Does Anyone Use Caravan Surfax In Their Cakes?

Baking By kellyk1234 Updated 29 Mar 2014 , 10:13pm by enga

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kellyk1234 Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 5:39pm
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I was told that this ingredient helps prolong shelf life and adds moisture to scratch cakes.  I only found one post on this forum that just mentions it and can't really find much info besides that it's a preservative.  Is it really worth to get? and how much do you add to the batter? I would just like any information before making the purchase and experimenting with it. Thanks!

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enga Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 7:23pm
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I didn't find to much about it either except they use it a lot in bakeries. I don't know if you can get it in smaller amounts than this.

 

http://www.koerner-co.com/p1557/STABILIZER-CAKE-SURFAX-35%23/product_info.html

 

http://www.innovadex.com/Food/Detail/881/302826/Surfax-124575

 

I'm not trying to start anything, really I'm not but why would you want to put that in a scratch cake? It would basically make your cake similar to a box cake mix. Which I have used for years for it's consistency and have nothing against what people want to use to make their cakes.

 

I just want to get away from using as many artificial ingredients as I can lately (recent health scare) 8O. Many ingredient might not effect others like they would effect me. I was just curious as to why you want to use it.........

And also to say......PLEASE DON'T DO IT to your lovely from scratch cakes. :lol:  I'm only saying this with the best intentions, please don't take it the wrong way. Coming from some one who is still trying to find that ultimate scratch cake recipe that comes out perfect every time without artificial ingredients.

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natt12321 Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 7:31pm
post #3 of 9

If you want something to prolong the life of cake I would use glycerine rather than that stuff. I agree that scratch cake doesn't want preservatives adding to them!

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kellyk1234 Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 8:18pm
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Well I never wanted to use preservatives in my cakes, I take pride that my cakes are from scratch but I was suggested to use it, so it made me curious as to what is it exactly.  And you're right, I don't want to put anything "unnatural" in my cakes. I thought maybe it's a "good" preservative! haha! 

 

Plus, I think any dry cake recipe can be fixed with freezing and a little simple syrup! Well maybe not ANY, but it definitely helps!

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enga Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 9:10pm
post #5 of 9

Whew! That's good to hear, lol. We used so many things like that in Bakery Production class to keep the cakes  that we sold consistent. Would you believe that we didn't use any scratch cake recipes in class except for finals because they were not "fool proof" as my instructor called them :roll:.

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kellyk1234 Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 9:24pm
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That's why I love this site, because I have no one else to ask these things! :)  And I guess that's why some bakeries use it, so their cakes will be consistent and never dry. Just yesterday I made a vanilla bean cake that's been my favorite go-to recipe lately, and this time the texture and crumb just didn't look right and the bottom of the cake was really wet when I took them out the pan, so I'm nervous as to how they are. I'll see in a few days when I take them out the freezer to torte and level! 

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natt12321 Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 9:51pm
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Quote:

Originally Posted by enga 
 

Whew! That's good to hear, lol. We used so many things like that in Bakery Production class to keep the cakes  that we sold consistent. Would you believe that we didn't use any scratch cake recipes in class except for finals because they were not "fool proof" as my instructor called them :roll:.


Glad to know it wasn't just my college that did this!! I knew the bits to add to pre-mixes off by heart by about 2 months in, it was all we used, we made pastry from scratch but cakes were ALL premixes, whether they tasted good or not!

It made me more sure I was going to do scratch cakes myself though!

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enga Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 10:01pm
post #8 of 9

Quote:

Originally Posted by kellyk1234 
 

That's why I love this site, because I have no one else to ask these things! :)  And I guess that's why some bakeries use it, so their cakes will be consistent and never dry. Just yesterday I made a vanilla bean cake that's been my favorite go-to recipe lately, and this time the texture and crumb just didn't look right and the bottom of the cake was really wet when I took them out the pan, so I'm nervous as to how they are. I'll see in a few days when I take them out the freezer to torte and level! 

Me too!!! I hope they come out okay. Scratch cakes can be so finicky :?

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enga Posted 29 Mar 2014 , 10:13pm
post #9 of 9


Glad to know it wasn't just my college that did this!! I knew the bits to add to pre-mixes off by heart by about 2 months in, it was all we used, we made pastry from scratch but cakes were ALL premixes, whether they tasted good or not!

It made me more sure I was going to do scratch cakes myself though!

 

 

 

Haa haa ha, IKR, I loved making puff pastry and breads. When I graduated into Pastry Arts the first thing the instructor said to us was "forget about everything you used for ingredients in Bakery Production, this is a refined art"!!!!

 

 Boy I wish I could afford to use those ingredients now. The liquor cabinet alone would cost me two paychecks.

 

 

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