Main Difference Between Boxed And Homemade Cake?
Decorating By MerlotCook Updated 9 Aug 2009 , 12:50pm by Deb_
The cake mix in boxes today are much better than 20 years ago by far. I like to doctor them up and make them even better.......people go crazy for my cakes, so guess I am doing something right 
i've often wondered this, too. i tried an experiment with my family... and they liked the scratch cakes. HOWEVER, i did the same taste test on a fairly large group of friends one night and the doctored up box mix won the contest. I, personally prefer the scratch all day long, but for me, the masses have spoken so I almost always use the doctored up box mix. 
When I make a boxed mix I always add butter when it calls for oil, a teaspoon of vanilla, and if it's chocolate I add a square of melted semi-sweet chocolate. I wrap them in saran wrap 2 minutes out of the oven, to hold all the good moisture. My husband's co-worker's swoon over my cakes. Poor things, I think all of them eat fast food.
My mother lived with my sisters family for years. One day the 16 yr old wanted to bake a cake. They were out of my sister's usual cake mixes, so my Mother told my niece to make a cake from scratch. My niece looked at her with head tilted and asked "You can do that?" Needless to say my sister is NOT a Susie-Homemaker!
My son is sensitive to food dyes and preservatives. Actually if you read into it many children are and are never diagnosed, because symptoms are blamed for other conditions. Things like attention deficiency, hyperactivity, headaches, stomach aches, etc all can be due to the bad things they put into food these days.
That is why I bake from scratch. There are too many nasties in cake mixes. And I also hate that artificial taste of them. I like to actually taste the butter, buttermilk, real vanilla, etc in my baked goods.
I sell cupcakes at different farmer's markets in my area and I am always complimented on the moistness of my cakes. When you are looking for a scratch recipe to try out look for ones that call for buttermilk, sour cream, or yogurt. Also never wait until a cake is springy, pulls away from the sides, or the toothpick comes out clean. IMO if they do any of those things they are already overbaked and will be dry. Remember the cake will continue baking after taken out of the oven. I use my sense of touch and nothing else to figure out when my cakes are done. When there is a slight mush when I touch the cake they are done.
I still can't fathom why anyone would eat a box of chemicals.
Making a really good scratch cake IS an art, and good mixing and quality ingredients (the right type at the proper temperature) far exceeds any "superior leavening agent". A measuring scale helps too. And proper baking.
Sometimes I think people are so accustomed to eating processed foods and artificial flavours that they don't even know what real food tastes like.
This tends to be a sore topic, the whole box vs scratch, so I just want to add that I really don't care what other people eat, as long as they don't force me to eat box/tv dinners/fast food.
Doug- Yes, that's it. You have to double the recipe for a two layer cake. Or bake it a square pan and cut it in half and make one 8"x4" two layer bar cake, which is my favorite trick. Fresh cake for the family with leftovers depending on the size of the family. This is the actual recipe I use -slight difference in the salt and baking powder but not enough to make huge difference. http://www.cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-3433-0-Busy-Day-Cake.html
totally off topic but have you read about the dangers of diet soda recently? I'm not being a smart allec at all here, the stuff in there is dangerous especially if you're drinking a 12 can case in one day.
I happen to be extremely sensitive to artificial sweeteners and I hate the aftertaste they leave behind. I'm not lying when I tell you that I have never in my life had more then a sip of soda. I hate the stuff. We were raised on milk, water and juice.
So it's all what you're accustomed to for sure.
Nope, and I have no intention of doing so, either, because frankly, I switched to diet after gaining close to a hundred pounds in one summer of drinking regular soda. And yes, I know, milk, water, juice are better for you--but they don't have caffeine and that's how I medicate my ADD since I don't HAVE medical insurance right now.
Trust me, the numbers go waaaaaaay down when I'm on medication. A case can last me up to ten days at that point.
Besides, literally EVERYTHING is dangerous for you--oxygen is a caustic, and water is a poison in sufficient quantities, causes respiratory distress if inhaled, and is the most prevalent greenhouse gas in existence. I don't let myself worry too much because I am generally extremely healthy aside from my weight.
My dad's super-sensitive to Nutrasweet, too. Not allergic, but in the sense that he's the one in the local million to whom it tastes desperately bitter instead of sweet.
