Poor thing.
Indeed.
Ok......so if you make a "scratch" cake that is fondant covered - and you use PURCHASED already made fondant......is it still a scratch cake??? OR are you "honest" and say well, partly???
I have NEVER, NOT ONCE been asked if I bake from "scratch". I have however been told that they KNOW my cakes are the best they have ever eaten.
IF ASKED - I have no reason to lie. They can assume whatever they choose to - I am not going to try to educate the masses on how or why I bake the way I do.
K8 must own beaucoup stock in Pinnacle Foods.
I wish I owned some good stock.
Go Loucinda Go Loucinda
, "So, you measure the flour, butter, baking powder, and sugar. You pour in the vanilla & milk and crack the eggs?"
I do all that and I start from a mix, so does that mean I bake from scratch after all?
Where is the line drawn between scratch and mix?
edited to change "bake" to "start"
Well, the OP asked what to say if a client asks if you use a mix. I'd say that it's a pretty clear line, that if you open a box of cake mix when you're making the batter, the answer is that you're using a mix. And not baking from scratch, which doesn't involve mixes.
The basic distinction between mixes and scratch baking is that mixes use emulsifiers and additives to give a consistent batter, so that my 7-yr-old neighbor or my grandmother can mix it according to the directions and get the same result. That's why bakeries use mixes, so that any employee will get a consistent result regardless of baking skill. If you want to add an emulsifier to a scratch cake, that would just say to me that you don't know how to bake well enough to get a good batter without it, not that scratch and mixes are the same thing.
So, to answer the OP's question again, if someone asks you "do you use a mix," and you opened a mix to make the batter, regardless of how much other stuff you added to it, the answer is yes. And if you used a mix, you're not baking from scratch, regardless of how much you try to convince yourself you are.
And now I'm going to go open one of those bags of frozen pasta dinners that Bertolli makes, add some broccoli to it, and if anyone asks whether I made it from scratch I'll tell them no. Maybe I'll feed some of it to the dead horse.
That says it all!
So, to answer the OP's question again, if someone asks you "do you use a mix," and you opened a mix to make the batter, regardless of how much other stuff you added to it, the answer is yes. And if you used a mix, you're not baking from scratch, regardless of how much you try to convince yourself you are.
.
Well I already did answer the OP'S questions
And I'm not trying to convince myself that I bake scratch .
I was simply making a point, if a scratch cake is defined by measuring flour,sugar,baking powder and cracking eggs, well I do that to!
If a scratch cake is defined by the lack of additives/emulisfiers/stabilizers/magic sugar fairies, well there is all that stuff in individual ingrediants, unless you bake organic and/or make your own ingrediants.
...why is that scratch bakers think they are better then those who use mixes?
If our customers/family/ourselves like it why should it matter?
I've never knocked scratch bakers, so why is it us mix bakers get the short end and are labled as bad or un-skilled bakers?
So what I can't make a scratch cake, that does'nt make me unskilled, I am very proud of my cakes, both their taste and their appearance.
For being completely self taught I think I've done a darn good job.
And if it ain't broke I'm ain't gonna fix it!
I can totally see why these get out of hand... I'm gonna go bake a cake now (unskillfully at that)
One more thing and I'm done.
I don't care how or why people bake their cakes, I just don't like being labeled "unskilled" because I choose a method that differs from someone else.
At the end of the day if the customer says "yummy" thatâs all that matters 
I am new to cake decorating. I have been baking my entire life, and until recently by scratch. I am in my fourth week of cake decorating classes. I tried the WASC cake for the sake of time. It was great. Fast and easy. One of my co-workers was taking up my cake to a friend. I ended up sharing it with said friend (and showing my newbie cake piping). She immediately asked if I âbake scratch for with a mixâ. Commenting that her friend who is into decorating âuses a mixâ. I told her the cake she was eating was a doctored mix.
I am a little surprised to find out that so many bakeries use mix. I always assumed that if it was a âmom and pop shopâ it would be scratch. I personally have no problem with the use of a cake mix. Since I donât sell my cakes, I donât know about pricingâ¦but I would think a scratch cake should cost more. I find them to be more labor intensive. I donât mean to open a new can of wormsâ¦but is this incorrect assessment. A cake mix (even doctored) is much faster than a scratch cake where you whip the butter and eggsâ¦.then if you are making with egg whitesâ¦the egg whites or chocolate where you melt over a double boiler. If it is a businessâ¦time is money. And scratch cakes are not always consistent (even for a seasoned baker). There was a blog I read sometime ago that was comparing Martha Stewartâs cake with Amy Sedarisâ cake (apparently she has a recipe book) both scratch, both with totally different results in taste and texture. I found it here: http://cupcakeblog.com/index.php?s=Martha+Stewart+Vanilla (itâs a bit far down on the blog under the Boston Cream Pie).
