I've been taking cake decorating classes with the same women and we've been having quite interesting discussions about making scratch cakes (which I do using the Toba Garrett, DeDe Wilson & Elisa Strauss books) versus using Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker. I have made a few cakes with the mixes but when I got those books, I started doing them from scratch. The only reason I bring this up is because I remember a few weddings I attended where a friend or family member had done the cake and it was obviously from a mix as everyone seemed to mention this fact. I was just curious as to what others did. I would like to get into the cake business myself and was wondering what others thought.

This is a whole can of worms that's not good to open.

Some people say you should only use scratch, others say if you use a mix it should be doctored and others just use plain mix. Do what you feel best with and don't worry about what others are doing since there isn't any one "right" way.

haha i was just gonna say that i could actually hear the freshness seal popping as the can of worms was opened. Yes, it is a huge, emotional debate here on cc and there are plenty of posts to search and read the drama. (ill answer your actual question in a pm)

Oh man, I'm just happy when someone offers me cake.

Pesonal preferences are what makes the world go round or else we'd all be eating a complete food kibble (like our furry friends).

Marketing is a big deal, about which I know next to nothing so can't help you there. Although I know that fresh made scratch; never frozen would command a premium price point.

Cake mixes are predicatable, reliable and convenient. And it's easy to determine how many you'll need for a project.

Cakes mixes can be doctored to improve flavor & texture. And since they contain preservatives, etc. they stay fresher a bit longer than scratch cakes using only natural ingredients.

Many people may have never had eaten anything but mix cakes since their use is prevalent both for home and professional use.

Scratch cakes depend on the skill of the baker, i.e. over or undermixing, etc. is a big deal in a scratch recipe.

Finding a reliable recipe that can be successfully duplicated countless times is crucial (for quality control).

Scratch cakes are a little more challenging to make in larger quantitites, as not all ingredients are simply multiplied by # of batches needed, i.e, leaveners.

Also because they contain no preservatives scratch cakes stale a little faster than mix cakes.

Which would I rather have; well scratch cake of course. (The crumb in the different types of scratch cakes is more pronounced than that of mix cakes.)

Which do I make for anything larger than an 8" round - doctored cake mixes. (I know the cakes will turn out great every time.)

What I have observed is that most people are familar with boxed mix cakes and are comfortable with that taste/texture.

But the FROSTING better be HOMEMADE!!!!!
(This also applies to scratch cakes.)

I also agree, there is no right or wrong. Do what works for you. (And you can switch back and forth for different flavors.)

Some taste-testing threads:
(Scratch vs. mix vs. doctored mix Cakes.)

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-253471-.html

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-320033-.html

Poll on homemade cakes:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-363963-.html

Making your own bulk cake mixes:

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-68583-.html

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-49589-.html

HTH

P.S. Why Scratch and Cake Mix Cakes Can't be Compared:
(It's like comparing apples to oranges.)

http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopict-102531-.html

I totally agree with Doug...Personally I use nothing but Duncan Hines...It is reliable, rises nice and everyone I make cakes for likes it...I often get the question...can I have ur cake recipe? LOL

Yeah, this is a big ole debate.....I personally use both, my french vanilla is doctored and my carrot & chocolate are from scratch. I think whatever works for you is what you should do and I don't see the point of debating it - to me, there is no 'wrong' and I rapidly lose patience when faced with people who insist their way is the only way

I do not use boxed mixes at all. (but I understand why other people do, they are convenient)

I make all my cakes, etc. myself because I'm very concerned with chemicals, ingredients, hydrogenated oils, etc... I also don't use any eggs or dairy in my cakes (because of allergies, etc).
My homemade cake recipes take less than 5 minutes to prepare- and I've found the boxed mixes cumbersome - maybe I'm just clumsy.

Personally, I don't think it matters as long as the taste stands up to the decorating. Everyone has to do what works for them.

thank you all. It got to be quite a heated discussion on Tuesday night. I have been doing scratch with these classes and really wanted to get an idea about what others do.

Yeah.. it does tend to get heated.. why i dont know. Im a scratch ONLY baker... not to knock box bakers many are quite talented with design. I have done the math and it seems to me that doctored mixes cost as much to prepare as scratch. Personally i can very easily id a box mix which to me have a chemically aftertaste. I guess it depends on how discenable your clientels pallets are. I would expect that if im paying 500bucks for a cake its not duncan hines. I dont like the wolf in sheeps clothing aspect it seems you offer a client because the average person expects a freshly baked scratch cake. otherwise why would they inquire and why do people feel the need to explain its yes or no not i add this and that etc. Ok now that all of you are mad.... I gotta go.

I don't think the average Joe can tell the difference. Only us cake "snobs" really seem to be able to tell between box and scratch mixes. LOL!

I think everyone should try both. I was going to only do scratch, then realized that DH was a pretty darn good cake. It depends on what the customer wants. One of my son's favorite cakes is from "The Cake Mix Doctor" white chocolate cake. It's pretty yummy.

lol-cake snobs-hubby would agree with that. I am a scratch only baker. I was raised on boxes but for some reason after my first baby I started making only scratch recipes. Hubby bought 2 box mixes and a tub of frosting that's still sitting in our pantry because I REFUSE to make it! He say's it for an emergency but really, I can have a scratch cake mixed and in the oven almost as fast as I could box and I think it tastes better.
Not a thing wrong with boxes-like I said-raised on them, I know they taste good but I like mine better

Tubs of frosting, now to me those are the worst things ever invented. I remember when they used to have box frosting mixes and my mother (who never makes anything that doesn't come from a box) lamented the tub frosting and how she couldn't find box frosting anymore. Needless to say, she suddenly decided that the tubs weren't so bad afterall and couldn't understand why we all scraped the frosting off the cakes she made.

I bake from scratch only, I guess I am a snob because I can taste the difference. My customers started buying cakes from me because they are scratch. I used to be afraid to freeze cakes because I thought customers would be able to tell, but I found after I had a tasting in June, they couldn't. So now I am freezing cakes.

So I was thinking, maybe I will try a doctored cake recipe experiment on them to see if they could taste the difference. I have never made or eaten a doctored cake mix. It may be interesting to see if they could tell the difference.

tyty-let me know how that turns out, I'd be interested to see. I might do that too eventually, make a couple of small cakes using scratch, doctored box, and regular box to see how people rate it.

I liken these discussions similar to the debate of bottle vs. breast feeding...each side feels it near and dear to their heart. and it gets just as heated too!

I feel like Jan, whatever you like/do is fine...there is no right and wrong way..just as long as you and your customer are happy...it is between the two of you.

Personally I have used both doctored and scratch..depends who and what it is for...

It cracks me up that it becomes heated-it IS like the bottle vs. breast! This is kinda something we've been trying explain to our oldest daughter, fact vs. opinion:

fact-we all bake cakes
opinion-I think scratch cakes rock

It's like art-it's all subjective

No one complains when they buy a cake at the bakery or supermarket. What do they think they're getting? Mass producers always take the short cut.

I was using box mix...after trying scratch recipes...no turning back...