I make all of them. It depends on what I get asked for. If someone wants a scratch cake I make it for them. But I usually use a doctored box mix. Or if time is an issue I just use a plain old box mix not doctored. I think of it as a personal choice. No one is right or wrong in this situation.
I do make my own fondant. Mainly because I hate the taste of Wiltons and I can't find satin ice in the stores here in Canada. (no credit card so online buying is out) I usually make the MMF fondant because it tastes great.

I make all of them. It depends on what I get asked for. If someone wants a scratch cake I make it for them. But I usually use a doctored box mix. Or if time is an issue I just use a plain old box mix not doctored. I think of it as a personal choice. No one is right or wrong in this situation.
I do make my own fondant. Mainly because I hate the taste of Wiltons and I can't find satin ice in the stores here in Canada. (no credit card so online buying is out) I usually make the MMF fondant because it tastes great.

The other thing is when I experiment who do I feed it too? I can't send a trial cake with a friend or loved one....what if it is gross?

I agree with so many others on this post...you do what you can with what you have and do what works for you (but I do bake from scratch).

This topic came up just this weekend. I had a rather involved cake that I was asked to do on Wednesday for a Saturday party. (Actually - it was two...one that was decorated, and another sheet cake in case anyone wanted a different flavor or we ran out of the decorated birthday cake.) Due to my personal time constraints, I ended up not being able to make the 2nd cake until the day of...(thank goodness for my mother and father - they were visiting from out of town, and my mother kept me in clean dishes, KA paddles and bowls, and cookie sheets while my DH and father kept the toddler busy...).

It would have been so easy for me to run and grab a cake mix for the 2nd cake, but when I started decorating cakes, I had made up my mind that I would do almost everything from scratch. SO...while I finished decorating and making the lemon curd I used for the filling, my mother stepped in and helped me with the second cake - and we made it from scratch.

At the party, the guests kept commenting on how much they liked the decoration on the cake, and then when they cut in to the cake and began eating, they could not believe that I had taken the time to make the cake from scratch - and that it was yummy....(toot, toot...LOL)

And I DIG that, man!!!

And, I do LOVE to bake from scratch...breads, cake, soup, ... anything! I enjoy learning new techniques and methods. I am currently reading a book that explains how ingredients work together (or against each other) in the baking processes.

BTW - yes, I DO make my fondant from scratch...I decorate cookies, too, and find that most people like the homemade MMF with the NFSC.

Well, being from the south and my parents, aunts and uncles all raised on home grown scratch EVERYTHING...I can't pass off a doctored mix to them....however my mother has this wonder pound cake recipe that is VERY moist and not as dense and that is what I use for family and other special functions. But in a crunch I will use a doctored mix when I need special flavors. I am still changing up my scratch recipes to accomidate special request like butter pecan....key lime..strawberry. Now my icing....all from scratch. I can't stand the taste of can frosting. . I can understand why the use of box mix..they are so convienent and they really dont' taste bad if done right So let's get our decorating on!!!

sorry for the double post

I use doctored box mixes. I just don't have a lot of time to make scratch cakes.

I "experiment" with scratch cakes when the cake is for DH and/or myself. Or if I am practicing and plan to send it to DH's work...they don't care...CAKE is CAKE to a bunch of engineers.

BTW I do make my own fondant...it's super easy and tastes better than Wilton.

I never would suggest wilton.... i was actually referring to satinice or fondex or pettinice....

I always make cakes from scratch only because I have very sensitive taste buds and can taste something funny everytime I or someone else makes something from a box. I can always pick out a cake / cupcakes made from a box. Not sure if it's only the Australian ones as I've never had any from anywhere else. I'm not by any means saying that any one is better but it's just my taste. Also, I love making my own recipes up and and taking one recipe further than where it's already at.

I am a professionally trained baker and most of my cakes are scratch but I do have one or two really great recipes that a lot of my clients love that are doctored box mixes. I really think that it is all about what the client wants. You might never make a box mix but if that is what the client wants I will make it. I used to work at a cake shop that only baked straight box mixes. Boy was I surprised when I started working there.

I make all my cakes and baked goods from scratch and people really comment on how good my cakes, cookies, and brownies are. I started out with cake mixes when I was much younger and did'nt know a lot about baking, but now I realize how much better a scratch cake is. Now I did cheat and made a cake from a mix just because I wanted a quick snack cake. but other than that I make all my cakes from scratch.

I also make up a lot of my own recipes as well because it is fun and I can play around with ingredients. However, if someone uses a mix it probably works better for them depending on time and resources. ( btw I did doctor up the cake mix I did use for a better taste and possibly closer to homemade.

I'm a scratch baker. I prefer it because of the skill it takes and the trial and error. I have used cake mixes in the past but I just enjoy the process of baking from scratch.

With all that said about scratch cakes, I don't experiment. I follow the directions to the T because a slight variation can ruin it. I don't make cakes often enough nor have the time to be experimenting. I just do tried and true recipes... and nothing like subbing fake coffee creamers for milk, etc.... Just the way it's made...

and I'll third the nomination for the Cake Bible. I just made a chocolate cake from there and it worked PERFECTLY and was quite yummy! yay!

