Cake mixes or not?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Tanya on February 6, 2010 at 10:16am

I love a cake mix............ my cakes always turn out like plates! I don't think using a cake mix is really what cake making is about if you are a true cake maker which of course I am not.
How about ready bought friut cake to ice? I have seen quite a few on the net.

Permalink Reply by Rachel Graham on February 6, 2010 at 2:42pm

Ready made fruit cake, I think its a good idea if you have got a last minute order and haven't got a fruit cake matured but again, I'd prefer to make my own as I've got my own recipes that I've adapted from classics.

The ready made cakes are definitely a good thing where people are not as confident with baking.

How do the cake mixes taste? Do you think they are different to made from scratch?

Tanya said:

I love a cake mix............ my cakes always turn out like plates! I don't think using a cake mix is really what cake making is about if you are a true cake maker which of course I am not.
How about ready bought friut cake to ice? I have seen quite a few on the net.

Permalink Reply by Tanya on February 8, 2010 at 8:27am

If I could make a cake that was not like a cow pat I would!
I don't think packet cake mix can compare to a home made cake.
I would certaily feel that I was cheating if I were to make a wedding cake or something similar to sell.

Permalink Reply by Lilly Wilders on February 8, 2010 at 6:19pm

I've been baking since my teens so all my cakes are from scratch - the only thing I make from a packet mix is brownies because I haven't found a recipe I like as much. I've used cake mixes in the past on occasion but they don't come out as well and I'm too much of a perfectionist to use them regularly - if I know I can do better then I have to!

Permalink Reply by Ann Simerson Williams on March 10, 2010 at 11:30am

This discussion fascinates me, as I grew up eating, almost exclusively, boxed cake mixes. The scratch v. mix discussion is so hotly debated in the US that I find it uncomfortable.

I think it comes down to what you are used to. Mix cakes have a different "mouth feel" and are often moister than scratch cakes. (Due to added emulsifiers and puddings - think mousse - added to the dry mix.) I like both mix and scratch cakes, but I often find that my friends prefer the mix cakes, because it's what they are used to. That said, I think UK and US mixes differ slightly in taste... even the same name brands. I'm not sure if it is because they are tailored to regional tastes, or because the countries differ in what additives are allowed.

Now that I have the scratch thing down, I can make one in about the same amount of time.