I understand where you are coming from, I really do. I've had my doubts about some of the issues with diet sodas. BUT, I have to say that more and more I am hearing about TREMENDOUS bone loss at a very early age due to drinking that many diet drinks a day. I've heard it first hand from friends and I've read a story here on this message board.
Of course, you can do what you want and maybe you won't have a problem. But please at least educate yourself. I have a relative who has had a horrendous year because of a sudden bone problem that is likely linked to her many diet drinks a day. She would do anything to not have had to go through this past year.
Just lookin' out for ya!
I'll share my family's personal experience with this horrible stuff....
My MIL is 65 yrs old....ADDICTED to diet soda and has been since I've known her which is 31 yrs. She does NOT drink water, juice, milk, just diet soda.
On the 13th of this month she is going in for double knee replacement surgery. Her doctors have made her wait until now because of her age and the fact that knee replacements really don't last more then 10 to 15 yrs. She has been suffering with horrific pain since about the age of 50.
She walks like a 90 yr old woman.
She never had a sports injury, she is NOT over weight. Oh and both of her hips are rotting away also.
She is in complete denial about her addiction to diet soda......my FIL tells us that she buys 10 cases a WEEK.......she is the only one that drinks it in their house.....they live alone.
Her doctor told her she needs to stop drinking it, but she "claims" her bone loss is not from drinking diet soda.
So what do you think about a 65 yr old woman who is having double knee replacement and needs double hip replacement when her knees heal?
The stuff is poison............especially when it's all you drink. To NOT educate ourselves about this stuff is irresponsible. I see the pain my MIL has been living with and the restrictions it's placed on her life. Neither of her parents had bone loss and they lived to be in their late 80's.
I still can't fathom why anyone would eat a box of chemicals.
Making a really good scratch cake IS an art, and good mixing and quality ingredients (the right type at the proper temperature) far exceeds any "superior leavening agent". A measuring scale helps too. And proper baking.
Sometimes I think people are so accustomed to eating processed foods and artificial flavours that they don't even know what real food tastes like.
This tends to be a sore topic, the whole box vs scratch, so I just want to add that I really don't care what other people eat, as long as they don't force me to eat box/tv dinners/fast food.
Agreed! I find scratch baking an art just as much as decorating is an art.
I grew up in a family that bakes from scratch BUT none of them ever made traditional cakes (i.e., they baked German pastries, breads, etc), so when I had "homemade" cake at friend's houses, it was boxed cake.
When I started making my own scratch cakes because I was getting into the cupcake craze, I then had boxed cake again and I can clearly taste the chemical taste, whatever it is. It is especially prominent in the white cake, and therefore, I can't use the WASC recipe even though the variations are really fun. I have tried 3 and all of them STILL taste like chemical white cake to me.
My friends all love box cake, but they also love my scratch cakes, so it's certainly possible to be a fan of both. Personally, I like the art and science of scratch baking and love the taste. It is definitely harder, though, because if you get even one small thing wrong, you can ruin the whole thing!
The way I can explain it is......ya know when you drink a diet soda/drink, you can taste that chemical sweetener flavor? Well for me, when I taste a cake from a box, I detect that chemical "too sweet" taste.
I'm sure someone that is used to boxed cakes doesn't detect that taste at all.
It's definitely all about what we're accustomed to.
I cannot taste the chemical taste that you do, but this totally makes sense. That may be the best explanation that I've read.
dkelly.......I am 58 and have high risk for fracture with osteoporosis, and was taking forteo shots daily for it...I finally said I have had enough of it.....I have had so much diet or regular soda since my teen years that I absolutely believe thats the cause of it....well that and we were too poor to have milk enough for all of us....they say if you don't get enough calcium by 20 yoa its too late.........I don't know if I believe that, but I will say I think there is something to soda! fyi
p.s. that does not stop me from riding electric scooter with my grand kids LOL........
I understand where you are coming from, I really do. I've had my doubts about some of the issues with diet sodas. BUT, I have to say that more and more I am hearing about TREMENDOUS bone loss at a very early age due to drinking that many diet drinks a day. I've heard it first hand from friends and I've read a story here on this message board.
