oooh - my all time fave dessert is my mom's chocolate bundt cake which is made with none other than a box of yellow cake mix. i dream of it at night and i really don't think it could ever taste as good as it does with just some normal, old "bake it from scratch" recipe. so there ya go!
was just in NO - and have to say, liked cochon ALOT!
also went to central grocery, muriels, a couple beignet places too. but one of the most fun things we did we a cooking class at NO school of cooking. crawfish etoufee, shrimp/artichoke soup, candied pralines and banana bread pudding w/ rum sauce! oh and not to forget the insane biscuits we had there. HAVE FUN!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Favorite foods: anything and everything grilled or bbq'd :) oh + i love guacamole, lamb, foie gras and CHEESE.
Last bite on earth: pomme frites with a myriad of sauces.