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anberlynn25's Profile

Website:

Location: Virginia

About: I am currently a senior at Old Dominion University and I love to cook! I am always open to try new foods and new recipes.

Favorite foods: Chocolate (especially Lindt), Cheeses (just about all of them), Chili, Pasta, and just about all the other junk food that you are not suppose to eat.

Last bite on earth: My last bite would be a great bowl of spicy homemade chili with crusty french bread.

The Ten Most Recent Comments By anberlynn25

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

I personally don't see a problem with boxed cakes. However, after a week it needs to hit the garbage can. Other than that if you have a time crunch and you want something sweet there perfect and cheap.

anberlynn25 at 1:07PM on 03/22/08

Responses to Comments by anberlynn25

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

My mom has a "Cake Doctor" book, which is all recipes that involve adding things to cake mixes. I recently made a rum cake with yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding mix (not a real rum cake, I know), and my co-workers raved about it -- especially the rum-pecan glaze I made with brown sugar and butter. And I'm crazy, but I love the batter. I like homemade best, but the results can be mixed. Sometimes the cake comes out too small or too dry.

misseditor at 1:43PM on 03/26/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

As a rule, I wouldn't be caught dead serving anything made from a box. However, I did "come out of the baking closet" recently, when I tried AND admitted making a "Mexican Chocolate Brownie" featured on the Pillsbury Bake Off Contest page. It was actually VERY good. But I also suspect that the addition of 1-1/2 cups of Ghiradelli 60% baking chips had a GREAT deal to do with the outcome. Aside from that, growing up with that artificial cake mix smell, was deterrent enough to keep me away from the boxed stuff for life.

Boscompb at 11:03AM on 03/26/08

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Back to the Baking Box

I bake some pretty big birthday cakes and use Moist deluxe only. Usually 4 mixes divided into 2 big pans.Forget the tubs, I make a peanut butter/cream cheese whipped mousse filling, A milk chocolate frosting made with hershey kisses then covered with a chocolate ganache. For a good size birthday party there isn't a crumb left. It prob. weighs in at 25lbs or so!!!! Requested all the time.

joanpieroni2 at 8:41PM on 03/25/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

Ehhh, whatever. Take a box. Add 4 eggs, a packet of instant pudding mix that compliments the flavor and a cup or so of milk. Hell, maybe a half stick of soft butter just for kicks. Mix. Bake. Eat.

Better than most bakeries can produce, thats for sure.

ChelleyD01 at 1:55PM on 03/25/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

How do you compare all box mixes when your control cake is made using the "lighter" version and iced? And then you want to compare it to a lemon bar mix or a crepe mix...how do you compare those to an iced marble fudge cake?

You are just doing taste tests of different box mixes, which will be interesting and helpful when in a pinch, but you can't use your "control" cake for comparisons.

Carosone at 11:36AM on 03/25/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

I don't make or eat a lot of sweets. However, I do have a weakness for the boxed Ghirardelli double chocolate brownie mix. Yes, I know brownies are easy to make from scratch. I've made them. But these particular boxed ones are darn tasty and so very, very fast.

Amandarama at 9:18PM on 03/24/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

I don't have very strong feelings about box cakes, pro or con, although they are not as fun to make. But I definitely agree with those think you should have made the box according to the directions. Otherwise, you'll need to use applesauce on all the other tested cakes.

And of course, the applesauce probably increased the sweetness, too.

Box cakes are great for people who don't plan to bake very often. They are so tolerant of over/under mixing and baking--it's virtually impossible to screw it up. The same is not true for most scratch cakes. For people who are not interested in mastering the craft of cake baking, I wouldn't fault them for not wanting to spend the time, energy, and money to end up with a product that they don't like.

renzata at 7:50PM on 03/24/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

I'll admit to a stockpile of boxed mixes in the pantry. They're great for when I need something quick and easy, work beautifully in the crock pot, etc. I chose the variety and brand very carefully when I made my stockpile- they are both kosher pareve AND the mix itself is vegan. If made with egg replacer they make a lovely vegan cake that even those who scoff at vegan food will eat. Can I do these things from scratch? Yes- but sometimes I have to delegate to others, and sometimes I just don't want to have to dirty all the dishes to bake from scratch.

EtherMaiden at 2:35PM on 03/24/08

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I make wedding cakes for a living, and I can't help but think that it would be would be awfully nice to have 10 days (!) to do my design work on the cake-but happily for my brides all my cakes are made from scratch, so I've usually got a 48 hour window to bake and get my design work done.

giordano1956 at 11:44AM on 03/24/08

From Required Eating

Back to the Baking Box

Ooh, this is interesting! My mom thinks I'm nuts when I complain about the chemical smell of a box mix cake in the oven. I, too, grew up with mixes, but never use them in my own home partly because I would like to avoid all the nasty ingredients & partly because homemade is just plain better. Can't wait to read your reviews.

Melinda at 11:41AM on 03/24/08