Who makes cakes? serious question. I make, maybe, one per year on DS birthday.


This is me too. Made one came from a TJs mix a year ago for DHs bday. Other than that last came was maybe a few years before? Have made cupcakes from scratch once or twice.

But we're more of an ice cream / cookie / pie family.

I wrote the first PP and I realize now that it does sound snarky but I did not mean it to be so. I must come from a culture that sees "cakes" as truly celebratory (wedding, birthday, Christmas stollen, first Communion) and such events arise pretty rarely. So this question never comes up. I never arrive home from work and think, 'aw what the heck, I feel like a triple-layer lemon cake with alternating raspberry and Bavarian creme filling. Honey, get out the mixer! Whereas I might throw together 6 ingredients and make cookies for lunch boxes from time to time. But we are not a have a cake on display on the cake stand on the kitchen island family ....

So back to my question ... I'm curious about who these men and women are who are making cakes from scratch. Is the impetus really just to have dessert on hand, M-F?

Anonymous wrote:Who makes cakes? serious question. I make, maybe, one per year on DS birthday.

This is me too. Made one came from a TJs mix a year ago for DHs bday. Other than that last came was maybe a few years before? Have made cupcakes from scratch once or twice.

But we're more of an ice cream / cookie / pie family.

Mix. Only because I'm dairy free right now since I'm nursing (daughter may have allergies, not sure yet) and Duncan Hines cake mixes are dairy free, mostly. Open up a box, add a can of soda, mix and bake. I can still satisfy my sweet tooth

Anonymous wrote:Scratch, every time, including frosting. To me, there's not much point of "making" your own cake if you're going to buy a mix. Why not just go to the bakery and get a Giant brand? It will taste similar. There just aren't cakes like I like to make in mixes.

+1. Better Than Sex Cake -- choc chips, pecans, coconut....mmmm.

I do scratch usually. I just tried a Dr. oetkers organic mix and that was Ok. But I like the double chocolate cake w/ mrs millman's frosting on the martha stewart website, and also the strawberry cake w/ strawberry frosting. mmm.

My kids really like Funfetti so we make cakes/cupcakes using Funfetti mix (but make the icing from scratch). However, cookies are always from scratch!

I have baked for decades to the delight of everyone around me. The only "equipment" I have is an electric hand mixer and never needed anything fancier than that. Now get in the kitchen and bake me a pie! (I mean cake

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I used to make things from mixes until I learned about all the chemicals and other stuff in them. Now I do mostly scratch and it is much easier than I ever thought it would be, but I also do simple desserts-no 5 layer cakes or anything that requires a lot of work. Frosting is much easier to make than I thought it would be too. Of course I never realized how much butter and sugar goes into it until I made my own.

LMAO icing is literally JUST butter and sugar pretty much... what did you think it was??

I think I was just delusional or in denial . For some reason it never occured to me that icing mostly just had those ingredients. I know...hard to believe, but true. I assumed at least there was flour or something. Heck before I started making things from scratch I assumed if I didn't use a store bought mix I would be stuck baking for several hours.

I have baked for decades to the delight of everyone around me. The only "equipment" I have is an electric hand mixer and never needed anything fancier than that. Now get in the kitchen and bake me a pie! (I mean cake

I bake cakes from scratch 100% of the time to avoid the weird ingredients in mixes (GMOs, preservatives, etc).

PEOPLE, you do not need fancy kitchen equipment to make a cake! I made them for years when I had a galley kitchen and 2 bowls, 1 spoon, and 1 pan. I usually use olive oil in my cakes -- delicious and you'd never know from the taste (it doesn't end up tasting of olives!)

Now, I would argue that icing is easier to make with a set of beaters or something, but the cake itself? Bowls, spoon, pan. Bingo.

Also: secret tip -- you can mix up the dry ingredients for cake and then put it in a sealed jar -- keeps for a few weeks. Just add oil/butter and eggs. Homemade cake mix!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you make them from scratch without a fancy mixer? I don't have a KitchenAid, and can't afford one right now.

It's cake batter not bread dough, you need a wooden spoon & a mixing bowl.

I think creaming butter and sugar is a bit hard with just a wooden spoon, so I often use my hand-held electric mixer--not necessary to have a fancy KitchenAid type mixer.

http://annies-eats.com/2009/01/21/rum-drenched-vanilla-cakes/

No creaming butter in this recipe...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you make them from scratch without a fancy mixer? I don't have a KitchenAid, and can't afford one right now.

It's cake batter not bread dough, you need a wooden spoon & a mixing bowl.

I think creaming butter and sugar is a bit hard with just a wooden spoon, so I often use my hand-held electric mixer--not necessary to have a fancy KitchenAid type mixer.

You cream butter & sugar for cookies. For a cake you melt the butter. Cake batter is more liquid, thus it's a batter, not a dough. Read the recipes, please, then decide what tools you need.

Have you ever used a box mix? You use vegetable oil. There is no creaming butter & sugar in making cakes from scratch.

p.s. anytime you make cookies from scratch the butter should be room temperature, which you 100% can cream into sugar using a regular old spoon. you never use cold butter from the fridge.... just a friendly baking tip

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you make them from scratch without a fancy mixer? I don't have a KitchenAid, and can't afford one right now.

It's cake batter not bread dough, you need a wooden spoon & a mixing bowl.

I think creaming butter and sugar is a bit hard with just a wooden spoon, so I often use my hand-held electric mixer--not necessary to have a fancy KitchenAid type mixer.

You cream butter & sugar for cookies. For a cake you melt the butter. Cake batter is more liquid, thus it's a batter, not a dough. Read the recipes, please, then decide what tools you need.

Have you ever used a box mix? You use vegetable oil. There is no creaming butter & sugar in making cakes from scratch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you make them from scratch without a fancy mixer? I don't have a KitchenAid, and can't afford one right now.

It's cake batter not bread dough, you need a wooden spoon & a mixing bowl.

I think creaming butter and sugar is a bit hard with just a wooden spoon, so I often use my hand-held electric mixer--not necessary to have a fancy KitchenAid type mixer.

I will say one exception I make to mixes is I will use the sprinkles cupcake company premixed red velvet cupcake mix. It is really good, and it saves so much time in not dealing with dying the chocolate. But, it's not exactly all mixed, it's just a flour and cocoa and dye mix, you have to do the butter, eggs, water, vanilla, etc, and you make your own frosting.

But it's good. Turns out every time.