What a heartbreak!!! - Page 3

Sorry, it took me so long to get back to this thread . . . and catch up with all of those who did reply.

Thank you to everyone: the good, the bad and the ugly. ALL of the information was helpful - and I am even glad to see some of the negativity on both sides. It helps us all grow, I hope.

When posting this, I never meant any intent to put any other bakers down - whether it was scratch, or box. Box is not my thing. That's just me. I don't like that all the preservatives and chemicals are added. It's a personal choice I made when opening up shop.

Do I hate box cake bakers? Absolutely not. My sister make fun-fetti cupcakes all the time. Sure, I tease her for it . . but I still love her

Yes, it would be very hard for me to say that my sisters fun-fetti cake takes the same amount of talent as my from scratch Orange Grand Marnier Cake with ganach frosting. And Yes, I do struggle with that BIG TIME, when I see and taste my competition. They are able to undercut my pricing tremendously because of the cost of their ingredients compared to mine. And the cost of their labor compared to mine.

But, life is not fair and we all hope to find that line of customers that 'prefers' our own talents.

Yes, I do struggle very much to buy a cupcake that was made from the box mix, that my sister can do at home. That's not being mean, that is just sharing my honest opinion. Does it make me a better person than her? no. Does it make my cake better than hers? Depends on who you ask. I am sure that my sisters kids would pick the fun fetti cupcake over my Grand Marnier cake.

Anyway . . to wrap this up . . . many things have changed for us. We are slowly (it's a long long road) finding our way . . we are changing our business plan on the fly to survive. And for now, we ARE surviving.

I just made a recent post here about our new direction. Although, we are ready to change once again, on a dime . . when the time comes.

It's a big world. There is room for everyone. And we are all entitled to get a little frustrated sometimes too. It's life.

Never intended this thread to be Scratch VS Box Mix. . . but since it has, I feel compelled to say a few things.

1. If you have never had a scratch cake that tasted better than your doctored cake mix, then perhaps you have met some untalented bakers, or you simply have learned to enjoy the taste of box mixes. I do believe that we (Americans) have been programmed to like high sodium and processed foods. For example: My parents love to eat at Applebee's, Chili's, and TGIF. I, on the other hand - can't stand the food at these places. The only taste I get is SALT. My parents believe salt = taste good. I prefer to taste the FOOD, with herbs and spices and savor the freshness of unprocessed food. I have no room in my stomach for a processed chicken breast stuffed with stove top stuffing. That's just me. But, I do understand that a very large part of the population has been trained to love this stuff.

I can taste a cake that was made with a mix instantly. I will spit it out. Perhaps my palette is over sensitive, as I can taste the chemically aftertaste and it's not pleasant. Even the moistness has a chemically feel to it. If I put buttercream in my mouth and I can taste Crisco, I will spit it out. I don't like it.

But, I do agree . . . a lot of people do like this. They were trained to LOVE it.

2. No matter how you shake it and roll it - YES, a good scratch baker takes far more talent than a cake mix baker. That's a no brainer. A good scratch baker takes years of experience, and training. It's much much harder than adding one cup of oil and one egg, and a box of pudding or jello . . and poof you have a cake. Scratch baking is VERY complicated.

3. Not everyone who bakes from scratch is good either. Scratch baking is chemistry. I have tasted many dry crumbly cakes from scratch bakers. It's not easy.

4. You will NEVER find a recipe that will change your mind about Scratch Baking, if you prefer the taste of box mix cakes. That is because a recipe does not MAKE a scratch baker. It is far more complicated than a list of ingredients and instructions. Scratch baking is a learned talent.

For example: Making a lemon cake - when adding a citrus (acid) what types of adjustments do you need to make to your ingredients to counter the acid? Do you modify your baking powder? baking soda? What about if you want to add a buttermilk to your cake for moisture and flavor. That is a sour, and chemically you need to balance out and adjust your other ingredients as well. There is a LOT of chemistry in scratch baking. And therefore YES, it is more work and talent then adding "one egg and a cup of oil" to a box mix, and then doctoring it up with artificial flavoring.

All of my cakes are not only from scratch, but they are original recipes. We don't use Paula Deen, Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, Allton Brown, etc . . we use our very own test kitchen, combined with trial and error. Our lemon cake has ZERO lemon extract in it. Sure, it took several test runs to get the natural lemon flavor bursting the way we wanted to. Certainly you could have done that in a jiffy with a box mix and some extract . . or simply a lemon box mix. But at the end of the day, all you have is un-natural flavors created by chemicals. Our flavored cakes are recipes we have created and worked very hard to perfect.

Do I give you credit, when you use a box mix and some instant pudding, as being a talented baker? Nope. Not one bit. My sister and grandmother can do that. So can my neighbors 6 year old. I certainly don't want to pay for something when I can do it that easy at home. Therefore, I am hoping that your true talent comes in decorating, if not baking. I hope that what you are selling is your decorating talents . . or simply convenience talents. But baking talent? Mix gets no points in my book.

I am not trying to offend or put down anyone who makes cakes from a mix. As I said before . .my sister does it all the time. But I will never allow a mix to stand next to my scratch cake and be considered equal talent. Never.