What A Disappointment!! Going Back To Box Mixes
Decorating By SweetDreams Updated 16 Sep 2006 , 2:49am by KlyKat
I am so disappointed! I had been trying to get away from just using a box mix for my cakes and have been trying the Cake Dr. receipes. They have really been a pain, so much thicker (not light and fluffy), they take a lot longer to bake and i have had problems with sinking on every cake that i have done since i changed to these recipes. To top it all off, my hubby just took a cake to work today (a paid order) for some co-workers birthdays (it was the white chocolate pound cake recipe) and i just got word that people did not think it was as good as my usual cakes (which were just box mixes with a little vanilla added) and that it tasted stale. I just baked it the other night and wrapped it immediately out of the oven like i normally do. It did seem like a more firm cake though.
My hubby says "stick to what brought me to the dance", so i guess i do not know what else to do but to go back to the box.
He gave me an example of how Coke had been making the same product for years and decided to change to a new cola as their regular and their sales plumited. Then they went back to their classic version which is what everyone was used to and liked in the first place and that is their biggest seller. He is basically saying to stick with what people like.
I guess you can not please everyone 
that's what I've been saying all along. The cake mix people have spent millions of dollars to perfect their recipes.
I am not arrogant enough to think that I can do better, plus I don't have the money nor the test market to play around trying to find a scratch recipe that works!
I do have a good one from school, but the flavors come from the simple syrup that we added! It was a p retty strong cake that handled very well...
But it wasn't as "sweet" as the mixes..
you can look it up, if it's still here under
"LIQUID SHORTENING VANILLA SPONGE CAKE" or somthing like that.
I doctor all of my cake mixes. People love my cakes. I have never heard that they are stale. They are so much more moist then the regular cake mix. It does take longer to bake though. I have never had a problem with the center falling.
I use the sour cream and pudding dr recipe. I stick with that no matter then flavor of cake.
I guess if you just feel comfortable with the cake mix then do that.
I was a tried and try scratch baker. but I recently found that just doing the extenders to BC makes a great cake! Plus, people just assume that you make cakes by scratch. I will not lie if asked, but what they do not know will not hurt them! Plus, cake mixes are so much more affordable.
I always keep a scratch recipe that works on hand though, if requested.
Stephanie
I have to say I am a fan of the box cake mix doctored up. I always add an extra egg and a tbsp more of oil and everyone brags on how moist they are. I have never had good luck with a scratch cake unless it is red velvet, italian creme or somthing like that. Duncan Hines, Betty Crocker, and Pilsbury aren't rich for nothing!!!!
You need to go with what works for you! I use the Squirrley cakes recipe for all of my cakes and have no problems. I can see it being very aggravating for you if they are not working out though (I feel that way about most scratch recipes! 
) Don't feel bad about it ~ just go with the flow and keep on baking! If the customer is happy, I am happy! 
I guess you can not please everyone
HEY!!! You WERE pleasing everyone!! YOU are the one that decided to change, in an honest attempt to deliver something even better to your customers than you already were. You tried it, it didn't work out as planned, and now you get to go back to doing what was easier (and cheaper!)....
What is wrong w/ ANY of that?? 
Don't beat yourself up, you're doing great!
I doctor the mixes too. My people think they're homemade.......Occasionally I do make a chocolate/oatmeal from scratch...and ALWAYS my carrot cakes are from scratch. I think that we're two generations into the cake mix "flavor".....and some people have never had homemade. They prefer what they're accustomed to. SAD FACT!
My scratch cakes are always heavier... and they require less leveling than the doctored cakes. I personally don't care for fluffy cake....I like it to be heavier. BUT HEY~ I'M OVER THE HILL....so I guess that explains that! LOL
My husband says the same thing!! I having been doing cakes for almost 20 years using mixes. In the last year or so I started "doctoring" them and people prefer the way I have always done. So like someone else said "if it ain't broke don't fix it!" I've had the same problem of the cakes sinking and I don't have time to rebake or like wasting the money to rebake!! I've been going to start a post about this, particularly for the ones of you who use the coffee mate. I have made them a couple of times and they do taste great but the last few I have made sank horribly. I don't want to use them with a big dip in the middle!! I would like to make them but be able to depend on them coming out!! Anyone have any suggestions on what I could be doing wrong?
TIA!
~luraleigh~
i agree, I've tried to make scratch cakes, and haven't been happy with the results, they are too thick....they taste good, but people aren't used to the texture. when I use my box mix, I get rave reveiws....so I've decided to stick with what works for me.
There are some cakes that i make from scratch - such as my marble chocolate chip pound cake, which comes out very moist and firm, but not too firm. All others i have learned to use the cake mix boxes, i said i learned to use because in beginning i used to feel guilty, until i too learned how to "doctor" the mix to make it my own + as said previously, it is so much more economical. For example, I can get the Duncan Hines cakes mixes for 82 cents at Wal-Mart - c'mon how can you beat that!! + With all the other little enhancing ingredients i add, everyone just loves them!!
