http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/twinkies.asp

You know what? I really don't care what you or anyone else in here makes, and yes, I admit, I believe it takes much more skill to pull off a scratch cake...and how is that demeaning or insulting? It is what it is...FACT!

And I fully support FromScratch's tagline of if ain't scratched, fix it! Does that personally offend you? How thin skinned.

And by supporting FromScratch's tagline, what I mean is I support her writing whatever the heck she wants, just like whatever the heck anyone wants to put in theirs is not something that will rile me up!

Wow...am I being punked? Ashton? Where are you??

I didn't tell you to fix anything. Neither did anyone else. If you want to read into someones tagline as a direct assault at you....I can't help it.

[quote="Cakemom777"]
Also, to Dkelly, who is obviously fed up with us who think there is a stigma...but you can see no implied stigma from scratch bakers....maybe you can look at a post like this and see where this whole debate comes from. Maybe you are just sick of the debate...and I can feel your pain. It is old. But it will continue until either Webster changes the definition of "from scratch" or the laws are changed to make sure what we can call "From scratch". I am sorry that it angers you that some people are really...in reality...as in real life...looked down on. Their ingredients, and their methods....because of an additional ingredient. If the addition or omission of that additional ingredient makes it less or more worthy of pride no matter what the outcome....then the fight will continue./quote]

You're right I am fed up with this *debate*, ya know what I'm most fed up with? The people who are trying to change the definition of baking from scratch.

For thousands of years woman have baked cakes, breads, cookies etc., with ingredients that they have in their pantries........eggs, flour, sugar, milk, etc.

Now a few people on here want to take something that started out so simple and turn it into a huge farce.

Everyone on this site knows the meaning of scratch baking, it's too bad a few are trying to *brainwash* us with their distorted thoughts.

Personally I'm sick and tired of having to defend my preference for being a scratch only baker. I've been told that unless I raise my own chickens for eggs, and milk my own cows, and grow my own wheat that my products are NOT in fact "from scratch".

Maybe I'm TIRED of being "looked down on" by all of the mix bakers here. Did you ever think of it that way?

And did you notice, I make WASC every once in awhile...so, ummm, I am not a box mix hater.

Y'know what, Indy, from a marketing standpoint if someone says they're all scratch --that's a good tagline. I think it perpetuates the myth but to each their own. Because baking "from scratch" is the perceived gold standard of baking. (But apparently not if you add stabilizer <insert rolling eyes smilie face> but I digress)

If someone says they bake from a mix it's not a good marketing concept at all, it is a negative. "Well they don't bake from scratch but I tasted their cake and it was great. It was good but it's a mix." There's a put down even though they get their due for a good cake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So all that to say from a marketing sense if I am dead on asked if I use mixes or scratch I use my own judgement as to how I answer. Sometimes I would say yes and explain the theory and sometimes I don't give a direct answer if I feel it's to my advantage not to. I sure as shootin' will not voluntarily open Pandora's box--no thank you.

The thing that I find the most interesting in that Twinkie article on snopes is that someone actually took the time to explode a Twinkie in a microwave, then report how long it took. What the heck??

Obviously it takes a lot of skill to create a delicious cake from scratch. This is a skill I in no way posess! I have followed recipes from the Cake Bible and they have tasted like, well, tasteless, dry, sawdusty and very expensive hunks of junk. I CANNOT BAKE! I felt jealous of those who could. However, I thought about it for a while and I realized that if you owned a bakery or a cake shop, whatever, the person who decorated the cakes, didn't neccessarily bake them. In other words, their partner, employee, etc, could be the baker. Does that make the decorator less worthy? My love for caking is really the decorating part. Of course I want my cakes to taste great. I think the box mixes give consistant results. Guests in my home who eat my cakes rave about them, I have never felt the need to mention they are boxed cakes because they are not paying me! I may be wrong, but most people do not eat cake for Health Reasons, they have cakes as a means of celebrating. Box Mix vs. Scratch is really just about preference. It does not diminish skill as a decorator in any way shape or form. A scratch bakers cakes could taste great and look sloppy! I do not agree that the box mix stigma comes from box mix bakers. I do think those who can bake feel superior. They are not better decorators neccesarily. So they should ony feel superior in that they can bake! I happen to be a great cook! Can't bake. I am working on becomming a good decorator. People love the cakes I have done. They will love yours too! I agree that BJ's Costo, etc, cakes taste good and a lot of people are used to the taste of them so they will not think twice about it if you use those kinds of cakes. How many parties have you been to with a BJ's cake? I have been to tons and people always say how good the cake is. People are not used to scratch layer cakes anymore. I think things like bundt cakes and crumb cakes, yes, but straight up layer cakes, not so much. I don't know many people these days who make scratch layer cakes, so people don't expect the texture and taste when they do have it! Don't stress it, keep decorating!! Don't let other opinions affect you! If your customers are happy and keep coming, that is all that counts! Do you go out to dinner and ask if anything they make or sell I should say, has emulsifiers, stabilizers or preservatives?!! I know I don't! But then again, I am not a health nut!

