Would this mix work?
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Home_Baking/Betty_Crocker_Chocolate_Swirl_Cake_Mix_500g.html
I don't have access to a plain yellow cake mix in the UK. It's either that one, the BC Devils Food cake or BC Carrot cake.
Also, on all my cakes I use ganache. What should I use for a competition cake? I need something that hardens up. I can't cover cakes with fondant if I use buttercream (far too soft), so any suggestions would be great! Need to keep this a cheap as possible.
The rules for the competition that I want to enter are that everything must be edible. No artificial decoration of any kind. I actually made a thread, if anyone can help with my other questions?
http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=7107912#7107912
I looked through your link, and rather than messing around with a chocolate swirl cake mix, I'd use the Sainsbury vanilla celebration cake mix for this. Its cheaper than the BC mix too. Have you tried the British Sugar Guild message board for cake competion advice? They should have all the do's and don'ts you need to know.
British Sugar Guild link. Best of luck!
http://www.bsguk.org/
When filling the pan do you use the normal amount? Does it rise?
Thanks
For competition cakes and for sculpted display cakes I usually use pound cake mix. It's very firm and effective. I usually use water and eggs and follow the recipe on the back and over mix it. Add another cut of flour for extra sturdiness. The beauty of it is that you can bake tall layers. 3 inch high cake layers!
Thank You, I didn't know if the UK mixes would be the same as US because of the differences in Victoria Sponges and things like that.
They probably don't have the same ingredients but with both being box mixes, you don't usually have to worry about them not rising. I tried to find the ingredient list for the Sainsbury to compare, but theres no information provided. I went by the gram amount in each mix instead. Sainsbury vanilla mix is 550 grams whereas BC is 500 grams so not much difference in the two except price. The other UK mixes available were much less in gram amount so not much help unless you buy two of them.
Just my opinion but I'd experiment with the Sainsbury mix first to see how it works in the form cake recipe as its the cheapest. That way you won't feel you wasted too much money if it doesn't work out.
I saw these ones too
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Home_Baking/Sainsburys_Basics_Sponge_Mix_225g.html
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Home_Baking/Wrights_Madeira_Cake_Mix_500g.html
They're both cheaper than the other sainsbury mix, do you think that the first one would work too, it's the "value" brand?
I saw these ones too
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Home_Baking/Sainsburys_Basics_Sponge_Mix_225g.html
http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/sainsburys-price-comparison/Home_Baking/Wrights_Madeira_Cake_Mix_500g.html
They're both cheaper than the other sainsbury mix, do you think that the first one would work too, it's the "value" brand?
I saw them too. They might work as well. But, theres only 225 grams in the sponge mix so you'd have to buy two of them. You'd still be under by 50 grams but it might not matter that much for what you're going to making. The madeira is 500 grams, same as the betty crocker so spot on there. The sponge looks to be the cheapest even at having to buy two of them.
I'd experiment with whichever one you decide on beforehand. You don't want to wait until you're stuck for time and find the mixes are not so great, and be scrambling to find a better one.
Also, on all my cakes I use ganache. What should I use for a competition cake? I need something that hardens up. I can't cover cakes with fondant if I use buttercream (far too soft), so any suggestions would be great! Need to keep this a cheap as possible.
For a competition cake I make "buttercream" with all shortening, powdered sugar, and water. I apply just a crumb coat and then cover in fondant. Technically edible, just not tasty 
.
When filling the pan do you use the normal amount? Does it rise?
It doesn't rise like a real cake so you do need to fill a bit more than normal.
For 'real' cupcake dummies, I buy the cheapest most generic cake mix at the supermarket and cook it up using water and eggwhites. I have a tester still sitting out on the shelf since last year that does not have one smidgen of mould on it. Also - the uber-white buttercream base (like Crisco) and powdered sugar "buttercream" on top of it is still as I piped it after a year.
I found this one by Googling "non-edible display cake recipe"
1 cake mix (use the cheapest yellow cake mix)
3 tbs flour
3 tbs meringue powder
1 cup water
Mix for about 2 minutes, until well blended and smooth. Batter will be thick. Spread in greased pans (also line the bottoms of pans with parchment paper) and bake at 350 until browned.
I have a "scratch" recipe somewhere that Mike Elder gave out at a demo, but I cannot find it. I'll keep looking and post it if I find it.
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