If you have a good recipe your results are consistent.
As for Martha, and her recipes, and baking ability...LOLOLOL
Mike
That is not what I was saying. Not even a little bit. I was not comparing Martha Stewart with anyone OR her abilities.
What I was saying is that scratch recipes can vary.
Several years ago, I worked for a restaurant that at the time made everything in store...all sauces everything. But if you went to a location across town there was no consistency. It tasted differnent. They became more corporate and decided to have "pre-packaged" sauces and recipes for consistency.
My point is I understand why some businesses might use a mix. For time and efficency it could be more cost efficient.
If you have a good recipe your results are consistant.
As for Martha, and her recipes, and baking ability...LOLOLOL
Mike
If you have a good recipe your results are consistant.
Mike
Sorry Mike, not every time. Mix boxes are made to be foolproof - and I don't want to offend anybody.
I am scratch baker - I did bake exactly once from mix. I didn't find anything wrong with it.
I consider my recipes solid and giving good consistency. But 2 years ago I had a big, big cookie disaster. The same recipe I used for more than 10 years and since than, but two different batches, prepared with a store brand flour within one week simply didn't work. It was the flour, nothing else has changed. I ended with throwing out ca. 4kg (8 pounds) gingerbread cookie dough - it was before Christmas when I bake such quantities.
If you have a good recipe your results are consistant.
Mike
Sorry Mike, not every time. Mix boxes are made to be foolproof - and I don't want to offend anybody.
I am scratch baker - I did bake exactly once from mix. I didn't find anything wrong with it.
I consider my recipes solid and giving good consistency. But 2 years ago I had a big, big cookie disaster. The same recipe I used for more than 10 years and since than, but two different batches, prepared with a store brand flour within one week simply didn't work. It was the flour, nothing else has changed. I ended with throwing out ca. 4kg (8 pounds) gingerbread cookie dough - it was before Christmas when I bake such quantities.
Sorry I didn't put ingredients in there also. 
I thought it went without saying if you change ingredients, or quality of said ingredients the results will change.
Mike
Yikes, people 
As the OP, I only asked if anyone asks whether you use a mix or bake from scratch and if so, what you say. I have seen prior threads that ended up, well, something like this one, and starting another such thread was not my intent. Nobody gets brownie points for baking from scratch, nor do the mix folks get a "Crappy Baker" award. Really, why such hostility? We all do what we do, enjoy what we do, and enjoy that other people enjoy what we do. Let's not get ugly about what other people do. When "baking" was my thing, I thought mixes were a cop-out. Now that decorating (or trying, at least 
) is my thing, I rely more on mixes and only bake from scratch if I have a super recipe that is fail proof. It REALLY doesn't matter, as long as your customers are happy. So, let's all be nice and that's all I'll say 
Anyhoo, thanks for all the on-subject response to my original question.
I am a scratch baker... but I feel that there is a market for both. I do believe you should be honest when asked if you use a mix. If you do use a cake mix why are you ashamed of answering that question? If you don't want to answer that question truthfully then maybe you should switch to scratch baking?
I am not professionally trained but I have always been a very avid baker and decided to create my own formulas when I started my business. i take extreme pride in saying I am a scratch baker with unique tried and true recipes that I call my own. I do about 3 cakes a week and I'm just part-time working out of my home. I can't say my opinion would be the same if I owned a brick and mortar and had huge overhead and countless orders - maybe it would be for convenience or more cost effective ( or maybe even for more shelf-life) but for now, I can't bring myself to do anything but bake from scratch. It's my own personal preference and the pressure I put on myself to be as high quality as possible and for me, that does mean scratch. Kudos to anyone running a business and opting to do what is best for their own success, but honesty is the best policy for sure.
I use both, depending on which flavor/recipe I am using. I recently had a customer ask if my cakes were "from scratch." I replied with, "All cakes and icings are homemade by me." Which is the truth. She ordered, and loved the semi-homemade product she chose. :-)
Any scratch bakers want to share their chocolate cake/cupcake recipe with me? That is one I have yet to find a working scratch recipe for... ;-)
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