Of course, you can do what you want and maybe you won't have a problem. But please at least educate yourself. I have a relative who has had a horrendous year because of a sudden bone problem that is likely linked to her many diet drinks a day. She would do anything to not have had to go through this past year.
Just lookin' out for ya!
I'll share my family's personal experience with this horrible stuff....
My MIL is 65 yrs old....ADDICTED to diet soda and has been since I've known her which is 31 yrs. She does NOT drink water, juice, milk, just diet soda.
See, I do also drink milk and water. I have to pee at least once an hour, which is related to a chemical condition that I have, so I am more or less constantly dehydrated. Though I admit that my soda addiction is exactly that, and I have been trying to cut back on it at least some.
On the 13th of this month she is going in for double knee replacement surgery. Her doctors have made her wait until now because of her age and the fact that knee replacements really don't last more then 10 to 15 yrs. She has been suffering with horrific pain since about the age of 50.
She walks like a 90 yr old woman.
She never had a sports injury, she is NOT over weight. Oh and both of her hips are rotting away also.
She is in complete denial about her addiction to diet soda......my FIL tells us that she buys 10 cases a WEEK.......she is the only one that drinks it in their house.....they live alone.
Her doctor told her she needs to stop drinking it, but she "claims" her bone loss is not from drinking diet soda.
So what do you think about a 65 yr old woman who is having double knee replacement and needs double hip replacement when her knees heal?
I think that my mother who is sixty and needs a double knee replacement and a three-disc replacement in her spine is only 60 and drinks maybe one soda A WEEK, so clearly, soda is not the only cause for bone loss out there, and without proof in the form of lab tests and a doctor's affidavit, you cannot conclusively say that diet soda caused bone loss.
The stuff is poison............especially when it's all you drink. To NOT educate ourselves about this stuff is irresponsible. I see the pain my MIL has been living with and the restrictions it's placed on her life. Neither of her parents had bone loss and they lived to be in their late 80's.
Funny, that, because my grandmother who was both morbidely obese and had severe osteoperosis lived to be precisely 90 years of age and was still partying two weeks before she passed. And my doctor has told my mother that her reaction to the osteoperosis of taking calcium supplements is likely a large cause for the osteoarthritis that is causing her own crippling pain.
I take a lesson from that and refuse to get hyped up and upset for as long as me and MY DOCTOR think that my lifestyle is adequate. And frankly, aside from my obesity, which I AM working on with my doctor's guidance, my lifestyle is perfectly adequate in my doctor's eyes, so I really would prefer not to be harassed for habits that I have that are in no way affecting anyone but myself.
I still can't fathom why anyone would eat a box of chemicals.
Making a really good scratch cake IS an art, and good mixing and quality ingredients (the right type at the proper temperature) far exceeds any "superior leavening agent". A measuring scale helps too. And proper baking.
Sometimes I think people are so accustomed to eating processed foods and artificial flavours that they don't even know what real food tastes like.
You do realize that your scratch cake is made up of "chemicals," too, right? Just like, oh, I don't know, the entire universe? I mean, ones that come from the top of my mind are albumen (egg whites), bicarbonate of soda (baking soda/powder), gluten (a component of flour), saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (butter), sodium chloride (salt), sucrose (sugar), dihydrogen oxide (water)....the list goes on and on.
I think a good scratch cake is superior to a box mix, myself--though I don't scorn box mixes completley, either--but everything kitchen is chemistry or physics or both. Please don't scorn something just because it's "chemicals," because everything you put in your mouth is "chemicals." Discriminate based on types of chemicals! Because there is no denying that box mixes are loaded with shelf stabilizers and preservatives, and those make a lot more difference in taste than the people who come up with them would like to admit publically.
I am dehydrated constantly too.......of course I don't drink enough hahaha duh.....I get so busy I just don't take the time to drink.....rhwy always say doctors and nurses are the worst patients, and I know thats true.
I think that my mother who is sixty and needs a double knee replacement and a three-disc replacement in her spine is only 60 and drinks maybe one soda A WEEK, so clearly, soda is not the only cause for bone loss out there, and without proof in the form of lab tests and a doctor's affidavit, you cannot conclusively say that diet soda caused bone loss.
