AHow do you feel about box cake mixes??? Do you use them and if so, what are your favorite brands??
I recently bought a box mix (I always bake from scratch so a deviation from normal for me) as I had bought this weird little oven for putting on the gas hotplates of the camping stove. I didn't want to be carting a pile of stuff out to the bush until I saw how well it worked. It worked O.K. but both hubby and I agreed that the Martha Stewart box mix did not live up to the real thing, being rather tasteless.
They sell Martha Stewart cake mixes in Australia? We don't have them here in the US I don't think!
I recently bought a Dr Oetker Organic cake mix that was pretty good. I'm in a very small rental for a couple of months until my new house is built so I don't have a lot of pantry space to spare, but I needed cake...
I will occasionally use a Duncan Hines mix if a friend has asked me for a very last minute cake (ie the party is in a couple of hours), I keep a box each of chocolate and red velvet in the cupboard for emergencies. I always have the ingredients on hand for a vanilla cake so I don't need a mix for that.
The closest I've come to baking a cake from scratch was one occasion, when I was much younger, baking one from a long-lost recipe that was based on Bisquick.
On the other hand, the closest I've come to baking cookies from a mix was when I pored over a bunch of reconstructions of the old, long-discontinued, BC "Vienna Dream Bars" mix (the official recipe was never published), then came up with my own "Innsbruck Dream Bars" recipe as a slightly healthier (unless you're a DOG, because it calls for Macadamia nuts) alternative.
And on the third hand (if you're Lt. Arex, from Star Trek Animated), I've made gingerbread once or twice, entirely from scratch.
Supposedly, that's how Bisquick was invented (by a railroad dining car chef, no less).
Incidentally, (while this has absolutely nothing to do with cakes) I no more consider Mrs. Cubbison's various turkey stuffing products to be "mixes" than I would consider packaged croutons or Emeril's Italian-seasoned Panko, or any other packaged crumbs, whether made from regular bread or purpose-baked seasoned bread, to be "mixes": "Stove-Top" (tm) is a line of mixes; Mrs. Cubbison's products are a line of ingredients.
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Original message sent by BatterUpCake
Aren't there currently about 5 active threads on this same subject?
Not sure if they're all active..I've been online most of the day and I've only seen 1 other post after mine. I've tried posting on "older" posts but it doesn't bump up. I was not aware of any newer than mine.
Ok, maybe not 5 but there are 2 ongoing right now.
2. http://cakecentral.com/t/761485/box-mix-or-scratch-for-start-up-small-business
The deal is, do what you can do best. If you need a box to give you consistency..use it. If you like to bake from scratch..do it. If you want to doctor a mix..awesome.
Only you know your abilities and weaknesses, you have to make the decision based on what can give your client the best result. I cannot bake a stinkin' scratch peanut butter cake that holds up to stacking to save my life. It's delicious, but about every 3rd cake, it falls apart on me. SO yes, I use a box base for that cake so I get a consistent result. I have a freakishly awesome chocolate cake recipe that was my great-grandmother's. I've tweaked it for a few other recipes also (no I will not share ).
But seriously, it doesn't matter how anyone else bakes.
Use the tools and materials that enable you to do the best job. In the end, it's the results that count. Not ideology; not snob-appeal. Just results.
I have used boxed cakes before. Not anymore. Ever since I got my scratch recipes down pat, I have left them behind. I can taste the difference. That being said, I don't have anything against those that use boxed. To each their own. Some people can make them turn out quite well. It just isn't for me. You do what you feel is right and forget what everyone else says. (My personal philosophy in baking and life.) My one cake snob opinion...just say no to the strawberry boxed cake. I have never tasted one that was good and it is far too easy to use a boxed vanilla and make it strawberry with fresh ingredients. That is my opinion though and to each their own.
I have used boxed cakes before. Not anymore. Ever since I got my scratch recipes down pat, I have left them behind. I can taste the difference. That being said, I don't have anything against those that use boxed. To each their own. Some people can make them turn out quite well. It just isn't for me. You do what you feel is right and forget what everyone else says. (My personal philosophy in baking and life.) My one cake snob opinion...just say no to the strawberry boxed cake. I have never tasted one that was good and it is far too easy to use a boxed vanilla and make it strawberry with fresh ingredients. That is my opinion though and to each their own.
AI use to be a cake snob before I got into business. I don't use a box mix just because I don't. BUT. I changed my tune when I started working at a bakery that used a mix. I realized that consumers don't give a damn lol. They just want it to taste good. I think sometimes we cake decorators get caught up in industry standards. At the end of the day it's about making money if we are honest. So do whatever makes you successful
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Original message sent by bct806
I have used boxed cakes before. Not anymore. Ever since I got my scratch recipes down pat, I have left them behind. I can taste the difference. That being said, I don't have anything against those that use boxed. To each their own. Some people can make them turn out quite well. It just isn't for me. You do what you feel is right and forget what everyone else says. (My personal philosophy in baking and life.) My one cake snob opinion...just say no to the strawberry boxed cake. I have never tasted one that was good and it is far too easy to use a boxed vanilla and make it strawberry with fresh ingredients. That is my opinion though and to each their own.
Lol!!:D
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Original message sent by hbquikcomjamesl
Use the tools and materials that enable you to do the best job. In the end, it's the results that count. Not ideology; not snob-appeal. Just results.
Very well put!
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Original message sent by bct806
I have used boxed cakes before. Not anymore. Ever since I got my scratch recipes down pat, I have left them behind. I can taste the difference. That being said, I don't have anything against those that use boxed. To each their own. Some people can make them turn out quite well. It just isn't for me. You do what you feel is right and forget what everyone else says. (My personal philosophy in baking and life.) My one cake snob opinion...just say no to the strawberry boxed cake. I have never tasted one that was good and it is far too easy to use a boxed vanilla and make it strawberry with fresh ingredients. That is my opinion though and to each their own.
We have the same philosophy, believe me!!:grin: I'm a pretty much a scratch baker but I would use a boxed if needed...just depends..but I promise never to make a boxed strawberry for anyone but me (I have to use the 1 in my pantry) lol!
I will note that while my strawberry marble recipe does use McCormick imitation strawberry extract and red food coloring, there is (by weight) considerably more strawberry jam in the contrast batter than either of the artificial supplements. And when I make maple-cinnamon BC, I use farm-bottled Vermont Grade B, not imitation maple extract, nor Log Cabin.
I use cake mixes when I have no time... but that is few and far between... I really perfer scratch baking and would not do it any other way because I know what is in my cakes.
We have the same philosophy, believe me!! I'm a pretty much a scratch baker but I would use a boxed if needed...just depends..but I promise never to make a boxed strawberry for anyone but me (I have to use the 1 in my pantry) lol!
Well as long as you promise to only make it for you and then never buy them again, I think I can deal with that. lol.
I use both. When I use a box mix I only use the WASC recipe. Use what you or your customers like. Other than that I don't really think it matters.
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