Entenmann's cake? In Recipes? Seriously?
At first when I saw a piece on Entenmann's cake I thought it was either a joke or some nostalgia trip. I was disheartened to see the "recipes" discussed looked like something out of Semi-Homemade. That's not cooking - and I'd hardly call it serious eats. Just sayin'.
Other than this one piece - you know I think this site is stellar.
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30 Comments:
It smelled a little like product placement to me. But I'm cynical like that :-/
bkbella at 3:03PM on 08/27/09
I didn't think it was product placement, because Entenmann's proudcts are rather ubiquitous, like Hostess Cakes and Tastycakes. I've always kind of liked the SE tongue-in-cheek 'smackdowns' of store-bought fruit pies and reviews of fast food burgers. But I agree, @chiff, that a couple of the recent posts, like the Entenmann's and the tubed cookie dough pizza seemed to take using convenience food too seriously. I mean, I am no where near in your league, but even I can make chocolate chip cookies from scratch ;)
I do like doughnuts and someday would like to check out the real doughnut places listed at SE for example, and would love to hear about great pound cakes in the city, too, but just celebrating Entenmann's loaf without irony seemed a bit weird.
HeartofGlass at 3:08PM on 08/27/09
struck me as weird too. I didn't really know what to make of it...
laurelie at 3:35PM on 08/27/09
I thought it was creative. To me it came across as making a fancy dessert out of something inexpensive and ready made - convenience and money-saving, both timely topics!
Chew on That at 3:43PM on 08/27/09
I thought Grace's post was a fun, resonant trifle about childhood treats and taste memories. I myself am partial to Sara Lee Banana Cake, and Sara Lee's pound cake isn't too shabby, either. I for one appreciate the fact that there's room for Entenmann's and French Laundry recipe posts on Serious Eats.
Ed Levine at 4:02PM on 08/27/09
I was too mortified to even say anything. Entermanns pound cake is junk. Read the ingredients. But hey if you like it eat it. I am calling BS on it and moving on. Nice cool whip on top and a can of blueberry pie filling and a lobotomy. Woot!!!!
JerzeeTomato at 4:02PM on 08/27/09
Oh I liked the little walk down memory lane. Personally, I could totally relate to growing up with Entenmann's being considered a "good" dessert. It was sort of fun to see it used in more grown up desserts. I'm not saying I would actually ever buy Entenmann's now but still...
And besides, that writer often makes me LOL. I can overlook a lot for that.
But generally, I love seeing a mix of recipes on SE. There are something that I would never make and some things that I have to make that very day. I think variety is a good thing. Not everything can or should be "gourmet," kwim?
leeber at 4:05PM on 08/27/09
Speaking of Sara Lee, I miss their line of coffee cakes that you could get in the frozen food aisle. I don't know if they discontinued them or if I just can't find them here in the Boston area, but we used to get one every Easter to have with our colored eggs for breakfast. Sure home made is better, but it's a childhood sense memory thing/comfort thing.
Amandarama at 4:16PM on 08/27/09
I don't think anyone is saying that Entenmann's is gourmet, but I think it was just a look at what you can do with less than highest quality things, and how to make it better. I've made shortcake before using the all butter cake - when someone calls 20 minutes before they get there saying that they are coming for dinner, you barely have time to run to the grocery store, let alone whip up a cake.
NYCEater at 4:19PM on 08/27/09
I think it's good that SE isn't too snobby to post an article like that, but that doesn't mean that every reader here is going to agree with or like the article. It makes for an interesting site, but personally, I didn't get it - I just never thought Entenmann's was very good, even as a kid and was under the impression that others thought the same. But hey, you learn something every day!
laurelie at 4:24PM on 08/27/09
I really appreciate the occasional nostalgia for childhood foods and "guilty pleasure" appeal of certain products.
tangledgray at 4:30PM on 08/27/09
Oh and I have to say, after coming off a weekend of reading back issues of Gourmet, where the food writing is so fraught with precious language and the recipes at times so painfully demonstrative of the editor's desire to be au courant and cosmopolitan, I breathed a breath of fresh air when I read the Entenmann's review, even if I did think it was wonky. So thank you for not using every cliche of food writing known to man in your article. I appreciate it.
