Becoming Discouraged In So Little Time!
Baking By BakedbyMommy Updated 28 Sep 2018 , 10:45pm by MBalaska
Hey everyone. For the record, I love baking! but it's been rough and I need some support and advice since I know I am not alone. I consider my self a little more advance than a beginner.
I started out baking from scratch, then discovered WASC (love it!) and started doing that over scratch. But my 8 year old sassy daughter noticed I was using box cake and called me out on it. She said "oh, box cake? Why are you cheating?" I explained to her, it's not cheating, it's a base for my cake. But kids will be kids and I do not want to take any chances with her slipping up in front of friends, family, or even potential clients. With that said, how do you guys handle a situation where someone found out you used a box mix (not that its a problem)? I see nothing wrong with it but, unfortunately, most people see boxed cake and think less of you, especially when you're a baker.
Other than that, I am having issues with my buttercream, I am using the recipe here on CC. It's 2 of everything. I usually like a stiffer buttercream so I do: 2 sticks of butter (i use salted) , 1 cup of shortening(for stiffer finish), 2lbs powdered sugar, 1tbs flavoring ( i just noticed, I am only using 1 tbsp when it should be 2!!! First mistake). **I also sometimes add heavy cream to smooth it out a little.
My problem is that the edges on my buttercream look bumpy/choppy and it has lots of holes, which I believe are air pockets. I don't think it's too grainy, but sometimes it can be. See pictures below and please help. Also, what If I want to add peanut butter or preserves? Do I just add it to this recipe and done? or do I have to make any changes? Any advice is welcomed.....
Finally, I am practicing now, using my neighbors as taste testers. So far, I am hearing "so good, amazing, delicious." I do get some constructive criticism, which is usually "buttercream too sweet or too much buttercream." How do you learn to satisfy everyone? I had some people say it needed more buttercream. LOL.
I was also creating a list of cakes/flavors/fillings and am becoming overwhelmed because I have too many. What are staple flavors other than vanilla and chocolate?
Can I use a basic vanilla cake recipe to create a different cake? For ex: If someone wants a yellow coconut cake, can I use the vanilla cake recipe and swap the milk for coconut cream or coconut milk and use coconut extract instead?
When I bake, I over do it (mostly so I can give to a few people at a time for tasting). How much should I bake and can I cut recipes in half? What to do with left over batter?
I'll stop here because I could go on forever. Thank you all in advance. I most likely cannot reply here in the post but I will send you a message with a response.
-xoxo Meme
My goal is to strengthen my skills to the point where I can sell my goods from home. Not in it to make crazy amounts of money, I just really enjoy baking.
I'll address only a few of your ?s:
\..........Can I use a basic vanilla cake recipe to create a different cake? For ex: If someone wants a yellow coconut cake, can I use the vanilla cake recipe and swap the milk for coconut cream or coconut milk and use coconut extract instead?.....
Yes, yes, yes :) Be creative. When Betty Crocker stopped making one of my more popular requested flavors of butter pecan cakes I tried severl ways to duplicate the taste and finally figured out one that came so close that only one person said it wasn't the same.
........ How do you learn to satisfy everyone? I had some people say it needed more buttercream.......
Oh honey - you CANNOT ever please everyone! Mostly our taste buds were honed by where we lived - what our family ate. We each have different taste buds. People in the south (US) like sweet tea......not me! Some people like snails and snake or monkey whereas others would NEVER consider even trying so much as a tiny bite! :) I'm one who would eat the b'cream and leave most of the cake behind. For the most part the sweeter the better for me:) Almost any food (meat) needs to have a sweet sauce on it for me to easpecially like it. My daughter wants dill pickles - I want bread & butters - well you get the picture I'm trying to create here...... There will always be some people who don't easpecially like what you produce - either the design &/or the taste. YOu cannot be perfect to everyone so quite trying. Do your very best and be happy.
