Doctoring Cake Mix?

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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on February 14, 2012 at 4:59pm

I did hear that! Eileen S. started a thread about DH cutting the size, but keeping the same price! Are we all supposed to go out and start buying smaller pans so that the mixes will fit? lol

Selina DiCesare said:

i haven't read an other posts but did you hear that Duncan Hines is reducing their size too.

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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on February 14, 2012 at 5:05pm

Selina, that was one reason I tried my experiment. I wanted to see if adding more flour to the box cake mix would distort the flavor or change the composition. Of course, I realize, as June said, by adding so many other ingredients, I might as well have made a scratch cake, so I don't know if my experiment was successful as far as adding the extra flour and sugar (1-1/2 cups of each instead of 1 cup of each) to the original doctored cake recipe. That way it would build up the cake batter to these new mixes that are only 15 oz. The old mixes were 18.25 oz. per box.

Selina DiCesare said:

i haven't read an other posts but did you hear that Duncan Hines is reducing their size too.Selina

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Permalink Reply by Selina on February 14, 2012 at 5:52pm

Hi Linda,

I appreciate you experimenting and reporting your findings.  I plan on doing some experimenting myself and will let you know if i come up with anything.  The one thing that scares me most with doing scratch cakes is will they give consistent results when you start baking in larger pans, 12x18 or 12" 14" rounds and squares. and generally you hear that scratch cakes tend to be brushed with  a simply syrup, is that because they tend to be dry, i wonder. 

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Permalink Reply by Linda Wolff on February 14, 2012 at 6:07pm

I do understand what you are talking about, Selina. At least with the cake mixes you know that they have been processed identical and should all come out the same. For years and years I had made the scratch Waldor Astoria Red cake (Red Velvet) and my recipe was always just a little dry, as far as I was concerned. Once I tried the DH Red Velvet, it is so much more moist that I wouldn't go back to my original scratch cake for anything. I can't wait to hear how your experimenting turns out.

Selina DiCesare said:

Hi Linda,

I appreciate you experimenting and reporting your findings.  I plan on doing some experimenting myself and will let you know if i come up with anything.  The one thing that scares me most with doing scratch cakes is will they give consistent results when you start baking in larger pans, 12x18 or 12" 14" rounds and squares. and generally you hear that scratch cakes tend to be brushed with  a simply syrup, is that because they tend to be dry, i wonder. 

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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on February 14, 2012 at 6:47pm

Well a doctored cake mix will still taste like a cake mix with just a more superior flavor. It doesn't have the same "crumb" that a scratch cake has. Cake mix is a softer, less dense. They both have there own merit.  But cake mix does make for a good base, and there are a lot of people who don't know how to bake from scratch. Grew up at my Mother's knee baking most everything from scratch.

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Permalink Reply by June Kowalczyk on February 14, 2012 at 6:52pm

If you have a great scratch cake recipe, all you have to do is double or triple it. I have done this many times.

I know how many cups of batter my pans take, so I can figure out how much 1 single recipe makes, and ajust accordingly for extra batter.
 
Selina DiCesare said:

Hi Linda,

I appreciate you experimenting and reporting your findings.  I plan on doing some experimenting myself and will let you know if i come up with anything.  The one thing that scares me most with doing scratch cakes is will they give consistent results when you start baking in larger pans, 12x18 or 12" 14" rounds and squares. and generally you hear that scratch cakes tend to be brushed with  a simply syrup, is that because they tend to be dry, i wonder. 

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