And I don't want anyone to take whay I am saying as being combative. I am certainly not trying to be. I am calm and level-headed. I just like a good debate too.

i use a bit of both. i was raised in a "everything must be home-made" kind of family and i love to cook from scratch but when i do larger cakes i just find it so much easier to use the boxes. i usually personalize them though by adding stuff like crushed oreos, coffee syrup, bailey's etc. and i always make my own icing and filling. if i am doing a small one tier sometimes i make it from scratch. i havn't tried a large cake from scratch yet. it just seems too intimidating, lol. i guess if somebody paid me enough i definately would though.

btw on leftover cake, i have been trying to figure out ways to use it instead of throw it away. last night i made some cake balls with leftoever red velvet scraps and baileys' and rolled them in chocolate and they are awesome!!!

I don't look down on anyone who uses a box mix, but I prefer not to myself. In my opinion, my scratch cakes taste better than any boxed cake I have ever had (and my scratch white is my FAVORITE), but if the customers of the folks using boxed mixes are happy, then what's the problem?. I do feel there should be full disclosure, if someone is asked. I can tell the difference between a boxed mix and a scratch cake, when eating it. it think it's more of a textural thing, and also it's the artificial flavors that stand out to me (I only use 100% real extracts/flavorings). I don't like to eat anything made with imitation extracts/flavorings, because THAT is what imparts a chemical taste, to me. And when it gets down to it, the biggest reason I prefer scratch over boxed: Well, I have to do SOMETHING to make the $40k I spent on culinary school worth it

I like the idea that people with different opinions can all state where their views lay on topics such as this. That's what makes these forums such an enriching experience, not only do you get great instructions for so many techniques but you get to see the different ideas out there in cakeworld.

Having just graduated from culinary school, I can tell you that the scratch/box (processed) debate is going on in more than just the world of cake.

As some people have already said it's nearly impossible to make almost anything without some ingredients that havn't been processed/chemically altered by our modern system. That's part of the benefit/drawback of living in our technological world. Our ingredients last longer, they give a more predictable performance, and they are easier to obtain. But in some ways they are no longer 'pure' because off all that has been done to them to make them this way.

Right now molecular gastronomy is really fueling the fire in the culinary world, because some are feel that all the stabilizers/chemicals used to create those unique foods render it nothing more than gourmet processed meals. Some argue that the chemicals are available to be used, so why not use them? Technically meat is not edible (to most of us) until we chemically alter it by cooking it. When it really comes down to it all of baking/cooking is a series of methods of applying chemically alternating processes to different ingredients until we get the outcome we want.

It's like organic farming/vs non organic, there is no definition, there can't be, it's all objective. It depends on what you are comfortable with and what your customers like. As long as you are honest with them (and the law) it really is all about opinion.

Now who wants S'mores!

that's def a good argument about the ingredients. i mostly do cakes for friends and fam so it hasn't been an issue. i did make a sugar free all natural smash cake for my niece though. it actually wasn't bad tasting, couldn't get hubby to go near it though, lol!

i also use "home-grown" fresh eggs and have been wondering whether or not some people would care.

Just a quick question. Do you all get asked on a regular basis whether you use a mix or bake from scratch? I'm just wondering because I've never actually been asked! I "doctor" cake mixes and never bake my cakes from scratch but noone has ever asked me. I have alway gotten rave reviews on the taste of my cakes though.

What box do I fit in if I make scratch cakes and use store bought fondant? Am I a mixed breed?

Now I am getting a complex about using store bought fondant!

Best turn off and not read any more.

I love the fact that this thread is being called a "debate" it is full of opinions. To each their own. I am satisfied with the product that I provide my clients. More importantly, they are more than satisfied with it. I have yet to be asked if it is from scratch or box, but when faced with that question, I have nothing to hide and am proud of what I do. With saying that, you notice that I have not told you all if I use box or scratch method. Either way it will not make the difference in the way the votes fall here.

It's not often we hear someone say they don't look down on scratch bakers.

To me it illustrates the classic struggle. We don't look down on anyone for this or that. It's not (just) that we disagree with thier methods. It's not (only) that we prefer a different way. It's we don't look down on someone (on a person) for what they make cake with and it's a conscious decision.

I kinda look down on me and I use both. But I talk myself out of it.

I don't bake for sale, but I use all methods for baking the cakes that I bake, and it depends on how *I* feel at the time.

Can I tell the difference between my from-scratch and a box mix? Oh, yes. The box mix is softer and has a spongier texture, not to mention being vividly colored in whatever fashion the mix is supposed to be colored. (Very yellow for yellow cakes, very white for white cakes, very brown for chocolate cakes...) The main reason for this is probably that I use cake flour for my from-scratch recipes. But I can't say that I taste anything "chemical" about it. It's just a slight difference.

I always keep wanting to say, though, to the people who are all "OMG CHEMIKALZZZ!!" about their food..."you do realize that when the human diet had NONE of these lab-produced goodies in it, the average life expectancy was 50 years or less, right?"

Think about it.

Ok Peeps.... we've beaten the horses Manny, Mo and now Jack into the ground. Manny and Mo both died last week in threads that got ugly about this debate. Please, keep the horses alive!!

Ok, now the poor horses are gone and buried.... please see Cakewrecks memorial below to them: