Think I May Be Having A Change Of Heart/direction
Decorating By KayMc Updated 18 Jul 2011 , 2:37pm by ShandraB
I'm a hobby baker, and have been using the WASC for white cakes, and Sugar Shack's bc recipe. I do bake a chocolate cake from scratch, and make butter based chocolate frostings, and PB frostings.
I'm feeling like I'm turning a corner here, and don't want to use these types of ingredients any longer. Now that I've just spend $35 on hi ratio shortening, I feel like I want to make only butter based frostings from here on out. And I think I want to do cakes from scratch, as well.
Am I nuts? As a consumer, I've complained for years about food places using inferior products, and here I was doing the same thing.
Anyone else feel this way?
Personally I prefer the flavor and texture of scratch cakes but I have some friends and family members that will only eat cakes from a box (which I will only make in a doctored version like WASC). They love the more commercial taste for whatever reason. I will do 50/50 frostings when the weather is hot and humid, but don't make all shortening frosting at all (just a little too greasy for my taste). I definitely prefer to use better ingredients but it can also be very costly, so for those who choose to spend less on their cakes, they'll probably get the mix version.
I guess it depends on what you mean by inferior products. It took me almost a year of trying out scratch white cake recipes before I found one that I liked. But I served doctored box versions until I did, because IMO my scratch versions were inferior to the doctored box. Now that I found a scratch version I like better I still don't consider it to be a superior product. It's just different. Shortening and butter based frostings work the same way. I live in the South and events are frequently outside. A shortening based buttercream is superior in this situation because it holds up better.....butter based BC would just melt all over the place. I do prefer the flavor of butter based, but it doesn't do me any good to have the frosting melt and slide off before anyone has a chance to eat it. I guess what I'm saying is that the circustances often dictate which products I use, but they should always taste good and look great.
I would say "Go for it!" I made the switch too.
Although I know some people prefer box mixes, I feel uncomfortable with the many chemicals used in them. Just looking at the side of a Jello Pudding box made me quit using it. It has 3 or 4 chemicals that are on the list of things to avoid eating!
Another advantage of scratch is that you don't have to worry that your favorite mix will be discontinued. 
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%