What do you do and who has a great chocolate cake homemade recipe they would like to share??

I plan to do a stacked wedding cake and would like the best recipe for that kind of cake.

Someone on CC posted this and I want to try it. They claim it's fantastic.

http://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipes/detail.asp?id=184&page=1&per=10&keyword=perfectly%20chocolate

try the hershey's recipe its on the back of the can.

This has been discussed several times on this site and every time the verdict has been the same.
The majority of people prefere box, they are more predictable than scratch.
They are also more moist than scratch.

I always use box, then extend with pudding, sour cream, flour, sugar and an extra egg (as described in the recipe section on CC).

I ALWAYS get rave reviews, and the cakes are sturdy enough to stack, and seem to stay moist and delicious forever.

I completely disagree - I only make my cakes from scratch. I among my friends that own shops - all bake from scratch. We weigh everything and my recipes, as theirs are always reliable. If anyone tells you that scratch cakes aren't reliable then they don't know how to measure their ingredients correctly. Incorrect measuring is the ONLY reason that your cake would be different. If you bake from a box - or scratch - the same factors effect both products the same - such as heat, humidity, etc.
I say do what you are best at, and have the right equipment for. If you don't have the right equipment your cake won't be the same. I would be more than happy to share my scratch recipes with you.

the choc cake recipe on here called fudge layer cake or something to that effect is awesome. it is a scratch recipe. i love it. i am using it from now on. i prefer scratch cakes to box cakes...the flavour is nicer to me. i can taste a box cake anytime. i love the ease of a box cake though..my dad sometimes buys them and asks me to make them for him.

when deciding home made verses scratch my biggest determining factor will be longevity and storage options. a box mix is full of preservatives and will stay fresh on a counter longer... but it is full of preservatives (LOL) and some people hate that. all personal preference

I do both. It is more expensive for me to do scratch...therefore those cakes should be priced higher than the box cakes. I charge the same for them. Simplifies things....but I don't make as much on the scratch cakes....and the market where I am located won't allow much of a price increase.

For some reason I always make it from scratch, I always thought it was better then box. I don't think I've had a box cake in years, maybe I should switch to simplify things. Do customers care if you guys use box, or do they even realize it?

But the Hershey's one is yummy and moist, I posted that thread the other day. Ikeep forgetting thats on the back of the can.

I personally think that there is no comparison between scratch and box. Scratch is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. BUT.....unfortunately, we have evolved into a cake eating society raised on box cakes. That "box" taste is all that many people know....and it's what they like. Sad...but true.
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I like both, as long as the boxed cake is doctored.

i love my cake doctor book!

I think that Phoov is right, people seem to think that a cake should taste like a boxed mix cake, rather than taste of the butter and eggs that you would normally use to bake in a cake. I've found that it is much different here in the UK, and you would never get away with selling a boxed cake mix cake as a home made cake. If a customer found out they would probably inform Trading Standards!

I've been thinking about something else related to box cakes recently in regards to continuing moves towards the ingredients of a product having to be clearly stated. If it became a legal requirement for selling a cake, would you list all of the ingredients of your box mix?

I always go scratch, but I am a baker first and a decorator second (actually just learning the decorating part). I disagree that scratch baking is unpredictable and that scratch cakes are not moist. POORLY mixed and baked scratch cakes are unpredictable and dry, it's not the rule.

I do agree with tracy702, go with what you're best at and what your customers expect.

Amber

I've always used boxed mixes for my cakes. It's just what I've always known.I have enhanced them since coming to this site and have been happy with the results. I've never had a customer ask me if I baked from scratch and I have always gotten wonderful comments on my cakes. To me that means my cake tasted great all around. If my customers are delighted with what I do that's what counts and it's what brings them back. It's the same for you if you do only scratch. I don't think mine are inferior to others because I use a mix or yours are superior because you don't.

I wish I'd grown up with a great baker in the family, someone to teach me but I didn't. My biggest disappointment when I, a CA girl, got married and moved to a farm in Kansas was that I thought his mom and certainly grandma would reallt teach me to cook and bake. NOT! His mom is an awful cook and his grandma was tired of cooking by then, and what she did show me wasn't anything special. Soo I am self taught and here I am, just trying to learn the best I can.