laurelie at 4:30PM on 08/27/09
Wow. Apparently, I am the only here who has never even tried Entenmann's or Sara Lee cakes/baked goods. I grew up with just homemade stuff (my mother would never have let that stuff in the house - she liked to bake for us instead), so I never had the chance to try things like that. I like the fact that SE brings to light something like that to those of us who may never have had it, and would just like to try something totally different from what we are used to and like. You never know, After years of homemade cookies, I discovered a real affinity for Oreos, so stranger things can happen....
Traveller at 5:13PM on 08/27/09
No one in my family baked so the only cakes we ever had were from the local bakery or if we were being frugal we'd get Entenmann's. They were always a treat since we rarely had baked goods around. I never buy it anymore unless I'm having strong cravings without enough motivation to throw something together.
I don't understand all of the hate for the product. If you don't like it then don't eat it. I'm not any less of a human being for eating it.
gingercookiewithlime at 5:24PM on 08/27/09
I was a bit surprised by the article when I saw it, and I don't eat the stuff myself, but...
"I for one appreciate the fact that there's room for Entenmann's and French Laundry recipe posts on Serious Eats."
I gotta say ditto to Ed on this one.
alosha7777 at 5:40PM on 08/27/09
Yeah, I'm with Ed too. Just because some of us wouldn't call it serious doesn't mean that others aren't passionate about it.
BangieB at 5:51PM on 08/27/09
My mother didn't bake. Ever. It just wasn't her thing. When it was affordable, we'd get the occasional coffee cake from a tiny local bakery when it was still open. Birthday cakes sometimes came from another bakey. Otherwise it was Sara Lee or Hostess. When Entemann's came on the scene, it seemed like a step up from Sara and her cohorts, but when we found the outlet store, it was cheap, too.
I haven't had Entemann's in years, but I see nothing wrong with a little easy cooking on nostalgia lane. particularly in summer, not everyone wants to turn the oven on when they want cake with their strawberries and whipped cream.
And if you prefer to bake your own pound cake, you could do that and just sub your cake in the recipes, if any of them were appealing.
dbcurrie at 9:14PM on 08/27/09
I wouldn't go there. Then again, I'd rather not eat pound cake. :-)
KarynMC at 10:04PM on 08/27/09
I've never tried an Entenmann's cake, but I believe Grace Kang did an excelent job delivering a funny yet all-purpose post. And most people can relate with good memories from food that is not so... praised.
mtgall at 11:02PM on 08/27/09
I squee'd a bit seeing the creative things you can do with that pound cake. I've kind of been resorting to these sorts of ideas, since my oven has conked out.
Case in point (I accidentally typed "pint" there hehe) my now infamous Hot Dog and Fries cake has made me a celebrity at various BBQs this summer. All thanks to an Entenmann's Golden loaf / Swiss Miss rolls / icing (airquotes) "recipe" -- found on a family fun site. The 15 minutes it takes to assemble, yields a whole bunch of entertainment, conversation, and friends proclaiming "who ordered the epic win?".
It's no Gourmet magazine photo shoot, but if you want to see a shot of us being the hit of the partay, then voila:
http://feelgoodfalafel.tumblr.com/post/162121524/three-words-hot-dog-cake
Entenmann's has saved my summer BBQ what-to-bring dilemmas. Basically, it's been my way of "yumming-down".
I'll see myself out.
:D
conky at 12:13AM on 08/28/09
This is why I shy away from the term "foodie," it's become synonomous with snobby. What's wrong with Entenmann's cake? Does every dish we make and eat have to be this gourmet pile of food that's reaching skyward in some weird, unnatural tower?
I like that Serious Eats has a mix of recipes and topics. A topic doesn't have to include irony if it pertains to a pre-made food. I think, to really love food, you can't be opposed to things. I love food, I take it seriously, I love to cook and love to eat, but If someone who loves food equally tells me to give a Sandra Lee recipe a try because it's fantastic, I'm going to try it before talking shit. Not that you're talking shit, but believe me- if the recipe was bad, I'd talk major shit.
