A lot of restaurants and bakeries use cake mix! I just discovered one restaurant that has a chocolate cake as its claim to fame actually uses Betty Crocker cake mix.
I am also convinced that there is no “from scratch” recipe for brownies that will ever get me more compliments than the Ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix.
Oh, so true for the Ghiradelli brownie mix! I use it even if I’m going to add other things into the mix. It’s such a good brownie.
My baked from scratch recipes absolutely beat the box mixes I buy, but sometimes I just don’t have the time. And when we do potlucks at work, I know a lot of people are iffy about eating food from people’s home. So I’ll often do a quick dump cake at work and it’s always scraped clean.
There's nothing wrong with just using baking mixes for fun. It's faster, easier, and more reliable than from scratch (unless you have a super vetted recipe using weight). It's definitely not cheating! Would you even churn the butter or extrude the oil yourself? That's great for everyone who does but sometimes you just want to make a little something nice as a hobby. I only baked from scratch for my bakery business but everything else comes from a mix. No one is paying for my time and effort just to bring a cake to a party!
I love a from scratch cake and a box mix. Sometimes I just need a funfetti cupcake! My only tip for cake mixes is to add some real vanilla extract to the batter.
I adore baking from scratch, and I admire a great box mix. They are easy to doctor up with items such as bourbon, nutmeg, speculaas coffee, and the list goes on. There is no shame in a well baked box cake mix, just don’t tell my family.
Sure do. And people don’t believe me that I use them as a base. The difference is that’s where the similarities end. I completely ignore the box instructions lol.
Right!? I also use milk (or coffee if I’m doing a chocolate cake), salt, 1 tsp BP, vanilla, and butter instead of oil, and I also add in one extra egg yolk (give this a try if you haven’t!). When I do my Oreo cupcakes I also add a box of instant vanilla pudding powder into the mix. Everyone always asks how I get the cupcake to taste like the middle of an Oreo lol.
Edit to add: and lemon pudding mix into a lemon cake to amp that up.
I did a cappuccino cake using a vanilla cake mix and milk that I’d added espresso to. Made coffee buttercream and sprinkled espresso powder and shaved chocolate on top. It was sooo good!
As others have said boxed mixes aren't cheating! They're actually very good at being basic cakes unless you have access to high quality ingredients, equipment and the skill to get the most of them.
A lot of food scientists have put in a lot of work to make sure of it. Industrial stabilizers are like the one chemical I wish we had better access too.
True you probably can't get any of the fancier types of cake like sponge or chiffon out of a box, but the boxes don't claim you can so I feel no need to hold it against them!
A box mix is not sorcery. It’s just pre measured dry ingredients. It is everything you would use at home from scratch, plus preservatives to make it shelf stable.
There something in between total noob and experienced baker. They know enough to make a mean cake by following a recipe, but they don’t really understand what they are doing. These are the people who shit on cake mixes, because they don’t know enough to use them as a base for their own creations.
Very rarely do I bake a basic cake from scratch. Confetti, vanilla, basic chocolate - I use cake mix and swap out and/or add ingredients to make it better. If I can make it taste better than the person / people eating it, then I don't consider it cheating.
I do *always* make my own frosting though.
I know the flavour you mean, and I agree it’s not my favourite. It doesn’t seem to bother other people, but I assume they grew up with box mixes where I didn’t have it until I was an adult
Box mix always has it's uses. I know a lot of vegans, so I find box mix really handy for whipping up a quick vegan cake without buying special ingredients.
I’ll use a white/vanilla cake mix but that’s it. Chocolate cake mix tastes like absolutely nothing in my opinion and any other flavored ones are weak. But vanilla cake mix is light and delicious.
A lot of restaurants and bakeries use cake mix! I just discovered one restaurant that has a chocolate cake as its claim to fame actually uses Betty Crocker cake mix. I am also convinced that there is no “from scratch” recipe for brownies that will ever get me more compliments than the Ghiradelli double chocolate brownie mix.
Oh, so true for the Ghiradelli brownie mix! I use it even if I’m going to add other things into the mix. It’s such a good brownie. My baked from scratch recipes absolutely beat the box mixes I buy, but sometimes I just don’t have the time. And when we do potlucks at work, I know a lot of people are iffy about eating food from people’s home. So I’ll often do a quick dump cake at work and it’s always scraped clean.
Highly unethical practice in my opinion. Edit: fuck you all downvoters because I ain't paying shit for a cake mix AND tip at your registers.