No offence anyone but I do get tired of this subject. Seems like there's always someone who wants to put down someone who does it different from them. If what you do and the way you do it is working for you then that's great. I'd be happy to sample your cakes anytime because I love good cake no matter who makes it.

This topic comes up again and again. If you have been born and bred on scratch you will never eat a box cake / my children only need to look at a cake and they no whether to stay right away from it.......This is a family of home cooked food every night from scratch so even pre cooked supermarket foods taste like nothing. I did an experiment with them and kept quiet....when I started on this site I thought why does everyone make box so I went and bought a chocolate cake Box.......my children did not like it.....a box you can taste an after taste which is artificial....and I promise you my children can tell with any cake if it is home made or packet....The only bonus I see with a box is the moistness unachievable with a scratch...and sitting around the oil almost oozes from it..Once again it is all down to what we ourselves were given...Packet mash potato just the thought for me is outrageous but obviously there are people out there eating it...

Thanks for the Hershey's perfectly choc. choc. cake from the site mentioned above. It looks like a great recipe. Lately the Duncan Hines Mixes have disappointed me and I am really ready to try something new!

I am right there with you CarolAnn. I am a baker AND a decorater, and I use BOX mixes.

I have baked for years. I have done the scratch thing - MANY times. And, they are unpredictable.....and I have a good scale, and a good oven. There are just a LOT of variables to a scratch cake. Do a search and you can see the problems that people have.

There are some recipes that I only make from scratch but 98% of my cakes start from a mix. IF you can make a scratch cake and have good results consistently - GREAT! But many folks choose to bake with a mix as a base, and there is nothing wrong with that either.

Do what works for you!

I've done both and I like both, but the cake mix doctor has taken mixes to a new level. I did a birthday cake for a party and make the cmd fluffy yellow cake, I did it for a friend who says that she only likes scratch cake and does not like mixes and she could not tell the difference. They both have their merits, experiment and do what works for you.

I have worked with both many times and I find I get much better results and taste with box mixes. Also the reviews that I have gotten from other people, they much prefer the box cakes to the scratch cakes.

I do both, but really prefer to feed myself (and my friends and family) foods that contain only things my grandmother would recognize as food. That means scratch.

I do both also. I always doctor my mixes. I ask the client what they were raised on and what they prefer. I've had good luck with my method so far....but I honestly haven't had a ton of experience either.

I recently got another booking off of a mix cake that I did as a birthday gift to a friend (and he's a guy) with the strawberry refrigerator cake on the side of the DH strawberry cake mix....it even has Cool Whip and pudding mix in it!!! I am a TRUE believer in using ONLY homemade whipped cream, but even cool whip has it's place. Some customers really love the artificial flavors better than my favorite homemade natural ones!

If my customers seem like their main object is a cool looking cake and then they throw in "Oh make it yellow" then I use box mix. I end up adding pudding alot of times and extra vanilla and they usually turn out pretty moist and yummy (I had a chocolate one the other day that didn't seem as good as usual though...). The customers are usually more than satisfied...actually sometimes I'm afraid to switch because I'm afraid they'll be disappointed!

I'm slowly getting a few reliable scratch recipes though that I will use if my main object is alot of flavor. It is more expensive though too, and more time consuming, so I usually use them only if the customer specifies they want a really rich flavored cake, or other requests...or if special allergy needs.

I also have two icing recipes I use...the regular buttercream for most of my kids cakes...and a non-crusting buttercream I like to use for weddings or if a customer requests a light icing.

I agree with Derby, I use scratch and Dr. boxed mixes. So many people grew up on box that they prefer to eat it, i prefer scratch myself but even I have been fooled by 2 really good and disguised cake mixes.....that's why I started using them, if they can fool me with that artifical taste than they must be doing something right.

Sometimes I feel guilty when people rave about my "boxed" cakes... one even said "Now THATS what a cake SHOULD taste like!!!" I about blushed. haha.

I think the "pound cake" recipe on the side of the DH mixes (where you add the boxed pudding and extra egg) makes it really good.

AMEN!! Tracy702. Sratch cakes get a bad wrap sometimes on this site. I always hear that scratch cakes are dry. Well my cakes aren't dry. I've been making scratch for years and to me they do taste better. But I do doctor up a DH mix to make the White almond sour cream cake. The only other one that taste closest to homemade is the DH Golden butter recipe. I agree, Do what you do best.