PumpkinBear at 12:47AM on 08/28/09
I still remember an anecdote from a college roommate about his mom's one attempt at trying to make a home made birthday cake when he was 10:
"Are we poor?"
Yikes.
Amandarama at 1:30AM on 08/28/09
I can't speak for @chiffy, of course, but I think chiffy's point wasn't that Entenmann's cake was MENTIONED--I don't think she would have had a problem with a post like: "What was your favorite afterschool snack?" or "What did you like to watch, gripped with horror over ABC afterschool specials and crushing on Will Smith, Fresh Prince?" a la food nostalgia.
It was that it was classified as a recipe, and that it was very reminiscent of Sandra Lee type 'doctoring' rather than 'baking.'
I think both sides have legitimate points, btw, but I don't think @chiff's original comments were about food snobbery, or implying anyone who ingested an Entenmann's was a bad person.
HeartofGlass at 5:04AM on 08/28/09
I think it's okay to go low-brow on occasion. I just prefer strawberry shortcake on biscuits (it's not shortcake if you're using Entenmann's!). There are plenty of things that I eat that would no doubt horrify people here, but that doesn't mean they don't taste good!
Now, if Grace was doing a Fresh Prince tablescape and knocking back after-school special-themed cocktails, I might be concerned ....
KarynMC at 10:45AM on 08/28/09
I'm relieved to see I won't be receiving 3rd degree burns from the flaming. I am a foodie - I am not a snob. A snob would never be caught dead eating even the best burger or slice of pizza on the planet and I clamor for both. "Peasant" food is my absolute favorite - so that puts me safely out of the "snob" category.
Loving simple food and abhorring chemicals shaped and molded to resemble food can go hand in hand. I enjoy a simple buttery real pound cake as much or more than I do a wedding cake. I do not eat instacrap like horrible mass-marketed food that bears no resemblance to the item it's supposed to mimic. But I could do some damage to a package of Oreos. So there goes the snob label again.
As far as what to include in SE, the only other comment I ever offered was NOT to include an "Off Topic" folder - this is my first negative critique of content. I feel it's warranted because, till now, the content has always revolved around real food, be it The French Laundry or a fantastic burrito from a bodega around the corner.
I love SE for the fact that the people who participate in the "talk" section have been hard core cooks. Not chefs. Not gourmets. Foodies - people who love preparing, consuming and talking about food. Notice, the word "snob" is nowhere in that definition.
therealchiffonade at 11:48AM on 08/28/09
@therealchiffonade
Well said! You have no idea how many times I've told people that peasant food is my favorite-- and yes, I've used those exact words.
@Amandarama
One of the best compliments I've gotten from my family was when my son was turning 10 (last Feb), and my wife asked him what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. He said he wanted me to make his cake instead of buying one.
MarvinDog at 12:07PM on 08/28/09
@MarvinDog - How awesome! Yeah, when my friend told me that story I had difficulty wrapping my head around it. My mom always made our birthday cakes!
Amandarama at 3:30PM on 08/28/09
I liked the article. Sometimes you just don't have the time or energy to cook and want to throw something on the table. Sure, homemade's almost always better. But sometimes some random nostalgic childhood comfort food will do the trick, and that article gave some ideas on how to make it a little more interesting.
cycorider at 10:50PM on 08/28/09
@MarvinDog - thanks. My daughter requested my pound cake for her birthday. I said, "Are you sure?" She wanted my pound cake. That was about the easiest part of the meal - I was prepared to do a layer cake of some variety. Of course, I whipped some cream and sliced some fruit to "gild the lily" a little.
Nothing will ever compare to a scratch pound cake. Nothing.
therealchiffonade at 5:00PM on 08/30/09
if you are not interested in a post, don't read it. it is as simple as that. you guys act like your eyes are going to burn out if you read about something that isn't made with artisinal ingredients grown no more than four miles from your homestead by sustainable elves.
carriebwc at 10:10AM on 10/06/09