Like you, I've been baking from scratch since I was a little girl.....until I tried Lynne's Original WASC recipe! I still do a lot of scratch baking, but I also use the WASC recipe a LOT and do not care a fig who knows I started with a box mix! Good cake is good cake, no matter from whence it came! I've never been one to give too much importance to what others thought of me, because I am plenty hard on myself. Make the recipes you, your friends and family like and don't worry about how they came to be!
I can never get my frosting as silky smooth as some people. Mine looks like yours, but I think I am trying to make it too stiff and a higher ratio of fat to sugar would make it more fluffy. The holes probably are air bubbles. It helps to make it in advance, let it set for a while and gently smooth it back and forth to get rid of some of the air.
Some recipes can easily be cut in half, some not so easily. Rather than half the recipe, why not freeze the extra layers and use them at a later date. I love have cake in the freezer for emergencies. You can also freeze left over frosting.
Ditto what kakeladi said about pleasing everyone. Taste is subjective, so there will never be a food of any kind that everyone will love......except maybe bacon, haha! You said you have too many recipes - I have hundreds, but use only about 20 and most of them only occasionally. Just get you a file box and tuck them away for safe keeping, just in case you want to bake them again. My most popular flavors are chocolate, vanilla-almond, strawberry, carrot, coconut, lime and lemon.
Your buttercream looks good to me. Over beating can create ragged edges. Develops air pockets. I always beat my icing on low to medium speed. I don’t make ABC. Too sweet, too cloying with a greasy taste. I make smbc or cooked flour icing. Lovely and smooth, and not overly sweet. As kakeladi posted, everyone has a preference, and you can’t please everyone. I’ve added peanut butter and preserves to my buttercream. I add more liquid or icing sugar to get my icing to the consistency I want. I also don’t use a cake mix. Only because I don’t like the chemical additives. I bake from scratch. And regardless of scratch or box, your still adding ingredients and creating. Don’t let your daughter intimidate you. And a white cake mix, either scratch or box can be doctored many ways. How much you bake is entirely up to you. Since it’s just my husband and me, I don’t bake cupcakes/cakes that often. Just for birthdays or other celebrations. And I literally don’t have anymore to give my cakes/baked goods to. My grown kids don’t want it. And neither do my neighbours. You can freeze your batter. I do it all the time. It’s easy to scoop frozen batter into cupcake liners. Or to use for a cake, let batter come to room temperature. Hope this helps.
Thanks for the tip on freezing batter, June! Didn't know you could do that :o))
Sandra, my Mom would make double batches of cake batter and freeze. Because Mom baked for our church, and we had dessert almost virtually every night, it was a big time saver. Mom was a dressmaker with a busy business. Not all cake batters freeze tho. A cake with beaten egg whites, like a angel food cake, that batter wouldn’t survive. Here’s a great guide from Craftsy.
https://www.craftsy.com/baking/article/freezing-dough-batters/
Thanks, June! I love having cake or batter frozen for a super quick, delicious, emergency desert! Going to Craftsy now.
Freezing cake batter?!? Best tip of the day!! By far! I will make extra cake in a layer or cupcakes and freeze them. Although some people like emergency cake in case people "drop by" I like emergency cake because sometimes its an emergency that I need to eat a piece of cake!!! I do not have people just drop by my house lol. And yet, I'm currently out of emergency cake.... hmm.
But back to the topic and what others have said ! I have some completely-from-scratch recipes and plenty of boxed cake mixes in my pantry. If you grew up with the box cake that's a familiar and delicious cake. Sometimes people think scratch-cakes don't taste "right" to them. I always add more vanilla to my vanilla box mixes and espresso powder to my chocolate mixes. I use orange zest and the juice from an orange to replace half the water in a boxed pound cake mix. I hope you do what works for you!
Good luck!
T
There is nothing wrong with use box mixes. Also box mixes are a great affordable way of practicing your decorating skills. You are not really much into baking if you boxed mixes for everything , but we are talking about cake here. I think focusing on frostings and decorating is a good place to start, so I would encourage you to keep using the WASC recipe and don't let anyone divert you from improving your decorating skills. If you want to ever make scratch cakes do research just as you have obviously done about the baking, and just do it. Don't overwhelm yourself
@Kakeladi
Yes, yes, yes :) Be creative. When Betty Crocker stopped making one of my more popular requested flavors of butter pecan cakes I tried severl ways to duplicate the taste and finally figured out one that came so close that only one person said it wasn't the same.
That is great to know! I am fixing my recipe book so that I am more organized and I realize that most, if not all, cakes have similar ingredients. So why find a separate coconut cake when I can mess around with flavors to a vanilla cake!
Oh honey - you CANNOT ever please everyone! Mostly our taste buds were honed by where we lived - what our family ate. We each have different taste buds. People in the south (US) like sweet tea......not me! Some people like snails and snake or monkey whereas others would NEVER consider even trying so much as a tiny bite! :) I'm one who would eat the b'cream and leave most of the cake behind. For the most part the sweeter the better for me:) Almost any food (meat) needs to have a sweet sauce on it for me to easpecially like it. My daughter wants dill pickles - I want bread & butters - well you get the picture I'm trying to create here...... There will always be some people who don't easpecially like what you produce - either the design &/or the taste. YOu cannot be perfect to everyone so quite trying. Do your very best and be happy.
I agree and thank you. This is definitely a world full of people with different tastes. I initially put a small amount of buttercream, which I thought was fine, and it was, but some people prefer more. So I guess I'll just make sure to ask people who request cupcakes, what their preference is.
Thanks again!
@Sandra
Like you, I've been baking from scratch since I was a little girl.....until I tried Lynne's Original WASC recipe! I still do a lot of scratch baking, but I also use the WASC recipe a LOT and do not care a fig who knows I started with a box mix! Good cake is good cake, no matter from whence it came! I've never been one to give too much importance to what others thought of me, because I am plenty hard on myself. Make the recipes you, your friends and family like and don't worry about how they came to be!
You are absolutely right! I agree that the WASC cake method saves so much time and makes a delicious cake. I also find it to be the perfect consistency for cupcakes! Not to mention the abundance of flavors that are available! I'm going to continue scratch but I have a some boxes up my sleeve :)
I can never get my frosting as silky smooth as some people. Mine looks like yours, but I think I am trying to make it too stiff and a higher ratio of fat to sugar would make it more fluffy. The holes probably are air bubbles. It helps to make it in advance, let it set for a while and gently smooth it back and forth to get rid of some of the air.
I am definitely making mine more stiff. I am not sure why, but I feel that stiff will hold up better than smoother/softer buttercream. I also think I am scared to try buttercream that has more fat because I live in Texas and I worry the heat will melt it, whereas stiff works great.
Some recipes can easily be cut in half, some not so easily. Rather than half the recipe, why not freeze the extra layers and use them at a later date. I love have cake in the freezer for emergencies. You can also freeze left over frosting.
Makes sense! I never thought to make a few cakes/cupcakes and free them!
Ditto what kakeladi said about pleasing everyone. Taste is subjective, so there will never be a food of any kind that everyone will love......except maybe bacon, haha! You said you have too many recipes - I have hundreds, but use only about 20 and most of them only occasionally. Just get you a file box and tuck them away for safe keeping, just in case you want to bake them again. My most popular flavors are chocolate, vanilla-almond, strawberry, carrot, coconut, lime and lemon.
Thank you so much! lol @ bacon, you are right about that!!! I bought a small binder and i'm slowly adding my recipes. Thanks for the popular flavors! I am trying to decide how many cake flavors to offer.
@jchuck
Your buttercream looks good to me. Over beating can create ragged edges. Develops air pockets. I always beat my icing on low to medium speed.
What is considered over beating? because I have a recipe that calls for mixing on low/medium for about 5-10 mins every time I add powdered sugar(which is about 3x).
I don’t make ABC. Too sweet, too cloying with a greasy taste. I make smbc or cooked flour icing. Lovely and smooth, and not overly sweet.
Wow! I've never heard of cooked flour icing. I want to try smbc one day, but I have to admit, The egg whites make it time consuming.