Sorry this is long but man, sometimes ya gotta vent!

One of my kids in my middle-school cake club did a totally exact-on peep in gumpaste. It was hilariously inspiring.

Go to www.peepresearch.org to see how the internet is making us all more educated. The scary thing is that Peeps apparently don't even dissolve in acid!?!?!?

Most of my friends buy a premade cake and then decorate it. I'd rather do that too. None of them would have a problem with buying a cake from you under those circumstances - it's the decorating that's the really hard part in all their opinions. Well it's also really hard to bake a great cake too so most of us like the prebought stuff since you know they'll cook it right everytime and you don't have to spend a fortune of ingredients that you totally spoil. Obviously, I just do it for a hobby. But like I said, none of my friends would object at all to the service you offer. We just buy uninced sheet cakes from our department store then carve, cut and/or stack them, ice them and decorate! In fact so many people here do it, that last year they suddenly uped their price 10 fold because we'll all still pay it rather than having to bake the cake ourselves.

Sorry, meant to say in the end that I think your business idea is great and I think you can experience a lot of success. Go for it!

Sorry, meant to say in the end that I think your business idea is great and I think you can experience a lot of success. Go for it!

ROTFL!!! Just have to giggle because judging from the responses to my post, it just proves that no matter what you say, someone will find anything, the one thing, that could be deemed insulting and jump on it! Ya know, sometimes when you write an long

post, without pressing

enter

you get jumbled and write something incorrectly

like the comment about scratch bakers feeling superior.


meant to say, that most, not all, ( lest I be insulting again) scratch bakers think that their products are superior, not neccesarily that they are superior themselves. oops forgot to press

enter

and I do apologize for suggesting that they felt superior

but i think the person who thinks that a cake decorator who uses mixes is a less skilled DECORATOR is wrong. Plain and simple. I have seen plenty of cakes on here made by people who scratch bake and the cakes are ugly and sloppy. And I have seen cakes on here by people who used mixes and their cakes are AMAZING looking. ooops

enter

Well chrissypie I would make the assumption that each individual baker (whether mix or scratch), thinks that their product is superior to their competition.

I mean why would any of us not want our product to be superior in this business?

Beauty and taste are in the eye/mouth of the beholder.

As far as your comment and I quote

" i think the person who thinks that a cake decorator who uses mixes is a less skilled DECORATOR is wrong. Plain and simple. I have seen plenty of cakes on here made by people who scratch bake and the cakes are ugly and sloppy. And I have seen cakes on here by people who used mixes and their cakes are AMAZING looking. ooops"

I'm not sure how you can tell from a picture in the galleries if the cake was made from scratch or not, but there are many different members here with many different skill levels. I personally haven't seen any ugly or sloppy cakes and it's wrong to insult or demean anyone's hard work.
Please, let's not go there.


Oh, and we all thank you for the spacing.


edited to fix my horrific punctuation

I so wish that I wasn't up at 1am waiting for my cakes to finish baking. I am going to dream tonight of the day when someone else can do this for me! good luck with your business!

Hello....
I don't know about any of you, but with this site being worked on, things are still messed up for me. For instance, I get on a page to a thread, and the names of the people who are posting, are covered up with advertisements.....I for one can't wait until this mess is done.
So...What has this got to do with anything? I can't read the name of the poster who stated that she is tired of ALL the mix bakers critisizing (how is that spelled!?) her because she's a scratch baker.....
Just want to say....Not ALL of us do that....I am a mix baker, because I posted back about five pages ago that I have tried scratch, and my cakes taste like sawdust!
I wish someone from around here who knows how to do it, could help me figure out what I am doing wrong. Maybe one of you scratch bakers would have some ideas? I would love to know how to do it both ways....And yes, I do tell my customers up front that I bake from mix. I have not, nor will I pretend I offer something that I don't. My cake mix business is exploding by the way......Yay!!!

I must say that I was a little surprised at some of the strong comments/conflicts that I read. I hope slopokesgirl has been able to get some answers to her questions.

I am a wonderful cook and baker, trait passed down from family. I too love being in the kitchen. I love the expression on faces when someone eats what I have prepared. My Sunday School class is a prime example of that.

I use scratch and I use mixes. I also had a cake disaster and bought a frozen baked uniced cake from a local grocer with a bakery to repair the cake just hours before the event. As long as your customer is happy it all works.

slopokesgirl has to do what she has to do to get her business up and going until she can do different. My state does not allow home based bakeries, therefore, I can understand what you are going through. Luckily I have another job and do cakes on the side as hobby working towards more.

Well thank you! I will most definately try this recipe! I would love to be able to do it. I could use mixes when I need to, and the rest of the time do a scratch! YAAAAY......Hopefully this next attempt won't have my brother saying "It was so dry, it reminded me of standing in the middle of a sandstorm with my mouth open"