I'm not starting a war here, and I did try searching the forums for similar threads but came up empty handed.

I'm a from scratch hobby baker and I love experimenting with different recipes. I didn't bake from a mix until I started taking Wilton's cake decorating classes (course 1) this month and all my classmates baked their cakes from mixes and I couldn't believe how nice and straight-edged their cakes were. Granted, I need to get new cake pans (mine slopes in from the opening) to make my cake decorating life easier but I just couldn't believe how good their cakes look as compared to mine... and I have to say I probably have more baking experience than they do. (Saying that because they haven't heard some of the tips/techniques the instructor shared with us)

So I'm just wondering how many of you guys use cake mix or bake from scratch. I haven't had much luck baking white/yellow cakes from scratch (never tried baking from box mixes too until last week) but have had plenty of success with Hershey's Black Magic/Perfectly Chocolate Cake and lots of people rave over this recipe that it's my go-to chocolate cake recipe.

I did try baking Walmart's store brand yellow cake mix and even though I only put in two egg whites and subbed water for milk, the cake still baked well. Not sure with the taste though, because I'm not a huge cake person to be honest!! I just like baking for the heck of it!

I find it easier to search on google. I just type what I'm looking for and add cake central to the search criterion.

I bake from scratch. I won't debate anyone who uses a mix because everyone is different and who am I to judge?

You mentioned that your classmates cakes were very straight, and like you mentioned, this is from your pans and leveling. When I used Wilton my cakes always had a dome and the sides would go out a bit. When I finally got serious about baking I switched to Magic Line (another preference, others use diff. lines) and have straight and are mostly leveled. I only take a tiny piece off the top. Invest in better pans, or level the cakes a bit more. JMO.

Bake even strips can help. You can buy them or make them, but they insulate from the sides and let your cake rise more evenly.

FromscratchSF is a member here on CC and has a great tutorial for a traditional cake that is easy to follow and has explicit instructions. A nice place to start. Google "From Scratch SF" or "Beyond Buttercream" for the blog and it is a top post in the right hand corner.

Good luck!

I bake cookies from scratch, but cakes from mixes. And I'm not entirely thrilled with the performance of the DH white mix I've used for my strawberry marble cakes to date, and may try the BC mix instead, on the next one.

The attachment, submitted for your amusement, is a sight-gag box I dummied-up 8 years ago, for the ultimate universal baking product. (And yes, there really was a general named Mills.)

scratch only