the only scratch cake I make is a Miracle Whip cake. The rest are box mix. I figure I mix it, I bake it, I doctor it a bit, I clean up after it, and it is a secret family recipe handed down from my Uncle Duncan, or Aunt Betty (depending on who is on sale that week)....SO therefore, it is a homemade cake.
I had one person, a self described cake snob, swear that she could tell the difference between scratch and box and she said mine were definitely a scratch mix. I never told her any different.

as far as the comments about the mixes consisting of chemicals etc, i just wanted to say that using bleached flour and iron filled baking powders ,cant be that much better then using a box mix (unless you are truly using organic ingredients its all the same as far as health is concerned) like i said before its all about personal pref , i dont eat a lot of scratch cakes but the one i have tried i didnt like, i can say that i can tell the differance between a cake bought from the grocery store and a cake made out of A box and i definitly dont like cakes bought from the store, now those are some dry cakes!!! so i know that some people feel the same way i do about grocery store cakes as they do about boxed mixes. or should i dare bring up the age old question coke or pepsi?

I use all box mixes except for my carrot cake and that is probably because I have a good recipe for carrot cake. I've had a lot of compliments on my cakes and I've had people assume they are made from scratch.

For me its more a matter of time than money. The carrot cake I make from scratch takes a lot of time. I'd rather spend my time decorating the cake rather than baking it.

I would say that if I had a good, consistent scratch recipe that I knew would work everytime, I'd probably bake from scratch. But right now, I don't have the time to find that recipe.

I use box cakes unless someone request a carrot cake or strawberry cake or any other special cake but the classic white or yellow cake even a chocolate cake come from my favorite box cake (pilsbury) it is a soft fluffy cake that all the people that keep coming back enjoy. But i do doctor up a little with extra flavoring and a lil egg white powder to get a little stiffer to work with.

ok so this might start a riot but i have nver been able to taste the difference between organic, cage-free, all the ther crazy stuff compared to the normal eggs i buy in the grocery store or anything else labeled organic for that matter

There's this lady (who's been baking for 100yrs) that I work with that makes all her cakes from scratch. She's brought multiple cakes to work and all have tasted very dry. Since I've taken up the hobby of cake decorating, I've taken quite a few "practice" cakes to work. All my cakes have been doctored mixes, & I've had several compliments on how much better my cake tastes. Everyone assumes that they are scratch. I know there's some excellent scratch bakers and I would love to have their recipes (please share). I would love to have some great recipes that I could get consistent results. I do make some non-decorated cakes from scratch (pound, carrot, red velvet), but those cakes don't get decorated.
My 2 cents on using all organic ingredients:
I would love to do this, but buying organic is very expensive, and customers here are not willing to pay extra for a cake that they think is already too expensive. Heck, I would love to eat organic myself, but I can't afford it!

If your scratch cakes are dry, it just means you don't know how to make a scratch cake. If you don't care to learn, that's fine, as my grandfather used to say " there's a butt for every chair".

In fact, I am so offended , I am challenging all you box bakers to a throwdown. You can choose the venue. I'll put any of my recipes up to the challenge and I'll write a $200 check to your favorite charity if your cake beats my cake in a fairly judged taste test.

Yeah, txkat, it sounds like some overbaking going on.

Also I use a wash on my cakes . . .

I had always been a scratch girl until this past year and then I started really decorating and using mixes for my practice cakes (at the recommendation of my cake teacher).
I can understand the ease and quickness of doing a doctered mix when you are practicing!!!
I still prefer my scratch cakes, they just have a better moistness and flavor....but will grab a mix when in need. I have nothing bad to say about either one ! I just love cake!!!

[quote="txkat"]If your scratch cakes are dry, it just means you don't know how to make a scratch cake. If you don't care to learn, that's fine, as my grandfather used to say " there's a butt for every chair".
quote]

I am so glad someone had the nerves to say this.
If your happy with your box cake ...that great!
But don't bring down some of us that can actually bake one.......

I always make my cakes from scratch. I have modified other recipes, or developed my own. I've never had a complaint about any of my cakes. I just did my first Red Velvet about a month ago for someone, and was so nervous about it, but the girl said it was the BEST Red Velvet cake she'd ever had. Wow...haha. Talk about luck...

On a side note, some person I have never even met contacted me to do cakes for a banquet for 8- people in October. She had heard from someone else that my cakes were the best they ever tasted, and she loved my decorations. I was just really surprised, and very relieved that my trials and errors with different recipes and variations of them paid off.

However, I made cake-mix brownies with my brother a few weeks ago...and they were SO GOOD.