Thank you all so much for the kind words you have given!!
I guess i just had this thought in my head that i should be doing something more to my cakes than just using a box mix. But you are right, it is more expensive when you start adding in all those extras, especially this last cake, i added in almost a pound of chopped white chocolate (merkins) among other stuff. And if after all that extra work and baking time, they do not like it or like it any better, why bother?
What does adding an extra egg do to a boxed mix?
I agree I started to doctor my mixes and just didn't like it. Found it to be heavy and take longer to bake. I do use extra large eggs to stablize the mix.
I just baked another yellow cake tonight and used a box mix with a 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp butter extract, substituted 1/2 of the water for milk and added 1 extra egg. I think i still got the same taste as when i was following the regular box add ins.
I don't know if it is just me and eating so many cake scraps but i taste a little bit of a funny taste with my Pils. box mix compared to the Cake Dr. recipes. I can not explain it but i notice a difference.
What do you all add to make the box mix taste go away (to make it more home made tasting?)
What ever works for you...
if that's what they like, then that's what you make for them.
I make either 100% scratch or 100% cake mix.. NO doctoring for me..
I do not like doctoring mixes ..
What ever works for you...
if that's what they like, then that's what you make for them.
I make either 100% scratch or 100% cake mix.. NO doctoring for me..
I do not like doctoring mixes
..
Same for me I only make scratch if requested not fond of a dry cake but if thats what they want thats what they get. No doctoring
I doctored on my own before I found this site...I would add mayonaise or butter or more vanilla...something my gramma did when I was little. But then when I found this site, I tried the cake extender and geez, the response I got was awesome. People thought it tasted like 'gourmet' cake...so I have used it since then. But ya know, its whatever works for you 
If your cakes are not baking properly whether scratch or box, please invest in an oven thermometer. You really cannot trust the temp on the dial. Once I bought one I realized that when my oven was set at 350 it was really anywhere between 325 and 375! It makes a huge difference in baking time and the end result.
It's just like biscuits. It's what you're used to. I have yet to find a biscuit recipe that I like. I'll stick with the canned biscuits from the store.
As for cakes, I did try the cake extender recipe and got rave reviews. But as far as completely from scratch ~ I'll stick with box mixes and/or doctor them.
Well, I'm going to do my first 'doctored' cake mixes for next weekend. I am going to try (yikes!) a vanilla and a chocolate with sour cream and pudding and marble them for a sheet cake birthday cake that I need to shape a bit into a roller skate.
Do you all who use the doctored mixes think that this will be dense enough to hold up? I am using an 11x15 sheet.
I have realized as well that the scratch cakes are more dense, which is better for me because I am new to this and not that great, they are more forgiving in my opinion and don't get all crumbly. I found a wonderful chocolate cake recipe, but I had to do 1 1/2 times to get the height that I wanted. It was super rich. So, since I'm not too much of a fan of chocolate cake, I was impressed, but definately needed 2 glasses of milk. It was delicious.
I think it is going to depend on my consumers. If it is all adults with a more discerning palate, I will probably go with scratch, but for kids and adults at a kid party, if I like the doctored mix (which it sounds like I will) then I will go with that. Like I would never use ganache for a kid party, but definately for adults.
I simply replace the oil with a stick of soft (not melted) butter for each box of mix. No other doctoring and my customers have always returned begging for more. 
heh heh I've got them under my cake spell! Although I am interested in trying out the cake extender. Then again, all this talk about not fixing what isn't broke has me rethinking that....
[quote="RisqueBusiness"]that's what I've been saying all along. The cake mix people have spent millions of dollars to perfect their recipes.
If they are so perfect why do so many people doctor them or alter them????
For the record I use scratch but I was a regular box user until I found the most wonderful scratch recipes. Now I would never go back. That being said though, the box mixes I did use were delicious so I think its just a matter of preference and what works for the individual.
If the box was working for you and you were getting great reviews, I would go back to that.
K
I use the recipes on this site.. I have always had great results with them and everyone loves them .
http://www.earlenescakes.com/recipes.htm
Liz
I just baked another yellow cake tonight and used a box mix with a 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1/2 tsp butter extract, substituted 1/2 of the water for milk and added 1 extra egg. I think i still got the same taste as when i was following the regular box add ins.
I don't know if it is just me and eating so many cake scraps but i taste a little bit of a funny taste with my Pils. box mix compared to the Cake Dr. recipes. I can not explain it but i notice a difference.
What do you all add to make the box mix taste go away (to make it more home made tasting?)
I have substituted orange or pineapple juice for the water before. Added applesauce in place of the oil. Out of all the flavors to add, Almond has to be my favorite. K'ly ^,,^
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