As kakeladi posted, everyone has a preference, and you can’t please everyone. I’ve added peanut butter and preserves to my buttercream. I add more liquid or icing sugar to get my icing to the consistency I want. I also don’t use a cake mix. Only because I don’t like the chemical additives. I bake from scratch. And regardless of scratch or box, your still adding ingredients and creating. Don’t let your daughter intimidate you. And a white cake mix, either scratch or box can be doctored many ways. How much you bake is entirely up to you. Since it’s just my husband and me, I don’t bake cupcakes/cakes that often. Just for birthdays or other celebrations. And I literally don’t have anymore to give my cakes/baked goods to. My grown kids don’t want it. And neither do my neighbours. You can freeze your batter. I do it all the time. It’s easy to scoop frozen batter into cupcake liners. Or to use for a cake, let batter come to room temperature. Hope this helps.
Thank you! I never knew exactly how or when to add something like peanut butter/preserves. I always have heavy cream and sugar near by when playing around with BC. You're right, it definitely still is baking and takes time and effort. Luckily for me, I just just moved into a community where everyone loves sweets. I have at least 5 people that volunteered to taste my cakes and cookies, so every weekend I'm sweatin' in the kitchen. Freeze batter!!!! amazing tip! I thought the batter would become watery when thawed if I did that. I definitely need to do this. It would make like so much easier!!! Thanks again.
@theresa
Freezing cake batter?!? Best tip of the day!! By far! I will make extra cake in a layer or cupcakes and freeze them. Although some people like emergency cake in case people "drop by" I like emergency cake because sometimes its an emergency that I need to eat a piece of cake!!! I do not have people just drop by my house lol. And yet, I'm currently out of emergency cake.... hmm.
LOL right! It definitely is an emergency if you need cake :) Freezing cake batter is amazing. Never thought you try that. I think I'm going to have my hubby buy me a separate freezer because this is something I will do.
But back to the topic and what others have said ! I have some completely-from-scratch recipes and plenty of boxed cake mixes in my pantry. If you grew up with the box cake that's a familiar and delicious cake. Sometimes people think scratch-cakes don't taste "right" to them. I always add more vanilla to my vanilla box mixes and espresso powder to my chocolate mixes. I use orange zest and the juice from an orange to replace half the water in a boxed pound cake mix. I hope you do what works for you!
I've heard negative and positive from both sides but I feel they both taste good, if made right of course. I agree about the vanilla! I bought instant coffee instead of espresso powder and it made my cake taste nasty lol. I thought it was the same thing. Orange? really? I never heard of that. Great idea, thanks!
Thank you :)
@littlejewel
There is nothing wrong with use box mixes. Also box mixes are a great affordable way of practicing your decorating skills.
I agree, I have been doing both scratch and WASC.
You are not really much into baking if you boxed mixes for everything , but we are talking about cake here. I think focusing on frostings and decorating is a good place to start, so I would encourage you to keep using the WASC recipe and don't let anyone divert you from improving your decorating skills. If you want to ever make scratch cakes do research just as you have obviously done about the baking, and just do it. Don't overwhelm yourself
Thank you so much! I will definitely keep baking and most importantly, decorating. I am planning on joining some Wilton classes I found near by.
I use my paddle and run my mixer at lowest speed while I add my icing sugar. So I’m probably beating for 15 minutes? But at lowest speed. So living in Texas, I can understand the ABC. If you try the Cooked flour frosting, you can use all shortening, or 3/4-1/2 shortening to 1/4-1/2 butter. I’ve used all shortening for a vegan icing, and it still tasted smooth. When I use all shortening, I always add butter flavouring and extra flavourings. That just helps cut the greasiness of the shortening. When I make this icing, I always add a couple of extra cups of icing sugar and a couple of tablespoons of meringue powder. That’s my personal preference, because it helps the icing crust, and pipes much better. Here’s the recipe I use.
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/12/flour-buttercream-fluffy-frosting-recipe.html
https://www.craftsy.com/cake-decorating/classes/the-perfect-birthday-cake/40538
Corries cakes has a helpful class on craftsy. She demonstrates how she deals with her buttercream to get it smooth & remove the bubbles. It's a nice class.
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