Finally got through this thread and so much to comment on but surely nobody's reading anymore.

Scratch baker here too and I don't eat no dry cakes. And they sure don't feel like cornbread!

The key to a good scratch cake is in the mixing, you just can't treat them the same as box mixes which are very forgiving. You can add extra ingredients or overbeat mixes and they will come out just fine. Do that to a scratch cake and you will have a sunken middle mess.

And if you really want to try scratch baking, I'd HIGHLY suggest getting a scale - a Baker's scale at that. Baking is such an exact science. Weighing the ingredients can be very helpful.

I see many requests for recipes but haven't seen any yet so I'll suggest a couple that I love.

I tried this chocolate cake for the first time Father's Day weekend for my dad's chocolate cake. I paired it with a caramel filling and the whipped cream icing from this site (also used for the first time) - it was heavenly. It's from allrecipes.com and what I love about that site is that others who've tried the recipes rate and review them and give their suggestions/feedback. So I look for the high rated ones and pour through the feedback before I even attempt one. The main thing with this recipe was to add more chocolate, double or triple the amount.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fabulous-Fudge-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx

I also like the Hershey's one found on the back of the hershey's chocolate canister.

For white cake, I like one in The Cake Bible and also the Classic White Cake II here on this site. I use that as a base for others too. (lemon, orange, coconut, etc.)

May the scratch cake goddess look down upon any of you who attempt another scratch!

I think one of the problems I have with following the directions exactly like people keep telling us to do is how can you follow imprecise directions exactly!

For example, Say it tells me to mix on low speed- what does that mean...are they talking hand held low or KA low... it low 2 on my KA or 'stir'? I am serious you guys! I am not mocking you! I go through this dilema every time! Even when I make frosting!.........It is very frustrating......

And people keep telling me here and other threads.....weight stuff.....well most recipes don't give weights.......what then.........?

I definitely need more practice on scratch cakes. Made one a couple of weeks ago for practice (toba's basic yellow cake), came out great! So then I made it for my nephew's grauation cake.......came out way too dense even though it was baked exactly the same way. Tasted good but was very unhappy with the texture. Still don't know what I did wrong (from reading on this site, maybe mixed too long?) and was extremely disappointed with myself. Still loved the taste and texture I got with that cake the first time. One of these days will have to try again!

deb

My understanding is that most recipes from books are assuming people are making cakes using a handmixer, so you need to think handmixer when making them. So, low handmixer means "what" on your big mixer.

In all honesty, just for ease of clean-up, I almost ALWAYS use my KA handmixer for making the cake. I leave the big mixer for the buttercream, bread dough and the like - things that are actually hard or difficult to do with a hand mixer. (My mixer is the Electrolux assistent).

Melissa

And just for the record, all liquids are not the same weight and volume. There are only four products where weight = volume. That means when you measure whole eggs, whole milk, whole butter or water then 8 ounces is 8 ounces whether you measure by volume or weigh it. All other liquids are slightly different--egg whites versus egg yolks, clarified butter versus whole butter, etc.

I weigh all ingredients. The very few "home" types recipes I use I converted first thing. One of the things about weighing that makes it easier for me is that I can weigh out ingredients in my mixer bowl and have a few less things to wash.

And for really large scale recipes, you'd go nuts measuring by cups. For example last night, I weighed out 7.5 pounds of sugar, over 6 pounds of cake flour, 4 ounces of baking powder, etc. for cake batter that I'll mix up today.

Keys to a great scratch cake:
1. Measure accurately; regardless of whether you're using weight or volume.
2. Allow milk, eggs and butter to come to room temperature. If I haven't planned ahead then I just microwave the milk for 40 seconds (then add the vanilla to the milk), place the eggs into some hot tap water for about 5 minutes, and microwave the butter for 35 seconds on power level 1.
3. Cream the butter well before adding anything, then slowly add the sugar. Cream the two for at least 3 minutes and up to 5. You really can't overbeat it at this point.
4. Beat the eggs in one at a time and beat well after each addition.
5. Add the pre-mixed dry ingredients, in two parts, alternately with the milk, beating each until well incorporated.

Find a recipe that you think is close to what you're trying to achieve and then work with it. I always use a tablespoon of white vinegar in the milk to make it sour. I also use high quality (King Arthur or Robin Hood) unbleached flour, whole milk, and large eggs. I can tell the difference if I run out of the good flour and have to use something else. Another way to moisten a scratch cake is to add a small box of a complimentary flavor of instant pudding.

These are the basics that I swear by and I am told repeatedly that my cakes are best.

Good luck!