Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Cake Decorating Business › They lied?
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

They lied? - Page 10

post #136 of 145
1/29/12 at 1:52pm
Thanks Jason. Yes, I already intend to tell the truth, whether the particular cake they are trying is mix based or scratch. Our standard answer if someone asks in general if we bake from scratch is to say "Some of our recipes are from scratch and some are mix-based." I have no problem telling people that.

I guess I am more wondering what those who bake exclusively from scratch and say that if you bake from a mix you have no baking skill would classify us as. Sorry, hope that made sense!
Before you ask- I'm licensed, inspected, insured, and all that jazz.
Reply
Before you ask- I'm licensed, inspected, insured, and all that jazz.
Reply
post #137 of 145
1/29/12 at 1:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jason_kraft


The skill of a scratch baker has nothing to do with whether or not they use mixes in some of their products. Developing scratch recipes takes a lot of time and effort, and some bakers prefer to invest in other areas. A general rule of thumb is that 20% of your products will satisfy 80% of your customers, so it may not make business sense to put the time into baking R&D for low-demand products on the long tail (unless exclusive scratch baking is one of your competitive advantages).



Right, that's kind of how I feel about it. There may come a time when I have more time and resources to develop an exclusively scratch menu, but right now we are about two weeks from opening a storefront, so all of my effort and money is going towards that and towards tweaking and shoring up the recipes we already have and have had success with.
Before you ask- I'm licensed, inspected, insured, and all that jazz.
Reply
Before you ask- I'm licensed, inspected, insured, and all that jazz.
Reply
post #138 of 145
1/29/12 at 2:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SweetSuzieQ


My kids (4 yo and 7 yo) made a birthday cake for me yesterday with my husband in the kitchen only to put the cake into and take it out of the oven. They used a box mix and a tub of frosting and, it turned out great.




That is so sweet and something that you and them will never forget! Happy birthday!


@lovemesomecake....what exactly didn't you like about the white cake recipes that you've used? Was it just the flavor or was it the texture too?

Some other time, if you'd like...start a new thread and we can troubleshoot through some of the recipes you've tried. White cakes are tempremental...especially if you are using recipes where the whites need to be whipped separately and folded in.

I don't want to get too far off course here but I love picking apart recipes and I know a few others here on this thread do as well so it would be fun to help you find the perfect recipe.

Good luck with your new storefront and I wish you much success.
Reply
Reply
post #139 of 145
1/29/12 at 8:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cakestyles


@lovemesomecake....what exactly didn't you like about the white cake recipes that you've used? Was it just the flavor or was it the texture too?

Some other time, if you'd like...start a new thread and we can troubleshoot through some of the recipes you've tried. White cakes are tempremental...especially if you are using recipes where the whites need to be whipped separately and folded in.

I don't want to get too far off course here but I love picking apart recipes and I know a few others here on this thread do as well so it would be fun to help you find the perfect recipe.

Good luck with your new storefront and I wish you much success.



Thanks! I might do that sometime.

As far as what I haven't liked about the recipes that I have tried, it's definitely been mostly the texture and moisture content.
Before you ask- I'm licensed, inspected, insured, and all that jazz.
Reply
Before you ask- I'm licensed, inspected, insured, and all that jazz.
Reply
post #140 of 145
1/29/12 at 10:23pm
cathyscakes, you may just not like white cake. I don't like chocolate. But with white cakes, they don't carry as much full flavor because they are missing the yolks. I have several scratch white cakes and they are excellent... each specifically paired with a particular filling and frosting. I wouldn't say that it is the one I want to eat plain. In white, I look for a cake that will compliment the flavors around it because of all of the cake flavors, it packs the least punch by itself. But on the other hand, angel food cake can carry a ton of flavor. That distinct flavor is one of my favorite.

