all involves combining ingredients to make a yummy cake. Does it really matter how you get there?

They are different but equally as good. One is not superior to the other.

im8kc8ks Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
im8kc8ks Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 2:27am
post #54 of 114

I agree with Sharon. I have NEVER had one customer who asked or cared if what I create is from a box mix or from scratch. To be honest, most people are so accustomed to the box mix I doubt they can tell the difference! IMHO I do not believe it matters how you get there as long as the end result looks fabulous do what you have to do! That's like being" snobby" about whether or not you make your own gumpaste flowers or buy them premade and color them yourself. Does it matter? Just deliver a delicious beautiful cake!

MelaMang75 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MelaMang75 Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 2:53am
post #55 of 114

I've tried many "from scratch" recipes, but I go back to a mix everytime! I find that it's nobody's business how I make the cake, unless I choose to share. I've had lots if compliments on my cake mix cakes icon_smile.gif

MelaMang75 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
MelaMang75 Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 2:53am
post #56 of 114

I've tried many "from scratch" recipes, but I go back to a mix everytime! I find that it's nobody's business how I make the cake, unless I choose to share. I've had lots if compliments on my cake mix cakes icon_smile.gif

mrsg1111 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mrsg1111 Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 3:12am
post #57 of 114

I've gone back and forth as well. I decide depending on what works best for the situation. If i have the time for scratch i prefer that or if i'm making a cake for someone who is pay and would like to make it as cheap as possible i make it from box... which... isn't always cheaper depending on the size of the cakes. You have to do what suits you and you are most comfortable with.

Sassy74 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
Sassy74 Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 3:38am
post #58 of 114

I was a baker long before I became a decorator, simply because scratch baking brings me joy, so that's mostly what I do. And, as evidenced by a lot of the replies on here lol , it's a disappearing art. I don't understand the mystique of scratch baking. If you can measure out water, oil, additional ingreds for a doctored mix, what's so difficult about softening butter, measuring buttermilk, or leavening? It's a somewhat different process, but requires many of the same skills. I'll occassionally crank out a mix if I need to produce a quickie cake for whatever reason, and don't have a scratch ingredient on hand. I'm not a business owner, though, so I can't respond as to what customers want. If you've done the math, worked out your own plan, and you're succeeding with boxed mixes, why would you let guilt make you question that success?

I honestly don't get the debate between mix vs. scratch. It's two different paths up a mountain.

linstead Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
linstead Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 4:09am
post #59 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by MelaMang75

I've tried many "from scratch" recipes, but I go back to a mix everytime! I find that it's nobody's business how I make the cake, unless I choose to share. I've had lots if compliments on my cake mix cakes icon_smile.gif


thumbs_up.gif

mclaren Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile
mclaren Posted 12 Oct 2011 , 4:11am
post #60 of 114
Quote:
Originally Posted by butterlove

I haven't tried box cake mixes simply because they're all branded and cost more where I live than baking from scratch. I think that the most important thing is that your final product tastes great and that's what people will remember.

That said, I love scratch baking because I don't know any better and have always baked this way. Admittedly, it's also nice to know exactly what I'm putting into my baking every step of the way.

I did try a Betty Crocker cookie mix once (a splurge) and it was actually very good. There are some no-brand mixes around but I worry as they're not very well labelled.

I would definitely try my hand at more branded box mixes if they were more affordable in this part of the world but I'm not snobby about either and think they both have their merits.

I think it is fun to challenge oneself and go to scratch if you can afford the time but I can tell you, I've had to bury a fair few cake fails in the bin because I had to learn to bake via the school of hard knocks.

I think it's nice to start learning baking from mixes and graduate from there as your confidence builds and from scratch can be a lot more hit and miss for a complete beginner.




^^^ This.
However where I live, I can only see Pillsbury on the shelves at the stores here, and it costs 12.00 a box (yup!). Since from my reading on CC, I rarely see Pillsbury being mentioned as favs among bakers here, I don't want to go spending that much on a mix that could have a chance of tasting less superior than my scratch.

Quote by @%username% on %date%

%body%