Funny, that, because my grandmother who was both morbidely obese and had severe osteoperosis lived to be precisely 90 years of age and was still partying two weeks before she passed. And my doctor has told my mother that her reaction to the osteoperosis of taking calcium supplements is likely a large cause for the osteoarthritis that is causing her own crippling pain.
I take a lesson from that and refuse to get hyped up and upset for as long as me and MY DOCTOR think that my lifestyle is adequate. And frankly, aside from my obesity, which I AM working on with my doctor's guidance, my lifestyle is perfectly adequate in my doctor's eyes, so I really would prefer not to be harassed for habits that I have that are in no way affecting anyone but myself.
Varika, "harassment" is far from my intent. I am simply sharing our family's personal experience, and hoping that if just one person reads this it may get them to read some of the studies that have been completed over the years on this very subject.
It's interesting though..........your argument sounds exactly like my MIL's words whenever we bring this up to her.....she won't even consider the studies/research results we show her. She doesn't want to hear it.
So both your Mom and Grandmother also have/had osteo? Hereditary, I would suppose, huh?
Madgeowens.....yes, dehydration is one of the things these studies speak of.....one problem with "soda drinkers" is that the soda is replacing their water/milk intake.
I'm glad you're able to ride around with your grandkids....hopefully my MIL will be able to be more mobile after her surgery.
Having said all that, if we knew the effects of ALL the chemicals we all ingest every day, we'd probably be afraid to eat/drink just about everything....
Look folks, if you don't want others commenting on something, then simply do not post about it.
Accept the fact that if you post something on a thread anywhere on the internet, someone/everyone else has the right to comment on it.
Okay? Back to cakes.
Lol! 
I'm a pepsi junky and have also recently found out that soda calories settle in the BELLY AREA! Dang...and I love scratch cakes too, probably not a good combo!
Most people are used to eating box mixes. I grew up on scratch so I prefer scratch. Box mixes to me taste chemical. But I do use them but only with the extender. It's a matter of what you like best. Scratch baking requires a technique that not everyone has. A lot of people that say scatch cakes are dry say it because some of them don't know how to bake from scratch. Most of scratch bakers learned from trail and error and not giving up. The scratch recipes I like are Toba's "Moist yellow cake", Slyvia's Weinstock's "Classic yellow cake" and the "Yellow cake" On www.wrenscottage.com. Click at the bottom "From Karen's Kitchen>
Shall I enter the soad fray? Why not! There was a study recently that showed that dark sodas, regardless of whether they were diet or not, increase kidney disease in women. So there's something else to think about. It wasn't the caffeine, either, it was the color of the soda, the light ones like Mountain Dew (full of caffeine, my husband calls it his "go juice") didn't have the same effect. I've noticed that my Dr. Pepper fix had started making me have to use the bathroom, shall we say, extremely urgently in the last few months, so I cut way back on those sodas 
and that problem went away. So there's my anecdotal evidence.
Part of the bone problem is the replacing of milk and other healthier drinks with the sodas, which everyone has to admit are nutritionally worthless. I don't let my kids drink soda as much as possible, and never caffeine. (That's just because I don't want them to be addicts like I am until they're old enough to make that mistake on their own!) They DO drink a ton of milk, though, I go through 4-5 gallons a week and I only have two kids.
My son broke his kneecap a couple of years ago, and after 5 weeks it had healed totally up! The doctor's first question was "do you drink a lot of milk?" I was happy to see that it does pay off!
Oh, and one reason that cake mixes have that distinctive texture is that they have gums added in to give them a consistent result, regardless of who makes them 
I like it. It's like a conversation moving along.
Most soda has corn syrup these days, but only dark sodas have caramel coloring added. Do you think that may have something to do with the problem? I don't know why it would, but can't think of any other difference between them.
Many many moons ago they use to say if you took a piece of steak and cover it with coke, it would eat it.....also it will work like draino in sinks...........so why do I drink this crap when I now have nestle crunch bones? lol I figure at this stage the damage is done....oh well........but you younger ones should really switch to coors lite hahahahah
You do realize that your scratch cake is made up of "chemicals," too, right? Just like, oh, I don't know, the entire universe? I mean, ones that come from the top of my mind are albumen (egg whites), bicarbonate of soda (baking soda/powder), gluten (a component of flour), saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (butter), sodium chloride (salt), sucrose (sugar), dihydrogen oxide (water)....the list goes on and on.