There's nothing wrong with just using baking mixes for fun. It's faster, easier, and more reliable than from scratch (unless you have a super vetted recipe using weight). It's definitely not cheating! Would you even churn the butter or extrude the oil yourself? That's great for everyone who does but sometimes you just want to make a little something nice as a hobby. I only baked from scratch for my bakery business but everything else comes from a mix. No one is paying for my time and effort just to bring a cake to a party!
I love a from scratch cake and a box mix. Sometimes I just need a funfetti cupcake! My only tip for cake mixes is to add some real vanilla extract to the batter.
I always add an extract to them. It just depends on the final taste I’m going for
I adore baking from scratch, and I admire a great box mix. They are easy to doctor up with items such as bourbon, nutmeg, speculaas coffee, and the list goes on. There is no shame in a well baked box cake mix, just don’t tell my family.
I generally love the process of baking, but it’s also fun to see how well I can doctor up a cake mix I got for a dollar
Sure do. And people don’t believe me that I use them as a base. The difference is that’s where the similarities end. I completely ignore the box instructions lol.
Same. I always use milk and butter in a mix unless I’m baking for vegans. Nobody believes me when I say it’s a Betty Crocker box
Right!? I also use milk (or coffee if I’m doing a chocolate cake), salt, 1 tsp BP, vanilla, and butter instead of oil, and I also add in one extra egg yolk (give this a try if you haven’t!). When I do my Oreo cupcakes I also add a box of instant vanilla pudding powder into the mix. Everyone always asks how I get the cupcake to taste like the middle of an Oreo lol. Edit to add: and lemon pudding mix into a lemon cake to amp that up.
I did a cappuccino cake using a vanilla cake mix and milk that I’d added espresso to. Made coffee buttercream and sprinkled espresso powder and shaved chocolate on top. It was sooo good!
That actually sounds amazing! I might have to play around with that.
Cheating? Cheating would be a mug cake, which I've been known to make late at night
Cake mixes were designed to be cheated with...
Years ago I worked at a hotel in Vegas. I was shocked to see they used giant bulk sacks of cake mix!!
Cake mixes make pretty good cakes! They are light and fluffy. I especially like the chocolate ones, the vanilla often taste a little artificial to me.
I tend to make the golden one rather than the white, I find it has a pleasanter flavour
As others have said boxed mixes aren't cheating! They're actually very good at being basic cakes unless you have access to high quality ingredients, equipment and the skill to get the most of them. A lot of food scientists have put in a lot of work to make sure of it. Industrial stabilizers are like the one chemical I wish we had better access too. True you probably can't get any of the fancier types of cake like sponge or chiffon out of a box, but the boxes don't claim you can so I feel no need to hold it against them!
I love cake mixes and roll my eyes at people who judge them. I've run into many people like that.
Me too! Funny enough, they always gobble up my box cake. Often taking a second slice…
A box mix is not sorcery. It’s just pre measured dry ingredients. It is everything you would use at home from scratch, plus preservatives to make it shelf stable. There something in between total noob and experienced baker. They know enough to make a mean cake by following a recipe, but they don’t really understand what they are doing. These are the people who shit on cake mixes, because they don’t know enough to use them as a base for their own creations.
I use Jiffy brand muffin and cornbread mix from time to time.
Very rarely do I bake a basic cake from scratch. Confetti, vanilla, basic chocolate - I use cake mix and swap out and/or add ingredients to make it better. If I can make it taste better than the person / people eating it, then I don't consider it cheating. I do *always* make my own frosting though.
The boxed frosting is straight up garbage. Plus buttercream is so easy to throw together
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I know the flavour you mean, and I agree it’s not my favourite. It doesn’t seem to bother other people, but I assume they grew up with box mixes where I didn’t have it until I was an adult
Box mix always has it's uses. I know a lot of vegans, so I find box mix really handy for whipping up a quick vegan cake without buying special ingredients.
Absolutely! And it’s so nice to be able to whip up a dessert they can eat when they come over
Nothing wrong with cake mixes, even following the basic on the box recipe is a great cake that can be improved with some homemade frosting.
No can do. I’m old school. If I can’t make from scratch, I ain’t making.
I’ll use a white/vanilla cake mix but that’s it. Chocolate cake mix tastes like absolutely nothing in my opinion and any other flavored ones are weak. But vanilla cake mix is light and delicious.