My suggestion for white cake is to have a great vanilla to enhance the flavor. NM vanilla bean paste and homemade good vanilla extract will pop the flavor in a white cake. Don't rely on McCormick's alone to supply the flavor. I use a combination of vbp and a highly concentrated homemade vanilla extract made with Grey Goose vodka. The cost is just slightly higher as buying vbp in bulk and the same as vbp in the small bottles.
Reply
Reply
post #141 of 145
2/5/12 at 9:00am
Quote:
Originally Posted by costumeczar

I call BS on the "I don't know what scratch means" red herring argument. Everyone knows that baking from scratch is using flour, sugar, eggs, butter and BAKING, not using a mix and adding stuff to it. If you tell yourself that's baking from scratch you know you're full of it even if you won't admit it.

Using a doctored mix is no more baking from scratch than heating a Stouffer's lasagna and adding extra cheese to it is cooking from scratch.



Some day they are going to put a like button on here, cause I loooove this answer.

I have not read the whole 10 pages. I stopped at this one. It was said so well ther is no need to contribute to what I am sure is a debate on baking for scratch vs. mix thing again.

But bottom line is yes, they lied. We get that all the time. The name of my shop is From Scratch and all my competitors have gone to great lengths to include those two words in the description of their products. But one taste and you can tell they are stretching the truth, probably the way everybody here is justifying it also.

I get customers all the time who ask "so you don't use a mix, right?", even though the words From Scratch are in the name. And it is probably because they have had the same experience you had. So we continue to educate our customers on our philosophy for our store.

And I strongly disagree with the statement that scratch baking is not a good business model. But I am not getting into that debate here. I'll save it for the book formulating in my head.
Reply
Reply
post #142 of 145
2/5/12 at 9:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindaF144a

And I strongly disagree with the statement that scratch baking is not a good business model.


Where did you find that statement?
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
.
My experimental blog: The Bakery Business Perspective
.
Reply
post #143 of 145
2/5/12 at 2:28pm
Bakeries use base mixes for consistency and speed. There are some really good mixes and some really terrible ones. As long as you stick with the good ones, I don't see the problem. The proof is in the eating, not how impressive it is that you are trying to bake hundreds of cakes from scratch. The home baker has a lot more leeway with scratch baking and those cakes are indeed usually fabulous. But the sad fact is, if you did a taste test with the average consumer, they will prefer the mix nine times out of ten. I use a base mix at my bakery and get raves so I see no need to bake "from scratch" just to prove that I can.
Oh the time I have wasted trying to come up with pithy signature lines!
Reply
Oh the time I have wasted trying to come up with pithy signature lines!
Reply
post #144 of 145
2/5/12 at 6:56pm
While I don't think that a bakery lying is a great idea, I can sure appreciate why they would. Many customers are used to cakes from a mix but have no idea that this is the case. That leaves the bakery in a tough spot. Do they say, yes, we use a mix and then explain to a disbelieving and insulted customer that they possibly have never bought a scratch cake?

There are plenty of people who still think cakes are baked in grocery stores. And I bet a few even on this board don't know that all the breads and cookies come in frozen.

I apologize -- I only read the first 2 pages of the thread.
Reply
Reply
post #145 of 145
2/5/12 at 7:35pm
Wow. I can't believe this thread is still going............ I don't think the point was originally about whether scratch or box is better. The point was whether it was acceptable to lie. I still say I expect ANY person I am doing business with to answer direct questions with the truth, whether they are a baker, a plumber, or a driveway paver. If not, I will respond appropriately. I agree that many people prefer boxed cakes. And I also can tell you that many people prefer scratch cakes. There is probably a third group that can't tell the difference and couldn't care less, as long as it tastes good. I can tell the difference and I do prefer scratch. Often, I probably wouldn't bother to ask......depends on the circumstance and the occasion. But if I did ask, I expect to hear the truth. Like I said many pages ago......if you are proud of your product, there is no need to lie. If you are not proud of your product, get a new product.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cake Decorating Business
Cake Central › Cake Forums › Cake Talk › Cake Decorating Business › They lied?