Melissa

my comments may get lost this far down the line on this subject....but I felt I had to put my opinion in. I bake from scratch because I take real pride in the fact I can make a cake without the assistance of all of those additives. I personally feel a box mix has way too much sugar in it, then when you add a pudding mix, you are just adding more sugar to it. I like a cake which is not overly sweet, then you can eat it with buttercream icing and the icing doesn't seem so sweet. Even I like a ding-dong occasionally, if I am needing a real sugar rush. As a nice dessert I wouldn't even consider it. The self satisfaction I get from baking is my main reason though. I would never paint a, picture by number, even though the end results may or may not look better than what I could do free hand. I agree with everyone else who said they like the feeling of having complete control over the recipe and it's results. Box bakers...I have no problem with what you do, it just isn't for me.

I think that's part of it too, I can take more pride in it if I know "I" did it, not some paint by number kit. And I'm right there with ya on the too sweet. I tried the creamers once and ACK GAG!!! It is pure liquid sugar full of artificial everything... I threw it away - didn't even use it in a cake, it just seemed WRONG (to me). Same reason I won't put salt in buttercream, faking the palate that it's not as sweet is not good enough for me, that's just adding MORE bad stuff to the cake, so I'm still trying to find a less sweet buttercream that I like that is NATURAL... I haven't tried French buttercream yet, that's next.

Melissa

I found that when using mixes that I get large airbubbles too. It just started, so I am not sure what's going on. I am definitely going to try some of the receipes that are on the website.

I just posted a tutorial on scratch cakes if anyone is interested

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-365153-0.html

I am a conflict within myself. I make a lot of foods from scratch that my kids just luv .... chicken-n-dumplings, my triple chocolate chip fudge brownies ..... all (ALL!) of my cookies are scratch! In the cookie dept, I am a scratch-baker-snob, so I really do understand the pride our scratch bakers express here and in their baked creations.

On the flip side, ever since I was a kid, I was very confused over the idea that anything handmade or made from scratch was automatically better. My observations were that handmade items by people who don't have the skill are ugly. Most "made from scratch" baked goods I was exposed to tasted, bluntly, like total crap.

(My ex always proclaimed how his aunt made the BEST "homemade" apple pie. First (and only) time I tasted it, I about gagged! IT was the worst thing I'd ever had in my mouth! But everyone thought since it was "homemade" it HAD to be better! And it wasn't like I'd always had frozen pies .... my mom was a TERRIBLE cook and her apple pies were WAY better than this stuff he forced me to eat from his aunt!)

I've tried scratch cakes. I've tried doctored mixes. They don't work for me. They fail my taste-testers miserably. I agree that you can taste the difference between scratch and mix ...... I've never tasted a scratch cake that I wanted to take a 2nd bite of. I agree with marthajo1 about the texture .... I always described it as "rough".

I learned from CCers to sift the cake mix. Wow! What a difference!

To me, a boxed commercial mix is MORE stable because its always consistent. And theyve held together for me for over 25 years. Never had one fall, break or crumble apart.

So from someone who works both sides of the fence, my preference is "Premeasured dry ingredient" cakes ..... cookies from scratch ......

I'm a homebaker. I used to do the mix thing as it just goes a lot quicker. I'm working full day and can only start my work after 20h00 when the babies are sleeping. So it worked for me. Then I found that scratch is cheeper and so is the profit, although it takes some time. I also bought ready sheet cakes at ta bakery Which was farely priced and nice. But now i only go that route when i'm in a fix and the time is against me. But i till have to order 24 hours in advance though and i get home too late to still catch the store open.

so i go scratch mostely and will never chop off fingers for people doing the mix-thing. I still used the mix for cupcakes, but now i got hold of an easy recipe and that is scratch as well.

All you people who bake from scratch: Are all your recipes in cake central's recipe section?

I'm a pastry chef and I do scratch 100% of the time. I think boxed anything tastes like chemicals. Scratch baking is what sets me apart from the bakeries in town, and its what causes brides to book me a 9-12 months in advance. Not kidding. Also I have large volume scratch recipes from culinary school that were tried and true when I got them.

i use the box mix because to me it saves time and cost, i figure that you can buy assortments of flavors for .88 cents each, they taste great i always get complaments on how good my cakes taste! i havent tried to make a cake from scratch so i cant say which could be better im sure its all about personal preference.

I use mixes first for cost thing, then an ease thing. I have had a hard time getting a scratch cake to turn out with as good of flavor and texture a mix.

I have a good chocolate cake recipe, but it is so much more work than the mix and I havn't found a good white recipe (way too much work with whipping egg whites separately, epsecially with one mixer and one bowl.)

Stephanie

I did make ONE box recipe recently - I made the litter box cake as described in the directions and it is true, box cakes are fast and easy, but... I could tell it was fake, but in a hurry, it's nice to have choices!

melissa