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Yes I do know that. I try to educate myself about every aspect of baking, and I know that baking is essentially science.
That said, I also know that you know very well that this was not my point at all. So why you chose this as a comeback is really beyond me.
Really, the problem with many of these "natural ingredients" is that they have been processed to death. What's up with the bleached flour? And the corn syrup? Hydrogenated oils? I would never ever put that in my cake. Artificial flavours? But why? You don't need them - their component list is pages long. Synthetic vanilla is made from paper waste. Who wants to eat that? And then there's the whole aspect of inferior ingredients.
I honestly really don't understand.
As I said, I know this a sore topic, but also a very important one to me. I try to avoid additives in every form in my cooking and baking, which is why I constantly try to educate myself about where my food comes from. And when you are used to your own organic homecooking, all the processed foods really aren't appealing anymore. And my friends agree. I have spoiled their tastebuds to the point where they wont eat storebought candy.
Okay this turned into a longer post than I intended. I'll stop yakking now please, feel free to use boxed mix, but I will also feel free to voice my opinion about it when asked.
Listen girls, everything in moderation, right? Lets not worry about all this junk....lets just bake and decorate and enjoy it all.....After all we don't eat cake everyday right? shhhhhhhhhhhh......just enjoy and keep a happy thought
You do realize that your scratch cake is made up of "chemicals," too, right? Just like, oh, I don't know, the entire universe? I mean, ones that come from the top of my mind are albumen (egg whites), bicarbonate of soda (baking soda/powder), gluten (a component of flour), saturated and unsaturated fatty acids (butter), sodium chloride (salt), sucrose (sugar), dihydrogen oxide (water)....the list goes on and on.
.
Yes I do know that. I try to educate myself about every aspect of baking, and I know that baking is essentially science.
That said, I also know that you know very well that this was not my point at all. So why you chose this as a comeback is really beyond me.
Really, the problem with many of these "natural ingredients" is that they have been processed to death. What's up with the bleached flour? And the corn syrup? Hydrogenated oils? I would never ever put that in my cake. Artificial flavours? But why? You don't need them - their component list is pages long. Synthetic vanilla is made from paper waste. Who wants to eat that? And then there's the whole aspect of inferior ingredients.
I honestly really don't understand.
As I said, I know this a sore topic, but also a very important one to me. I try to avoid additives in every form in my cooking and baking, which is why I constantly try to educate myself about where my food comes from. And when you are used to your own organic homecooking, all the processed foods really aren't appealing anymore. And my friends agree. I have spoiled their tastebuds to the point where they wont eat storebought candy.
Okay this turned into a longer post than I intended. I'll stop yakking now
please, feel free to use boxed mix, but I will also feel free to voice my opinion about it when asked.
We haven't even touched on genetically modified foods yet. They introduce foreign genes, viruses, allergens, and bacterias to our food sources all in the name of the almighty dollar. Other countries are sitting by and watching to see if and how these things will effect our children, before introducing them into their own. So basically we've allowed American children to be the world's human lab rats.
All of the large companies (DH, Pillsbury, & BC) use GMOs in their cake mixes.
Many many moons ago they use to say if you took a piece of steak and cover it with coke, it would eat it.....also it will work like draino in sinks...........so why do I drink this crap when I now have nestle crunch bones? lol I figure at this stage the damage is done....oh well........but you younger ones should really switch to coors lite hahahahah
My daugter did a science fair experiment where she put her baby teeth (the ones she'd lost, not the ones stil in her mouth) in water, coke and tea. The water did nothing, the tea turned the tooth brown, and the coke ate all of the enamel off it the tooth competley. It didn't totally dissolve, but it obviously ate the outer layer off.
And back to the OP's topic, I recently eliminated everything artificial from my recipes (I didn't have much, but I decided why have any?) and it hasn't made anything less flavorful, only more. People are used to the artificial flavorings (I always think of artificial banana flavor as a good example...Did a real banana ever taste like that?) but when they taste something that has the real thing in it they realize what they've been missing. Unless they're so used to the fake one the real thing seems wrong to them, which is strange in and of itself.
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